Turning a recycling nightmare into a success story

After five years of development, Colgate-Palmolive has now launched the first toothpaste tube to be recognised as being recyclable by the Association of Plastic Recyclers.
Current conventional toothpaste tubes are made of a mix of sheets of plastic laminate and a thin layer of aluminium, which makes them impossible to recycle.
Colgate is reportedly going to share the technology, including information subject to Colgate patent applications filed in the U.S. and globally, with its competitors to make plastic tubes widely recyclable.

The recyclable tube was first announced in June and is part of Colgate’s goal to sell only recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025.
The company’s decision to share its IP seems to have been welcomed by competitors, although it is unclear whether any of them will actually use it – regardless, this is an important step towards dealing with the 20bn tubes of toothpaste that are made every year and usually end up on landfills.
However, many environmentalists remain unconvinced by the move towards recyclable materials, calling instead for an overall reduction of throwaway packaging.
This year, the Break Free From Plastic coalition (which includes Greenpeace), listed Colgate among the top 10 plastic polluters in the world for the second consecutive year.