Tom Szaky, cofounder and CEO of Recycle Inc., is an environmental pioneer and inspiring success story. As a promising student at Ivy League Princeton University a few short years ago, Mr. Szaky saw the great potential of a tried-and-true environmental technology, vermiculture (the science of worms and their role in our biome) and, much like Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates did several years earlier, promptly dropped out of school to pursue his dream.
Fast forward to the present day and his company, TerraCycle, plays a vital role in a program worthy of everyone’s attention, the Retote recycled plastic shopping bag from Target Corporation.
On April 7 of this year, Target reinforced its partnership with TerraCycle in the production of the Retote recycled plastic shopping bag and utilized Newsweek magazine to assure good coverage.
Plastic shopping bags are an environmental menace. Paper bags are better but still have an enormous negative impact on nature. When plastic shopping bags became prevalent, some shoppers rejoiced because they meant less deforestation. Sadly, what needed to happen at the same time, a global movement toward widespread use of canvass and other durable bag types, did not come to pass.
Instead, what we have today is a vast over-reliance on bags so that patrons of retail stores leave with dozens of bags, many of them carrying just a single item, when bags such as the Retote from Target Corporation in partnership with TerraCycle Inc. and Newsweek magazine will do the job better, cleaner and faster. I applaud the Retote recycled plastic shopping bag promotion in honor of Earth Day, 2008 and the work of Target Corporation, TerraCycle Inc and Newsweek magazine to bring it to us.
Simply stated, this group effort seeks to convince shoppers to ditch their plastic shopping bags in aid of the Retote product, a much superior medium for transporting their purchases. This is just the type of cultural shift I advocate and next time, I will share with you the laudable specifics.
Sustainable Justice For All!
Corbett Kroehler
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