Illinois-based NOW has partnered with recycling expert TerraCycle (New Jersey) to divert NOW’s flexible packaging from landfills. The NOW Recycling Program enables consumers the opportunity to recycle their toothpaste tubes and flexible food and supplement pouches—items not accepted by most municipal recycling programs.

“We know our customers are as committed to protecting the environment as we are,” said NOW CEO Jim Emme. “Making it easy for people to recycle packaging that usually ends up in landfills is a natural extension of NOW’s 50-year commitment to being stewards of the earth.”

Consumers nationwide are encouraged to download a free shipping label to send empty NOW pouches and tubes to TerraCycle for processing at no cost. NOW is also offering its retail customers free, branded collection bins to set up in their stores along with the opportunity to serve as a drop off point for consumers. For every one pound of waste shipped to TerraCycle, collectors earn $1 to donate to a non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.

The NOW Recycling Program is the latest of NOW’s environmental initiatives, which includes its use of recycled shipping boxes, saving 12,000 trees annually; by diverting 100 percent of its e-waste from landfills, NOW in turn recycles 400 tons of material per year. Additionally, by using energy efficient lighting and water conservation measures, NOW further reduces its environmental footprint.

TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers and retailers around the world to help people collect and recycle hard-to-recycle waste. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned and melted into plastic pellets that can be remolded to make new recycled products.

For more information, visit www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/now.