Henkel and TerraCycle® partner to help keep Canada clean

Canadian consumers who recycle Sunlight® and Purex® plastic detergent pouches can earn points, redeemable for donation opportunities

Henkel, a leader in laundry and home care, has teamed up with international recycling leader TerraCycle® to create a free recycling program throughout Canada for Henkel’s Sunlight® and Purex® brand plastic detergent pouches. By purchasing Sunlight or Purex pouches in Canada and recycling the empty containers through the program, Canadian consumers can earn TerraCycle points redeemable for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.

“Henkel has been focusing on sustainability in packaging for several decades and is now pleased to partner with TerraCycle to enable this creative approach to help ensure that Sunlight and Purex product packaging can be recycled after the product has been consumed,” said Mario Altan, General Manager Henkel Canada. “This partnership is part of our commitment that, by 2025, 100 percent of Henkel’s packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable*.”

Through the Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program, consumers can now send in their empty Sunlight and Purex plastic detergent pouches to be recycled for free. Participation is easy: sign up on the TerraCycle program page terracycle.ca/en-CA/brigades/sunlight-purex and mail in the package using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the pouches are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.

“Henkel is giving their customers the unique opportunity to divert waste from landfills by offering them a way to responsibly  recycle their plastic detergent pouches,” said TerraCycle CEO and Founder, Tom Szaky. “The Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program provides consumers a way to keep their laundry clean, while also helping to keep the environment clean.”

The Sunlight & Purex Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization in Canada. For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling program, visit terracycle.com.

In addition to the new Sunlight and Purex program, Henkel has been partnering with TerraCycle since 2016. Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies business unit launched a partnership with TerraCycle for customers in the USA, making it possible for them to recycle their used adhesives packaging instead of sending them to a landfill or incinerator. Teams from Henkel and TerraCycle worked together to develop a process that deactivates the adhesive, making it easier to remove from the plastic packaging. This material is then melted and turned into pellets that can be used to manufacture new products – from garbage cans to park benches and outdoor furniture. Henkel was the first adhesive technologies company to offer this type of recycling program.

*excluding adhesive products where residue may affect recyclability