If you don’t want to terrify your children, don’t mention the prospect of recycling toys. Not long ago, I happened to be watching a video about a company that recycles broken plastic toys into children’s furniture. My girls came into the office while I was watching it, and within minutes they’d created an entire story about “the toy stealers who come at night,” subsequently starting to hide their own toys for fear of recycling. In reality, it’s not a bad idea, and while I don’t really know the data on it, I can only imagine the massive amount of toys and games that wind up in landfills each year. Now, ahead of Earth Day, Hasbro announced earlier this week that they’re launching a toy and game recycling pilot program with TerraCycle. During the pilot program, consumers can collect and send their well-loved Hasbro toys and games to TerraCycle, who will recycle them into materials that can be used in the construction of play spaces, flower pots, park benches, and other innovative uses. In 2018, Hasbro is piloting the program in the contiguous U.S.
From the Official Announcement: In honor of Earth Day, consumers in the contiguous U.S. can visit www.hasbrotoyrecycling.com to sign up for the free recycling pilot program. Once participants sign up, they can collect and box up their toys and games, print out a free shipping label and send their box to TerraCycle, who will sort and recycle the products. The pilot program is open to all Hasbro toys and games, including face-to-face games, plastic and electronic toys, action figures, dolls, plush, and more.
“Hasbro’s toy recycling program is the first brand-sponsored national recycling program in the industry, and we are proud to partner with the passionate team at Hasbro to offer consumers a simple, sustainable solution for recycling their well-loved toys and games,” said Tom Szaky, CEO, TerraCycle. “Our expertise in product recycling is a great fit for a company like Hasbro that is committed to reducing the environmental impact of their products throughout its lifecycle, including end of life.”
Building Upon Hasbro’s Sustainability Legacy
This program builds upon Hasbro’s longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability. Through Hasbro’s Sustainability Center of Excellence, the Company strives to reduce its carbon footprint and continuously improve its environmental performance across every aspect of its business. Hasbro focuses its environmental efforts in three key areas: reducing the environmental impacts of products and packaging, partnering with vendors to source and distribute Hasbro products in an environmentally conscious way, and minimizing the environmental footprint of operations.
For example, earlier this year, Hasbro announced that it will begin using plant-based bio-polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for blister packs and plastic windows in its product packaging starting in 2019. This step is one of many advancements the Company has made to enhance the sustainability of its packaging over the past decade. Additional actions include eliminating wire ties in 2010, replacing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with PET in 2013, and achieving 90 percent recycled or sustainably-sourced paper for packaging and in-box content in 2015. In 2017, Hasbro adopted How2Recycle® labeling on packaging for U.S. and Canada, which helps to provide clear on-package recycling guidance to consumers.
Hasbro uses 100 percent renewable energy and is carbon neutral across its U.S. operations, and has achieved 99 percent across all global operations. In addition, the Company is pursuing a set of ambitious environmental goals for 2025 across its owned/operated facilities (based on a 2015 baseline year), including:
- Reduce waste to landfill by 50 percent;
- Reduce water consumption by 15 percent;
- Reduce energy consumption by 20 percent; and
- Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 percent.
Hasbro ranked No. 3 on Newsweek’s 2017 Green Rankings, which assesses the 500 largest publicly-traded companies in the United States on overall environmental performance. The Company was ranked No. 1 on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for 2017 by CR Magazine and has been named to the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Company® by Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, and a distinction the company has earned for seven consecutive years.
While these recycled toys will see new life, there is a part of me that shares in my children’s emotional attachment… and sometimes there’s those rare collectible toys that might wind up in the mix. Maybe someone in the chain will be trained to look out for non-broken versions of those to just set off to the side.
Visit www.hasbrotoyrecycling.com for more.
