Eliminating the idea of waste
With closed-product cycles and zero net emission propositions by 2050 , the world will need to adapt to be competitive in the green economy. Tom Szaky, founder of Terracycle and Loop, is one of the pioneers in this field and wants to eliminate the idea of waste completely. He shares some of his viewpoints.
One of the depressing factors about the discussions of global warming is that it is politically impossible. It would be odd if a long-standing aversion of nuclear plants or solar panels should prove to be the only political objective any country turns out to put ahead of its commitment to climate action. The proposition should be more ambitious and striking for most people. Eliminating the idea of waste is one of them (like eliminating the idea of this pandemic with group immunity). It is therefore of interest to not just trickle down the problem of waste to a landfill traffic jam or ocean polluting problem. Landfill emissions come third in their share of global warming potential (after fossil fuel burning and agricultural waste). Mostly because of their high methane levels. Some emissions will surely prove hard to abate as it will be cheaper to develop technologies that suck an equal amount of emissions out of the air. An analogy can be drawn with the amount of waste that can be eliminated from current product cycles and the invention of new craddle-to-craddle designs as a solution.
Nevertheless, not a lot of people in countries made rich by carbon-dioxide-emitting enterprises are going to volunteer for a cut in living standards. For example, the coal economy in China (which is the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world) forms a nexus of employment, debt, tax revenues and exports. Their local governments still depend heavily on coal for revenues and will therefore defend its existence ferociously. It is also hard to ask those from parts of the world that are not yet rich to sacrifice the chance to become so. With that in mind, it makes sense to concentrate on doing things which affect neither the comforts of the former nor the aspirations of the latter. Technological shifts in directions where countries don’t use fossil fuels as their main energy sources might be able to do so. But effective action is needed in either case.
The failure to act might also bring risks. It would make countries less competitive in the new clean-energy economy. Still, no unconscious echo of the Trump administration has pushed other parts of the world to become non-green. China is still the dominant producer of solar panels and batteries; it has also invested in foreign mines to secure minerals needed for them. Europe has its own “green deal” to boost its clean-energy industries. It plans to tax imports from countries that do not pledge to lower their emissions.
Are these policies a gateway to endless fudge? Some activists say so and believe that a net-zero emission (or waste) philosophy is troublesome. Not only because it allows the ultimate scope of emissions (or waste) to remain undefined, it also sweeps all uncertainties under a carpet of techno-optimism. Others see it as necessary and the only way to really solve climate change. Tom Szaky, the godfather of cradle-to-cradle companies, has proven that it is possible to solve difficult problems with intuitive and realistic solutions. He built Terracycle, a global recycling company, and has announced his latest endeavour called Loop, a company embodying the vision of a circular economy, on the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2019. Loop is in Tom’s words ‘a reboot of the milk man’. He’s now running pilot programs in different countries in Europe and Belgium might be coming soon. I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Szaky a few questions on Loop and his view on our environmental issues.
L: Thank you for doing this Mr. Szaky. Firstly, how does Loop exactly work and why is it a more intuitive and realistic solution for a zero-waste policy?
Tom: No problem! Right now, Loop is available online and in-store. In the U.S., Canada and the UK, customers order their food and household goods to be delivered to their doorstep all in reusable packaging. Once finished with the product, the packaging is picked up, cleaned, and reused again. In France and Japan, customers can go into Carrefour and Aeon retail locations to shop for Loop products on store shelves. Once finished with the product, customers can drop off the packaging in-store on their usual shopping trip.
We know that for more people to adopt sustainable practices, it must be convenient and accessible. By bringing reuse options to where people are, either at home or at their favorite retailer, our goal is to a be seamless solution for people to create less waste with their purchases. In addition, we are not asking people to change their behavior. They are used to putting their recyclables in the blue bin, now they just put it back in the tote it was delivered in and have it picked up from their doorstep. In the in-store model, consumers already go to the store, now they merely bring their empties back with them when they are going shopping.
L: Is there a need for an easy-to-use platform like Loop in today’s gig economy to change people’s behavior on their actions with waste?
Tom: We are trying to make Loop convenient and affordable for the consumer, so they don’t actually have to change their behavior. The less they have to do differently, the more likely we are to succeed. With Loop, the consumer doesn’t own the packaging, the manufacturer does. So, you purchase online or in your favorite grocery store, and when finished, return the packaging to us for cleaning and reuse. You don’t have to clean or dispose of it.
L: How do you persuade people that the idea of eliminating waste completely is feasible? Is it more a philosophy or is this a real goal?
Tom: I believe most people want to do the right thing but often don’t know how to do it. Eliminating waste is completely feasible, but with no national, or even state consistency in waste management and recycling, it’s easy to be confused. So, we provide consumers simple, convenient ways to recycle and reuse packaging.
L: So, you work with partners like Carrefour and l’Oreal to have a larger impact in a shorter period of time. Why is it in their interest to work with a company that wants to eliminate non-reusable products?
Tom: It makes good business sense for companies to become more sustainable. People are voting with their wallets and are seeking to patronize brands and retailers who adopt more sustainable solutions. Companies that don’t start to take notice will get left behind.
L: What are the prospects of Loop and Terracycle in the near future? Is Loop coming to Belgium soon?
Tom: Both businesses are experiencing rapid growth and will continue to innovate and move the needle on recycling and reuse. It is our goal to make Loop a global shopping system that is available everywhere, so we will be looking at where and how to scale up.
L: That would be amazing! On another note, do you think the pandemic has prepared us to cope with a big social problem and therefore people from all around the world are more conscious now about our environmental issues?
Tom: While over the past few years there has been more and more news coverage and social media discussion about climate change, the pandemic has made people much more aware of climate and environmental issues. It shined a spotlight on the fact that we, as human beings, need to take care of each other and the environment that sustains us.
L: Are there any new announcements or developments coming soon from you?
Tom: In 2021, Loop will be launching in-store in Tesco in the UK and in the U.S. with Kroger. In 2022 Loop will launch in the U.S. with Walgreens and Australia with Woolworths. Also coming are partnerships with McDonalds in the UK, Burger King in the U.S. and Tim Hortons in Canada.
L: I wish you all the luck and thank you again!
Tom: It was my pleasure, thanks for having me!
See you next week,
Laurent
