Tom’s of Maine, TerraCycle Launch Brand-Blind Recycling

Tom’s of Maine has partnered with recycling company TerraCycle to keep product packaging out of landfills.

The free recycling program, called the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade, accepts toothpaste tubes and caps, mouthwash bottles and caps, deodorant/antiperspirant containers, plastic soap wrappers and floss containers, regardless of brand.

For each piece of packaging collected and sent in, the collector earns points that can be put toward charity gifts or converted to cash and paid to any school or nonprofit organization. Any individual, company, group or school can join for free and all shipping costs are prepaid.

To coincide with the new program, the company has also launched the Tom’s of Maine Less in Landfills Sweepstakes, through which Brigade participants can earn $1,000 for the non-profit or school of their choice.

TerraCycle collects more than 50 different kinds of products and packaging through its Brigade programs, which are open to any individual or organization. The company says it has already kept more than 2 billion pieces of trash from going to the landfill, and with its partners, dispersed almost $4.5 million to charity.

The new recycling program is one of many Tom’s of Maine initiatives to reduce the company’s waste stream in Maine and in communities across the country. All Tom’s of Maine deodorant stick packages are made of a single plastic that can be recycled from canister to cap, which the company says is a first in the industry, and all product boxes are made of recycled/recyclable paperboard.

The company also recycles folding cartons, mixed paper and other items such as shrink-wrap — about 300,000 pounds per year, according to Tom’s of Maine. Its compacting equipment allows the company to recycle 15,000 pounds of paper sacks from its ingredients.

Last year, Tom’s of Maine ranked third in the ImagePower Global Green Brands Study, a survey of the greenest US brands.