ShopRite Debuts Recycling Kiosks

ShopRite and its store brands Paperbird and Bowl & Basket are collaborating with P&G, Purina, Campbell’s Snacks, and TerraCycle to launch a recycling program for flexible-film plastic packaging.

The kiosks offer customers a place to drop off all brands of otherwise difficult-to-recycle flexible-film packaging and keep waste out of landfills. They are located outside five New Jersey ShopRite stores and contain instructions for sorting the packaging.

“We are pleased to work with TerraCycle, the leader in recycling hard-to-recycle materials,” said Karen Meleta, chief communications officer for Wakefern Food Corp., the logistics and merchandising arm for ShopRite stores, in a statement. “The new ShopRite flexible plastics recycling kiosk created by TerraCycle in collaboration with brand partners is a continuation of that commitment to community and sustainability.”

The following items are accepted through the kiosks:

• Bread bags

• Candy wrappers

• Chip and snack bags

• Fertilizer and soil bags

• Food and drink squeeze pouches

• Laundry and dish detergent pouches

• Pet food and treat packaging

• Plastic film/wrap

• Plastic shopping bags

The kiosks now allow customers to sort and return the material for recycling. TerraCycle will clean and recycle the flexible film into raw formats that can be used to make new products. Paper-based wrappers, food waste, pet food, pet accessories, canvas totes, food storage containers, glass containers, bottles, and other rigid plastics will not be accepted at the kiosks.

“Most flexible plastic, including snack wrappers, chip bags, and food packaging, end up in the trash, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of Terracycle, in a statement. “The ShopRite Flexible Packaging Recycling Kiosks provide residents of Morris and Essex counties more access to recycling these hard-to-recycle single-use plastics, and we hope to see many shoppers take advantage of these free recycling kiosks.”