Trenton, New Jersey-based Bimbo Bakeries USA, the largest baking company in the United States, has partnered with international recycling leader TerraCycle to make its bread, buns, bagels and English muffin bags in the United States nationally recyclable. As an added incentive, for every pound of packaging waste sent to TerraCycle through the Bimbo Bakeries USA Bag Recycling Program, collectors earn points that can be used for charitable gifts or converted to cash and donated to non-profit organizations of their choice.
“Because plastic bags, like those used in our packaging, are not recyclable today through household recycling streams, most end up in landfills. Expanding our partnership with TerraCycle enables consumers across the country to easily recycle our plastic bags from their own homes at no charge,” said Fred Penny, president of Bimbo Bakeries USA. “This was an important, immediate action for our company as we work toward our commitment of 100 percent sustainable packaging by 2025. As the first and only baking company to partner with TerraCycle, we have already recycled more than 5 million pounds of waste and look forward to enabling consumers to divert more millions of pounds of plastic from landfills.”
To recycle empty bread, buns, bagels and English muffin bags, sign up on the TerraCycle program page terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/bimbo-bakeries-usa, collect packaging and mail it in using the free prepaid shipping label. All submitted packaging is cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.
“At TerraCycle, our mission has always been to eliminate waste, recycle the unrecyclable and use our innovative business solutions to minimize human impact on the planet,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “It’s through lasting partnerships like the one we enjoy with Bimbo Bakeries USA that allow us to fulfill our objective and help preserve the environment for future generations.”
The Bimbo Bakeries USA Bag Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office or community organization.