Most toothpaste tubes are recyclable. So why is nobody recycling them?

"A team at Colgate spent five years redesigning its packaging so that it could easily be recycled, and rolled it out across the brand's products in 2022. They also open-sourced the project so other companies could deploy the same approach. Now at least 95% of all toothpaste tubes sold in the U.S. use the design. "We're proud of the role we've played in transforming plastic tubes into a recyclable format, " says Ann Tracy, chief sustainability officer at Colgate-Palmolive."

"But recycling companies are still catching up to the news, and most cities still haven't told residents that it's okay to put the tubes in a recycling bin. Furthermore, a lawsuit currently underway argues that the tubes shouldn't be labeled as "recyclable" since so many cities don't officially accept them yet. It's a classic challenge for any company working on sustainable packaging: The hardest part isn't necessarily the design but getting recyclers and consumers on board."

Colgate replaced multi-material toothpaste tubes with HDPE, creating a recyclable design rolled out across products in 2022 and open-sourced for industry use. The new tubes preserve flavor and fluoride delivery while fitting existing manufacturing equipment and achieving at least 95% market adoption in the U.S. Recycling companies and many municipal programs have been slow to accept and communicate that the tubes are recyclable. A lawsuit contests labeling the tubes as "recyclable" because many cities do not officially accept them. The central challenge remains matching packaging innovation with recycling infrastructure and consumer awareness.

Read at Fast Company