Colgate-Palmolive recently unveiled Australia’s first ever recyclable toothpaste tube after five years of research. As reported by Inside FMCG, the toothpaste tube, used on the brand’s Smile for Good lineup uses high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is classified as recyclable by the Australasian Recycling Label Program of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). Furthermore, it can also be disposed of at kerbside plastic recycling bins.
Not only did Colgate-Palmolive Australia create the recyclable tooth paste tube, they also understand the greater good of making the technology accessible to others. Hence after the unveiling, they immediately offered the technology to rival companies in order to help reduce landfill waste.
Simon Petersen, the General Manager oat Colgate-Palmolive South Pacific commented,
“Making toothpaste tubes part of the circular economy will help keep plastic productive and eliminate waste,”
“Colgate-Palmolive wants all toothpaste tubes to meet the same third-party recycling standards that we’ve achieved, so we are openly sharing our technology with toothpaste competitors as well as manufacturers of all kinds of tubes.”
Normally, toothpaste tubes are made from sheets of plastic laminated with a thin layer of aluminium, a combination which is difficult to recycle via conventional methods. Every year, more than 50 million discarded toothpaste tubes will end up in Australian landfills.
Awesome! Let’s hope more companies become more eco-friendly so that we can preserve the environment for our future generation.