- Effective infrastructure – we need to establish the right processes to allow for effective recycling
- Consumer behaviour – once the necessary infrastructure is in place, we need to make recycling part of ‘the everyday’, educating consumers on how to recycle and making them aware of where they can recycle
We need to make sure that the plastic we use doesn’t end up in the natural environment. And we’re committed to helping address these challenges in order to save our natural world.
Addressing the challenge: one country at a time
Unfortunately, only 29% of France’s households’ plastic is currently properly recycled, which is significantly lower than the European average. Residents don’t yet have the necessary recycling awareness to make it part of a daily routine.
We want to change this and address the challenges head on.
We’re delighted to announce that Vanish will be turning France pink in order to raise awareness and action on recycling through an innovative new partnership with French start-up company Yoyo.
Vanish x Yoyo partnership: the details
Yoyo’s mission is to: ‘achieve 100% recycling of waste’. The company is known for its impressive track record of improving recycling rates of the plastic material PET, thanks to its agile and innovative approach to recycling.
Through driving community action, Yoyo hopes to give plastic many lives – just as Vanish strives to give clothes many lives. The process works by:
- A network of ‘coaches’ distribute recycling bags to homes across France for consumers to fill with their used plastic products
- This packaging is then processed, sorted and recycled
It’s easy for the consumer and they even get rewards each time their plastics are recycled, as an incentive
The Yoyo recycling system has proven to be extremely popular with a commonly used plastic material called PET (e.g. used for drinks bottles), with more than 50,000 households and 500 collection points having signed up to the scheme.
We are now taking the approach and applying to another type of plastic commonly used in packaging called HDPE (e.g. used for many RB products) which also has low recycling rates. We have invested in a new series of Yoyo bags – which have been designed in Vanish’s signature pink colour – and committed to supporting a team of new coaches and sorters. The bags will be distributed to more than 500 households across Lyon in an initial pilot launch.
To encourage consumers, we will also be offering a range of RB products and other rewards like cinema vouchers as a ‘thank you’ for contributing to the recycling scheme.
Vanish x Yoyo partnership: the outcome
Over the next 5 months, our pilot aims to collect a minimum of 1 tonne of plastic equivalent to 33000 bottles, across 10 districts of Lyon.
This also represents continuity with the existing partnership between Veolia group and RB. Veolia is joining the initiative as a technical expert who will also process the collected packaging waste from this programme and trial producing valuable material we can use again in our packaging.
We’ll not only collect RB products, but also packaging from other companies and brands. The recycled material will then be tested, to see if we can reuse it in RB products.
This is just the beginning. We cannot be complacent when it comes to protecting the planet. And if this pilot is a success, we look forward to scaling up with Yoyo, to bring more recycling opportunities across France – and beyond.
To find out more please visit https://yoyo.eco/projets/vanish/