Last Beach Cleanup: TerraCycle lawsuit exposes US as “Wild West” of “deceptive” product labeling

31 Aug 2021 --- US environmental non-profit The Last Beach Cleanup has filed a lawsuit against TerraCycle and eight product companies, including L’Oreal USA and the Coca-Cola Company, alleging the group’s recycle by mail scheme is promoting “false solutions” to the plastic waste crisis with aims to “fool the public.”

The scheme – launched by TerraCycle as a means of aiding recycling for single-use plastic items – offers mail-back services whereby consumers can post used packaging to the company for recycling.

The model is designed to prevent lacking local waste management infrastructure from hindering recycling. However, the lawsuit maintains the scheme is a greenwashing ploy. 

Speaking to PackagingInsights, Jan Dell, the founder of The Last Beach Cleanup, explains how she came to take legal action on the case. 

“I’m a chemical engineer and have become an expert in plastic recycling,” she remarks. “I have proven that only two types of plastics can legally be claimed as recyclable in the US – PET & HDPE bottles and jugs.”

In her research, Dell surveyed US store shelves to see which companies were not being truthful on recyclable labels on products.

“Over the past three years, I found TerraCycle labels with recycling claims popping up on more and more badly designed plastic products,” she highlights. “I went on their website and saw they claimed 97 percent of products were recycled. Technically, I knew this was impossible.” 

A box containing 50 condiment packs.Trading emissions for waste 
The suit alleges the scheme is designed to fool consumers into purchasing products on the false belief it will be possible to recycle them. In reality, strict participation limits prohibit most consumers from participating in their recycling programs, the non-profit indicates.

While the free programs are reportedly closed to new participants, consumers are offered the option of purchasing “costly Zero Waste Boxes to return the Products to TerraCycle at a hefty price.”

“Left with no other free choices, consumers then need to discard the packaging into the trash where it will ultimately end up in a landfill,” reads the suit. “Worse yet, some consumers instead discard the packaging into their curbside recycling bins, thereby contaminating legitimate recycling streams with unrecyclable materials and increasing costs for municipalities.”

Climate change contributor?
Beyond the misleading claims driving the scheme, The Last Beach Cleanup also alleges that were the scheme to actually take effect, the carbon emission associated with wide scale posting of used plastic items would far outweigh the benefits of the recycling. 

“Trucking billions of cardboard boxes or big plastic envelopes of used condiment packets, food and drink pouches, plastic cups and other plastic products thousands of miles across the country to a sorting warehouse would not only require a vast amount of cardboard but would also generate significant carbon emissions and packaging waste.” 

“Not scalable to the real world”
Dell says she is pleased with how positive the public response to the suit has been. 

Carbon emissions from mailing garbage would be enormous if used on a large scale, says The Last Beach Cleanup.Since filing it, the organization had originally expected TerraCycle and the other companies involved to enact change. However, when nothing was done, they decided to make the case public. 

Dell also asserts that the same questions raised by the scheme should be put to waste management in general. 

“We think it is just a matter of time before the public will understand that TerraCycle’s mail back recycling model is bad for the climate and is greenwashing poorly designed plastic products. It is not scalable to the real world.”

TerraCycle responds 
However, in an interview with ResourceRecycling, TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky said he disagrees with all of the claims made in the suit. He explains that free collection programs have budget limits, which are sometimes temporarily fulfilled, after which consumers will have to wait or be redirected to other schemes. 

“I do not believe the TerraCycle program is confusing to municipal recycling,” he says, maintaining that the conventional plastic resin identification code is more confusing to consumers.

The sponsored waste programs are TerraCycle’s biggest money maker in the US, according to ResourceRecycling, who says financial filings show brand owners paid the company US$10.5 million in 2020 through the schemes. 

PackagingInsights has contacted TerraCycle for further response.

The “Wild West” of packaging
Dell says the TerraCycle case is indicative of US recycling’s wider failings. 

“I’ve worked in 45 countries and I believe the US may have the most deceptive labeling because we have weak laws and no enforcement,” she comments. “It is the wild, wild west of product packaging labels and claims with no sheriff in town.” 

“Companies can slap all sorts of false recyclable or compostable labels on their products with little fear of being caught or punished. In the US, we need stronger enforcement of existing laws and stronger laws on truthful advertising.”

She anticipates that many major companies will fail to meet their 2025 sustainability goals. 

“I predict they will try to use more charades to pretend they meet their goals or blame consumers, taxpayers or governments for not paying for recycling.” 

“What companies should do is get real about the packaging they are choosing to put on store shelves,” she underscores. “Switch to reusables and refillables if possible, or switch to good fiber-based products as a second option.”

By Louis Gore-Langton