What to do with an empty shampoo bottle or an empty cream jar?

Nurme loves zero waste lifestyle

Do you also feel an increasing responsibility to save nature and the environment? We feel it. And we are really pleased to see that more and more of our customers are looking for environmentally friendly and sustainable packaging in addition to valuable content. Nurme loves the ZERO WASTE lifestyle and has therefore increasingly added environmentally friendly cardboard packaging or packaging-free products to its product range, such as soaps, solid shampoos, and deodorants.

It is also possible to purchase refill packs for filling existing shampoo, shower gel, and handwashing soap plastic bottles. To package the products ordered from the online store, we also only use second and third round “garbage” as packaging material, which comes to us from recycling. There is also a sticker on the inside of each package, which in turn invites you to reuse this material again.

Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver all good cosmetic products to you without packaging, which is why Nurme’s liquid shampoos and hair conditioners, creams, oils, and liquid soaps arrive in plastic packaging.

Plastic. Plastic! PLASTIC !?

Plastic is a polymer and has many different variations, for example, 35 different plastics are classified and sorted in Estonia. It is the type of plastic used for packaging that leaves a significant mark on the environment. Here we feel that it’s important to emphasize the following – NURME USES 100% RECYCLABLE PLASTIC PACKAGING!

But is plastic really as bad as it seems?

Nurme’s good friend Madara Cosmetics from Latvia has compiled a table that characterizes the great environmental impact of the production of different types of packaging (“A Holistic View of the Role of Flexible Packaging in a Sustainable World” 2018 (flexpack.org)). We can see from the table that the environmental footprint of plastic packaging is actually smaller than, for example, glass or aluminum because its production requires 15 times less water and emits 5 times less greenhouse gases to produce one unit.

The main problem today is that only 1 in every three plastic bottles produced is recycled and the remaining 2 are waiting to be dismantled in a landfill or, more sadly, on the seabed.

That is why we call on all good people who care about the environment – do not throw plastic packaging in a rubbish bin, but send it to recycling!

Get started today!

At the moment, an emergency situation has been established in Estonia, and perhaps you have time to review the possibilities of how to recycle the packaging you create at home. Have you ever collected and counted how many plastic cosmetic packages your family uses in a month – cream jars, shampoos, conditioners, body scrubs, liquid soaps, etc.? How much plastic packaging does it produce in a year? This amount may surprise you. We are often used to throwing an empty plastic package in the household rubbish bin under the kitchen sink, and it seems that we have gotten rid of the empty bottle. But in reality, you could have a chance to help reduce your footprint and be environmentally friendly, and set a good example for your children and loved ones.

But how to start? It’s easy!

In fact, Nurme has already taken the first step for you. Nurme has entered into an agreement with the Producer Responsibility Organization (TVO), which is actively engaged in the development of the packaging waste collection system, creating a convenient and accessible service for all people across Estonia. If we have to pay garbage bills every month to take away household waste, then we can all give away clean packaging waste FREE OF CHARGE – packaging companies, like Nurme, have already paid for it for you. Thus, you can take your sorted packages conveniently to a public packaging point. You can find the nearest packaging point at www.tvo.ee/pakendipunktid or kuhuviia.ee.

Please do not throw away empty packaging in the household rubbish.

As all Nurme plastic packaging is 100% recyclable, do not throw empty packaging in the household rubbish. Instead, aim to recycle as much material as possible. In order to start recycling, waste should first be collected separately – bio-waste, paper waste, and plastic waste should be separated. Because no one is ready to reuse “compote” from potato peelings, milk cartons, shampoo bottles, diapers, etc. It would simply take too much energy and water to wash and clean it. In addition, landfilling packaging waste together with other municipal waste causes significant damage to nature, as it takes hundreds of years to decompose and turn into soil, and even thousands of years for plastic packaging.

Disposal of plastic packaging is made really convenient

Collecting and handing over plastic packaging has been made even easier for all homeowners. Namely, some waste managers offer the possibility to collect all clean packaging, including cosmetic packaging and shampoo bottles, in a packaging bag, which is taken away once a month FREE OF CHARGE. This makes it even more convenient for you to recycle packaging while also making a great contribution to the environment.

Nurme can’t take back empty plastic packages for recycling

We are often asked whether empty Nurme cream jars or shampoo bottles could be returned to us to be refilled? In fact, we don’t have anything to do with these empty plastic packaging either, other than to put it in the packaging container ourselves. This is because plastic packaging cannot be disinfected or sterilized, it simply cannot withstand this process. However, it is extremely important for us that the product we make is packaged in clean and sterile packaging to prevent microbes from entering the product. This is a very important part of the producer’s responsibility. Therefore, Nurme never reuses the same plastic packaging and does not sell it to its customers.

New life of recycled packaging

However, we strongly recommend that you reuse empty packaging at home. For example, you can use the packaging of Nurme creams or body scrubs to store buttons-needles, hair bands, spices, chalks, pencils, etc. Or find a place for them in the garage as a screw cup. If you wish, you can easily remove the stickers on the packaging.

But what about the packaging you clean, collect, and recycle? They are further sorted and classified according to the material. They are then crushed and thoroughly cleaned and reconstituted. The Nurme cream jar you used can become a new cosmetic package, sportswear, handbag or even a wall socket 🙂

? Together we keep the world clean. With our whole Nurme family, we are grateful to you and say THANK YOU for caring! ?