«Recycle me» is the call to customers of the new design of Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste tubes, which have begun to be released in the United States. The company has already completely and radically redesigned such toothpaste lines as Optic White Advanced, Cavity Protection, Max Fresh Cool and Total Whitening and is planning these changes for the remaining toothpastes by 2023.

Such a bold design change should draw attention and inform consumers about the recyclability of plastic toothpaste tubes. Naturally, such a design is confirmed by real developments. Prior to the launch of the Recycle Me program, Colgate-Palmolive's tubes were approved by RecyClass as recyclable via HDPE streams.

It should be noted that traditionally toothpaste tubes are made from mixed materials and are not suitable for further processing. The tubes presented by Colgate are made of high density polyethylene, which is commonly used for packaging milk and detergents. This material is tough. But Colgate engineers managed to combine different layers of HDPE to create a squeezable tube.

To promote recyclable tubes, Colgate even shared information about its developments with other companies, including competitors.

Materials from the website packaginginsights.com were used.