Berry Plastics and Preserve Form Marketing Partnership

Consumer packaging company Berry Plastics Group, Evansville, Ind., and Preserve, a producer of recycled-content plastic plates and toothbrushes, have launched a marketing partnership that targets the recycling of polypropylene plastics.

Polypropylene (PP) is commonly used for products such as yogurt cups, butter and margarine tubs and plastic drink cups.

The partnership will build on Preserve’s Gimme 5 program, which it touts as “a consumer-powered recycling program that provides recycling options for #5 (PP) plastics.” Through the program, individuals can take their PP to specified recycling bins at participating retail locations, or mail them directly to Preserve. In turn, Preserve collects the plastic, sorts it, cleans it, tests it, recycles it and turns it into new Preserve products.

“The avenues available for recycling polypropylene have steadily increased through recent years, with more than 62 percent of Americans now having access to at least one such alternative,” says Jon Rich chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics. “Even though recycling venues have increased, at Berry Plastics we believe it is prudent to do our part to encourage recycling and to promote the available recycling avenues. For this reason, we are extremely excited to partner with Preserve to increase the awareness of their Gimme 5 program and the opportunity it creates to help educate the public on a viable second life for our products.”

Other Gimme 5 partners include Stonyfield, Brita, and Burt’s Bees. Since 2008, Gimme 5 participants have dropped off more than 250 tons of recycled yogurt cups, butter and cottage cheese containers and other #5 plastic packages at the more than 245 Whole Foods Market stores and select independent cooperative markets across the United States.

“Preserve is excited and honored to have Berry Plastics join the Gimme 5 program,” says Eric Hudson, founder and CEO of Preserve. “As one of the largest purchasers of polypropylene in the United States, their ground-breaking sponsorship will highlight Gimme 5’s innovative efforts to recycle #5 plastics.”

Those wishing to view a video on the Gimme 5 process can click here.