About TerraCycle and their mission to Eliminate the Idea of Waste

TerraCycle is a global leader in recycling, with over 650 partnerships with major brands and over 40,000 clients worldwide. This innovative company is the first of its kind, tackling the waste crisis we’re experiencing today. They are on a mission for ‘Eliminating the Idea of Waste’ through recycling and reusing materials that would usually end up in landfills and incinerators.

Overconsumption and a throwaway culture have led to a global waste crisis. While even complex rubbish is technically recyclable, most materials are not profitable to recycle. Local recyclers typically only accept materials on which they make a profit with the rest ending up in landfills and incinerators. TerraCycle can recycle those materials not usually accepted by local recyclers because of funded partnerships with retailers and brands, like Crisp Malt. It is the funding obtained through such partnerships that makes the recycling of these hard-to-recycle materials possible.

Where does TerraCycle recycle the waste malt sacks?

All waste malt sacks collected through this partnership are recycled in the UK. The waste is initially collected and stored in TerraCycle’s Material Recovery Facilities in Deeside, where it is checked, sorted and aggregated before being taken to an appropriate UK processor for recycling.

What happens to the waste malt sacks after they have been recycled?

Once they have been sent to an appropriate UK processor, the plastic malt sacks collected through the Crisp Malt recycling programme are shredded, melted and converted into a secondary raw material, typically in the form of plastic pellets or flakes. This secondary raw material is then sold to manufacturing companies who use it to produce new end products and complete the recycling journey. End products include: shopping baskets, new packaging, garden furniture, watering cans, storage containers and bins, playground flooring and decking. TerraCycle also partners with brands and retailers to create products which benefit communities – like playgrounds and gardens.

What does the partnership look like between Crisp Malt and TerraCycle?

We partnered with TerraCycle to provide an industry-first recycling solution for empty plastic malt sacks. The recycling of plastic malt sacks has been a huge challenge for many years, mainly due to the difficulties around the local recycling of polypropylene. We are proud to be running two recycling options in partnership with TerraCycle: the Zero Waste Box Programme and the Freight Recycling Programme – to collect and recycle your empty plastic malt sacks. With full transparency and traceability of the volumes of waste collected and recycled, this is the solution to your ‘Zero Waste’ sustainability goals.

What is the Zero Waste Box Programme and how much does it cost?

TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box is a complete and convenient solution to store, ship and recycle you waste malt sacks (polypropylene and polyethylene). Order your box and collect your empty malt sacks, then send it off to be recycled once it’s full. The box costs £131.40 + VAT and is inclusive of all associated fees – including shipping, handling, storage and recycling. To celebrate this programme, we are offering the first 100 boxes to our customers at half price.

Find out more and order yours here.

What is the Freight Recycling Programme and how much does it cost?

TerraCycle’s Freight Recycling Programme is a cost effective, bulk method of collecting and recycling your waste malt sacks. Collect your empty waste malt sacks and load as many as you can onto a pallet(s). There are three costs associated with this option: the recycling, the pallet handling and the shipment fees. The recycling fee is based on weight at £2.47 / kg and the pallet handling fee is a standard £25 / pallet. There are no weight restrictions to the pallet (just that the height has to be under 2 metres), so load as many waste malt sacks onto the pallet as you can to maximise the efficiency of your shipments! Your shipment fee will vary depending on location which can either be organised by you or TerraCycle.

Our onboarding programme will walk you through the steps – find out more here to register today.

How can we store and secure our waste malt sacks onto a pallet?

During the trial of the Freight Recycling Programme we ran with some of our customers, we tested a few different ways to store and secure the pallet of waste malt sacks:

  • Roll up empty waste 25kg sacks and store them within another 25kg sack. Build up the full 25kg sacks inside a ½ ton or 1 ton tote bag
  • Flatten empty waste 25kg sacks and build them up in two piles on a pallet
  • Flatten or roll ½ ton or 1 ton sacks and store within another 1 ton sack
  • Reuse a pallet with cardboard sides to contain flattened or rolled sacks
  • Reuse cardboard boxes from other deliveries to store flattened sacks, to then stack and build up onto a pallet

Once the pallet has been built up, either shrink wrap or pass straps through the pallet and over the top of the waste to secure for shipment.

If you think of any effective alternative methods for palletising your empty malt sacks, please share these with the Crisp Malt team!

Can we include other suppliers waste malt sacks within this recycling programme?

Yes! As long as the packaging composition is made from polypropylene or polyethylene, all waste malts sacks of all sizes, from all suppliers, can be included in this recycling programme.

How do we ship the pallet(s) when we are ready to recycle?

To ship pallets of waste to TerraCycle for recycling, contact your Crisp Malt representative to complete a transport and delivery request form. Pallet collections can either be arranged via TerraCycle from your site, or you can arrange your own transport to TerraCycle’s Material Recovery Facility. All the information related to these two shipment options is covered in detail during Crisp Malt’s onboarding programme.

To register for our onboarding programme, please click here.

Find out more here

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