Colgate and ShopRite Give Schools Something to Smile About
TRENTON, N.J., (March 10, 2021) – New for 2021, Colgate, ShopRite and TerraCycle announced the start of the Colgate® and ShopRite® School Challenge.
After a year of virtual learning and hybrid schedules, Colgate, ShopRite and international recycling leader TerraCycle have come together to sponsor a contest among participating schools in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Maryland. The schools will compete for prize packages worth a combined total of over $92,000 consisting of new desks, chairs, backpacks, pencil cases and pens, all made from recycled oral care waste and packaging.
“The Colgate brand is in more homes than any other, so we believe we have the responsibility — and opportunity — to create a healthier, more sustainable future for all,” said Dana Medema, Vice President, Oral Care, ColgateNorth America. “Partnering with TerraCycle and Shoprite will help us not only eliminate plastic waste but also convert used packaging into valuable, beautiful products for our communities. That’s a big win for the triple bottom line!”
Between now and June 30th, schools located in the eligible states are urged to visit https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/colgateshopriteschoolcontest2021 and register for the Colgate and ShopRite School Challenge. Participants are encouraged to collect and recycle used oral care waste and packaging, such as empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and floss containers through the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program. With each shipment sent for recycling, participants earn “Supply Credits.” Additionally, schools can earn extra Supply Credits by voting online on the contest page for the registered school of their choice. In the end, the school with the most credits will be awarded the grand prize package.
“ShopRite is excited to work again with partners Colgate and TerraCycle to help students and schools, especially after such a difficult year,” said Robert Zuehlke, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility for ShopRite. “The School Challenge helps us teach students that even small actions to protect the environment can pay big dividends in our communities.”
“In a year of quarantining, virtual school schedules and missing family and friends, TerraCycle, ShopRite and Colgate have come together to give students, teachers and all the communities affected by COVID-19 something to look forward to when we’re back in the classroom for the 2021-2022 school year,” said TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Szaky. “So while we wait and do our part to end the pandemic, this challenge is about giving the communities we serve a chance to start the year off right with new school supplies that are not only made from oral care waste, but are something to smile about.”
Through June 30, each unit (“unit” defined as 0.02 lbs of used, post-consumer oral care products and packaging) of oral care waste that is sent to TerraCycle for recycling earns the participating schools one (1) ‘School Supplies Credit’ towards winning the grand prize set of school supplies made from recycled oral care waste that has been cleaned, processed, and remolded. The school with the most School Supplies Credits at the conclusion of the contest period will be named the winner and the prize package will be awarded in the fall. The first and second runner-up schools will also be awarded with sets of recycled school supplies similar to the grand prize.
Full set of rules for the “Colgate and ShopRite School Challenge” can be viewed here.
Open to any individual, family, school or community group interested in helping to protect the environment, TerraCycle also offers the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Program. For each piece of oral care waste and the associated packaging sent to TerraCycle using a pre-paid shipping label, participants can earn money toward the school or charity of their choice.
To learn more about the Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Program and to sign up, please visit www.terracycle.com/colgate.
About Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet. Focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition, the Company sells its products in more than 200 countries and territories under brands, such as Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, hello, meridol, Sorriso, Tom’s of Maine, EltaMD, Filorga, Irish Spring, PCA Skin, Protex, Sanex, Softsoap, Speed Stick, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Soupline and Suavitel, as well as Hill’s Science Diet and Hill’s Prescription Diet. The Company is recognized for its leadership and innovation in promoting environmental sustainability and community well-being, including its achievements in saving water, reducing waste, promoting recyclability and improving children’s oral health through its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program, which has reached more than one billion children since 1991. For more information about Colgate’s global business and how the Company is building a future to smile about, visit www.colgatepalmolive.com.
About ShopRite
ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, NJ, and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States. With nearly 280 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves millions of customers each week. Through its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, ShopRite is dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities it serves. Since the program began in 1999, ShopRite Partners In Caring has donated $50 million to food banks that support more than 2,200 worthy charities. As a title sponsor of the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, ShopRite has donated $34 million to local organizations, hospitals and community groups. For more information, please visit www.shoprite.com.
About TerraCycle
TerraCycle is an innovative waste management company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. Operating nationally across 20 countries, TerraCycle partners with leading consumer product companies, retailers and cities to recycle products and packages, from dirty diapers to cigarette butts, that would otherwise end up being landfilled or incinerated. In addition, TerraCycle works with leading consumer product companies to integrate hard to recycle waste streams, such as ocean plastic, into their products and packaging. Its new division, Loop, is the first shopping system that gives consumers a way to shop for their favorite brands in durable, reusable packaging. TerraCycle has won over 200 awards for sustainability and has donated over $44 million to schools and charities since its founding more than 15 years ago and was named #10 in Fortune magazine’s list of 52 companies Changing the World. To learn more about TerraCycle or get involved in its recycling programs, please visit www.terracycle.com
