If you look around your bathroom, you'll notice a collection of plastic containers that often have shampoo, hand soap, and other products listed as the first ingredient.
The cycle of purchasing bulky plastic bottles over and over again creates greenhouse gases as they are manufactured and disposed of over and over again.
According to the Department of Energy, humans around the world are producing more plastic than ever before, averaging 122 pounds per person per year, and only about 5 of that plastic is recycled. It is said to be a percent.
“If we're going to solve the climate problem, we really need to look at what we're consuming,” said Caroline DeLoach, director of sustainability at Atlantic Packaging.
“We want to make it easy for people to reuse and refill household items,” Cherry said.
Her company produces more than 350 gallons of natural soap each week, which is sold at Durham storefronts as well as retailers such as the Durham Co-op and Weaver Street Market. Customers can also purchase bulk refills online with free shipping labels and return the refill containers to be disinfected and reused.
“Instead of thinking about what to do with containers at the end of their lifespan, we're trying to make it easy to reuse them circularly,” Cherry said.
Circular or closed-loop business models can extend product lifecycles and reduce plastic waste. This is the topic that was the focus of his recent panel discussion at UNC featuring Cherry and DeLoach.
“Ultimately, working towards circularity in everything, whether it's packaging or anything else, is a climate change issue because of the specific emissions associated with manufacturing certain materials,” DeLoach said. Stated.
Cherry said Philly has prevented 300,000 plastic bottles from going to landfills in the past year.
Both Cary and Wake landfills are expected to be full by 2040, so diversion has become a focus for waste management officials in the Triangle.
