The first-of-its-kind recyclable toothpaste tube

FAQs: Power of Optimism Initiative by Colgate®

How to recycle

 

How to Recycle?

How do I recycle the tube? Do I need to cut open and remove all the leftover toothpaste in the tube, or rinse it out somehow?

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What it tube made from

 

What is this tube made of?

The tube is primarily made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), #2 plastic. The cap is made of PP (Polypropylene), #5 plastic.

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Sharing technology

 

Why do we share our
tube technology?

This project isn’t about us, it’s about something bigger. By sharing our technology hopefully we can initiate a global shift to recyclable toothpaste tubes. Our dream is to have all tubes (not just toothpaste) be recycled in practice and at scale.

 

After recycle

 

What happens after the tubes are recycled?

Here's a quick example of the tubes lifecycle. Once the tube is in the recycle stream, it gets sent to places like a Materials Recovery Facility [MRF] where it would get sorted, then sent to a reprocessor who turns HDPE including bottles into little plastic pellets. These pellets can then get turned into new products and packaging!

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Questions? Find them here.

  • How do I recycle the tube?

    Do I need to cut open and remove all the leftover toothpaste in the tube, or rinse it out somehow?
    First, check to be sure that your tube has one of these symbols on it:

    recycle-tube-hdpe-logo
    recycle-tube-logo

    We are transitioning our entire toothpaste portfolio across the world to recyclable tubes. This effort began in 2019 and will be completed by 2025, so not all tubes will immediately be recyclable. It's important that if your tube does not have this flag on it that you don't put it into your recycling bin.

    If your tube has one of these symbols, then recycling is easy. Simply squeeze out as much of the toothpaste from the tube as you can, put the cap back on and place the tube in your recycling bin. Our tube recycles with #2 HDPE plastics.

    Please don't cut open the toothpaste tube to try and remove excess toothpaste! During the processing of the tube at the recycling facility, the tube is ground up and goes through a "rinsing" process, where all the residual toothpaste is washed off the plastic. So there's no need for you to do any rinsing at home.

  • Are the caps recyclable?

    Yes, caps are technically recyclable and the best practice is to replace the cap on the Tube before placing it in the recycling bin. Doing so will help avoid litter of caps. Caps are made of a different plastic than the tube and thus some recyclers might prefer the caps to be removed before tubes are recycled. Please check your local recycling rules to be sure. We are continuing with our research to convert all of ours caps into a more compatable material with the HDPE stream.

  • What are you doing to ensure these tubes are accepted by recycling facilities?

    A lot, actually. We’re leading industry groups and working with industry partners globally on education about recyclability and wider acceptance of recyclable tubes. We're sharing our knowledge and technology with any other interested company. We're also verifying the sortability of tubes through testing in labs and real facilities to make sure there is not too much mis-sorting. The more recyclable tubes are used in the market and as more recyclers are educated about recyclable tubes, the easier it will become for reprocessors to recycle tubes coming their way.

  • Why are some of your tubes recyclable while others aren't?

    The plan is for all of our toothpaste tubes to be recyclable by the end of 2025. It takes time to make the transition, and during this time, some of our toothpastes will be in recyclable tubes while others won't have transitioned yet. For now, make sure your tube has one of the icons below before you recycle it:

    recycle-tube-hdpe-logo
    recycle-tube-logo

  • Is this tube biodegradable?

    No, this tube (and plastics in general) are not designed to be biodegradable. The #2 HDPE plastic used in our tubes is designed to be "circular," so that the material can be re-processed into new products and packaging.

  • This tube is still made of plastic, how will it help the environment?

    Our recyclable tubes are made out of #2 HDPE plastic, which is one of the most recycled plastics. HDPE can be turned into all kinds of new things, including construction materials and new packaging. Switching to recyclable has the potential to keep billions of tubes out of landfills.

  • What is this tube made of?

    The tube is primarily made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), #2 plastic.

    The cap is made of PP (Polypropylene), #5 plastic.

  • Why do we share our tube technology?

    This project isn’t about us, it’s about something bigger. By sharing our technology hopefully we can initiate a global shift to recyclable toothpaste tubes. Our dream is to have all tubes (not just toothpaste) be recycled in practice and at scale.

  • What happens after the tubes are recycled?

    Here’s a quick example of the tubes lifecycle.

    Once the tube is in the recycle stream, it gets sent to places like a Materials Recovery Facility [MRF] where it would get sorted, then sent to a reprocessor who turns HDPE including bottles into little plastic pellets. These pellets can then get turned into new products and packaging!