Carrefour, six partners team up for launching recycling kiosks in France

03 / 04 / 2023

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Carrefour has launched recycling kiosks in France where customers can come and drop off products that they don’t normally recycle and get a purchase voucher worth up to €15 in return.

Being the first in Europe, the initiative was spearheaded in collaboration with TerraCycle and five partners, all leaders in their respective categories; BIC, DIM, Hasbro, Philips and Tefal.

This initiative is for products that are not usually recycled and so can’t go in the recycling bin. Carrefour is using it to improve the way in which used products are recycled, while at the same time doing its bit to bolster its customers’ purchasing power.

To go even further, Carrefour has also installed recycling kiosks in its stores. Customers can use them to recycle six major categories of used products that they cannot normally disposed of in their recycling bins, and so which have not often been recycled until now; toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, razors and blades, writing implements, tights, stockings, mid-length stockings and synthetic fibre socks, damaged toys, and pans and casserole dishes.

When they recycle such items in this way, customers are given a purchase voucher of between €0.50 and €15. These are provided by the project’s various partners and given irrespective of the condition of the product in question or its brand (a customer can drop off a product of any brand, provided it is for the right category). These vouchers can be used to purchase partner-brand products. These include BIC pens, DIM tights, Hasbro toys, Philips razors and toothbrushes and Tefal pans and casserole dishes.

Carrefour has set up these recycling kiosks in the car parks of six of its stores in various locations throughout the country: Athis-Mons, Angoulins, Evreux, Laval, Nice-Lingostière, and Vaulx-en-Velin.

Until now, there were no local management channels for these six product categories, so most of them would end up getting incinerated or would be sent to landfill. For example, 60% of all old pans are currently discarded among household rubbish. Studies show that 95% of people in France would like the country’s economic stakeholders to play a more active role in recycling. Through this unique multi-brand initiative, Carrefour, TerraCycle, BIC, DIM, Hasbro, Philips and Tefal are providing an original, innovative solution for these products that many people thought could not be recycled.

Once they have been dropped off at the kiosks, all of these waste products are then handled by TerraCycle – an innovative player committed to tackling waste – which has developed recycling solutions for waste considered “difficult to recycle”.

The company assumes responsibility for picking up the waste from its matter recovery center in northern France and then converting it into recycled material. The handling and recycling of all these products will be financed by partner brands, regardless of the manufacturer’s origin. For example, tights, stockings, writing implements, razors and toothbrushes will be crushed, washed and converted into agglomerate or granules by TerraCycle. These granules can then be melted down and moulded by manufacturers to create new recycled objects – such as benches, flowerpots and construction materials.

To redeem their purchase vouchers, customers simply have to open the Recycle+Save web app by scanning the QR code of their kiosk, or by clicking this link and registering the products they have dropped off at the terminal when they go through the recycling kiosk. A completely computerized experience which rewards customers who recycle, making it easier for everybody.

“Thanks to this recycling facility set up in Carrefour store car parks, we are offering customers a simple, local solution. This will make it easier for them to recycle, rewarding them with a purchase voucher. Given the levels of inflation we are currently grappling with, it is important to demonstrate that we can protect the environment as well as people’s purchasing power,” said Carine Kraus, the Carrefour Group’s Executive Director of Engagement.

“We are delighted to be supporting this unique partnership which brings together major players such as Carrefour, BIC, Hasbro, Philips, Tefal and DIM, and which makes it easier for everybody to recycle a wide range of used products that are usually considered difficult to recycle. For people wanting to do more recycling, this is a concrete solution that is easy to access at everyday locations,” said Julien Tremblin, CEO of TerraCycle Europe.