Glass that has a chance to be recycled!
Surprisingly π³ all glass cannot be recycled.
Familiar with those beautiful solid white/ceramic glass, violet black glass, or dark painted glass bottles?
Well, these types of glass can't be recycled in a traditional recycling system...
π² Yup, I was shocked too!
The vast majority of glass put into recycling is "wish-cycled."
Meaning we think it's recycled, when it really ends up in your local area landfill or wasteland abroad
Packaging materials thoughtfully selected because...
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Blue glass is protective
Light can break down actives faster and harm a formula
Surf & Slope's bottles protect nutrient-rich botanical formulas from light AND they're still transparent enough to be recycled into new glass products β»οΈ
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White plastic is better
White and clear plastics are easier to recycle as they can remain the same or become any color.
Where as colored or dark plastics are already colored, making recycling them trickier.
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Pump and spray safeguard
Air and grimy fingers can be damaging to formulas + plant actives.
Airless dispensers protect, plus let you quickly divvy out and apply without spilling the whole bottle!
Purposeful Packaging
Sustainable packaging design that can be recycled, reused, and is from non-virgin materials where possible.
Surf+Slope's eco-friendly boxes are made from recyclable materials and with sustainable practices:
Product Boxes: 35% recycled paper + 100% responsible sources + non-endangered or ancient forests
Shipping Boxes: 100% recycled cardboardΒ boxes
Box Fill: 100% recycled content of spiral tissue paper
Tape: 100% kraft paper - water activated gum
All materials can be easily thrown in your recycling bin - cardboard boxes, tape and spiral fill!
To help minimize resources used, both boxes are custom made small boxes - NO to convenient yet bulky boxes!
Nation Botanics' Recyclability
Not all curbside programs can process small glass bottles or cosmetic packaging
Why not?
It's complicated. From materials used to our recycling systems. We'll scratch the surface.
All glass and plastics aren't easily recyclable, or recyclable at all.
The type of glass or plastic and the capabilities of the recycling center determine where packaging ultimately ends up.
Not all recycling centers can recycle everything.
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Glass type sets its recycling fate
Mainly based on its transparency. Being transparent is good π
A glass bottleβs chances of recyclability are based on its opacity - the easier it is to see through.
Is it recycled into new glass bottles or is it repurposed into fiberglass insulation, tiles, or roads?Β
Clear soda lime glass or colored glass - such as common brown, green, or blue - that's still somewhat see-through is easier and more straightforward to recycle.Β And they can be recycled back into future glass packaging. Infinitely recyclable.
Dark or opaque glass - like black, white, or painted solid - is the hardest to recycle and can't be made into new glass. Like that bottle, if lucky, will get turned into construction materials π
Fact: Borosilicate glass - even though itβs clear - cannot be recycled!
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Hundreds of different plastics
From countless variations among the seven main types of plastic.
Not all types of plastic can be recycled.
Only a few can be upcycled - made into different recycled products.
These that can transform into something new, can only be mechanically and molecularly recycled together. Meaning if a different kind of plastic accidentally makes it into the batch the plastic chemistry is off and ruins the entire batch! π¨
Why it's important your plastics make it to a plastic recycling center that can sort 'um right. They'll be diverted from landfill and ideally become a product made from post consumer recycled plastic (PCR).
Join the fight in keeping plastics out of our local landfills and environment - streams and oceans!
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The bigger the packaging the better
Equipment at local recycling facilities canβt catch small packaging.Β
Nor can it separate and identify them or process various shapes made from mixed materials - ie droppers, pumps, tubes, etc.Β
Small means smaller than a yogurt cup - or say the size of your surf wax or ski/board season pass.
Your small packaging - jars, bottles, caps - you think is being recycled is most likely winding up in the unknown pile that gets trashed.
Did you know there are only TWO recycling centers in the US that make old glass into new glass products?
Let's make sure your empties actually get recycled!
You clean them and put them in the recycling bin...
But are they lucky enough to make it to a recycling center that can process their size and type of plastic or glass?
But are they lucky enough to make it to a recycling center that can process their size, shape, or its various types of plastic or glass?
Or do they get trashed, ending up in a landfill?
Pact x Nation Botanics' Recycling Partnership Makes it Easier for You!
Pact takes hard-to-recycle beauty empties
Pact collects our industry's hard-to-recycle packaging and processes it properly so it can be diverted from landfills!
They find the highest and best use of the material by selling to end buyers who ideally reuse or repurpose the material. For containers that cannot be recycled or upcycled, or used in something else, it's processed waste-to-energy - AKA incinerated.
Upcycling is best, yet waste-to-energy is way better than crowding a local landfill.
That's why Pact is our partner. Learn more about them here.
How does it work?
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Collect + Clean π§Ό
Collect your empty beauty products, or expired ones, and clean them out.
Goop that remains in the container makes it un-recyclable, so make sure it's truly clean and empty. Otherwise it'll become waste-to-energy β‘οΈ
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Confirm π§
Can it go to Pact?
Or does it go in your local recycling bin or in the trash?
Give your hard-to-recycle beauty empties - that can't be recycled locally - to Pact.
Find a bin near you or mail back your Pact-accepted clean empties π
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Brighter Future β»οΈ
Helping your empties get second lives!
Pact will hand-sort and separate collected packaging by material type - what kind of recyclable plastic or glass, is it a non-recyclable kind?
If it's a material that can become new goods, it will! If not, worst case, it'll be burned to generate energy β¨
Find a Pact bin or mail them in
It's easy.
πDrop off your empties at one of Pact's many In-Store recycling bins across our nation.
This type of collection is the most sustainable option if there's one in your local area.
π Or, send them in!
To send in, save 5-10 clean empties and click the link below π
Luckily, they'll take Surf+Slope's empties as well as any other brands you have! So save a few and ensure your Surf+Slope bottles/dispensers and other small brand packaging don't end up in the trash.
Pact drop-off locations
You can help ensure your empties don't end up in your local landfill
And instead is made into something new with Pact!
Or you can reuse them!
Surf+Slope's bottles are great for somethin' else too!
You're helping to close the loop on the beauty industry's serious packaging problem.
Thank you π
Each piece - bottles to corrugated boxes - thoughtfully selected
As a brand, it's a priority to use sustainable packaging materials whose end of life can:
- Be recycled endlessly
- Easily enter your local recycling programs!
- Biodegrade
- Be reused
If none of the above - with your help and Pact's - have it become energy for our communities!
Chose products made from recycled materials but also from local companies (in Nevada, Utah, Colorado) to help our communities. Plus reduce carbon emissions by being able to ship by truck - much shorter distance to transport!
Ahead of a lot of brands, but hey, there's still room to do better. And Nation Botanics will.
By further cutting down on paper, switching to pumps made from recycled materials, and locally sourcing glass bottles. Always looking to improve.
Together we can help facilitate a circular economy.