Have you ever looked at your bags of recycling and thought ‘does all of this actually get recycled’? Living a sustainable and plastic-free lifestyle is the ultimate goal for many people but recycling is not as simple as it is often made out to be. 

The recycling crisis began in 2017 when China announced at the ‘World trade organisation’ that they would no longer be accepting the world's waste material, China had previously imported up to 55% of the world's plastic waste which has left us in a world wide recycling crisis...but what can we do? Below is a guide on how we can reduce our waste and how we can win the recycling war.

Do we really know what the different recycling symbols mean? 

At the bottom of most plastic containers you can find a small number inside of the 3 arrow recycling symbol. This number is a reference to what type of plastic the container is made of, each plastic is made up of different molecules and different molecules mean they can't all be recycled together, it's like trying to recycle paper and glass together. This also aids recyclers in the sorting process. More about how to recycle plastic bottles

 

Glass

The symbol for glass recycling, usually all glass can be recycled at your local bottle bank or curbside recycling bins, however some glass items cannot be recycled, some types of glass do not melt at the same temperature as bottles and jars - these items can be recycled separately. Glass jars and bottles also make great household accs, all of Georganics jars are fully recyclable and we always encourage a bit of up-cycling.See for yourself…

 

Compostable

Plastics that carry this symbol can be recycled with your garden waste through your local authority. These compostable plastics should never be mixed with other plastics as they are designed to break down and they contaminate the other plastics. At Georganics we have a few compostable products of our own like ourtoothsoaps (packaged in compostable kraft cardboard).

At Georganics we pride ourselves on being100% sustainable, all of our packaging to our containers are fully recyclable or compostable. We encourage our customers to recycle, compost or repurpose our products where available and also to take advantage of our zero to landfill scheme. 

Save at least 4 of our beechwood toothbrush heads, pack into a paper envelope and mail the envelope to ‘Freepost Georganics’ we’ll collect all of the heads and send them to Terracycle.

Our glass containers are perfect for storing anything you need to keep fresh, they are made to contain fresh, natural ingredients so perfect for food related items.

All of our packaging is about much more than just looking good, it is designed to be plastic free, biodegradable and recyclable ensuring nothing goes to landfill sites.

Which companies are actively trying to make a difference?

We can all try our best and not buying into non-recyclable products in the first place is key but is it possible to be 100% sustainable? And which companies are paving the way in using recycled materials?

 

Gomi

 

Gomi is a consumer technology brand that puts sustainability at the forefront of their designs. Creating products such as portable speakers & chargers out of non-recyclable plastics. With their products they are striding towards a world where products can be infinitely repaired or recycled, and putting a stop to unnecessary landfill forever.

 

TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. Simply choose the programs you’d like to join; start collecting in your home, school, or office; download free shipping labels; and send us your waste to be recycled. You can even earn rewards for your school or favorite non-profit! At Georganicswe are recycling our products with TerraCycle via their zero waste box solution to help recycle the components in our Sonic Toothbrush and Beechwood toothbrush heads that local centres cannot. Read more about ourzero to landfill scheme

Turning old water bottles into clothes, this womens activewear company is earth’s number one fan. After being shocked at the fact that almost all synthetic activewear is made from plastic they  make theirs with materials that would otherwise clog landfills and pollute the earth. It all starts with 100% post-consumer water bottles that have their labels removed, using a process called “polymerization,” you get a soft, recycled yarn that eliminates the need for petroleum and diverts water bottles from landfills at the same time.