Recycle icon papercut illustration with plant leaf and bird animals. Eco-friendly recycling symbol, reuse waste cycle concept. 3d cutout in recycled paper background for ecology campaign.

SC Johnson announced the launch of a new partnership with La Anónima, a local Argentine chain of supermarkets, and CEMPRE (Compromiso Empresarial para el Reciclaje), a leading environmental group, to increase recycling rates and capture more plastic and other recyclable waste material in the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile.  

The partnership with CEMPRE and La Anónima includes the installation of an ecopoint, or collection center, that will be centrally located near Muelle Comandante Piedra Buena to increase consumer access to recycling. At this collection point, consumers will be able to drop off paper and cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminum, steel and tin for repurposing. 

“SC Johnson is pleased to partner with La Anónima and CEMPRE in Argentina as part of our efforts to help create a waste-free world,” says Alan VanderMolen, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Office at SC Johnson. “The global plastic pollution crisis knows no boundaries, and it will take collective action to solve it in order to protect vital ecosystems like Patagonia for this and future generations.”

The ecopoint is made of 100 percent recycled plastic and the roof is made of polyaluminium from recycled tetrabrik containers. The ecopoint also includes a solar hot water tank, LED lighting powered by solar panels and an onsite composter for food waste. It will be accessible 24 hours a day and offer a USB charging station for 10 cell phones.

The initiative will include an in-store educational campaign in and around where Lysoform, Glade and Duck products are sold in La Anónima stores to educate consumers about the importance of recycling. The program also includes training for local community environmental groups, and ongoing waste management analysis. Program activities have started in Argentina and will be expanded to include the Patagonia region of Chile in early 2022.

In Latin America, an estimated 541,000 tons of waste is generated every day – a number that is expected to increase 25 percent by 2050. With the recycling rate in the Southern Cone currently below the Latin American average of 15 percent, this partnership will serve to generate awareness about the need to capture more recyclable materials and provide a means for recycling and repurposing this material.

“Partnering with SC Johnson and CEMPRE allows us to create a more environmentally friendly lifecycle for the products we sell, while giving consumers an easy way to recycle,” says Nicolas Braun, General Manager at La Anónima. “We are pleased to be able to offer the community a unique opportunity to divert waste from the environment or landfills and responsibly recycle it.” 

To further raise awareness, a beach cleanup was held on October 16 in Muelle Comandante Piedra Buena and Kaiser beaches, located in Puerto Madryn. Local environmental groups, waste pickers and municipal staff collected trash on the beach and divers collected waste from the surrounding waters. All of the recyclable materials were gathered by trucks from the municipality and taken to be recycled. Puerto Madryn is a protected natural area and UNESCO World Heritage site and has significant environmental importance in the region as it is the largest breeding site for whales, the Magellanic penguin, the elephant seal and sea lions. 

“We thank SC Johnson for leading this initiative through which we can inspire the community with the importance of recycling and reusing items that may otherwise be headed to a landfill,” says Sergio Bon, Executive Director at CEMPRE. “From an environmental standpoint, the Patagonia region is important to not only the communities that live there but for the ecological diversity of plants and animals that call the area home, and we must protect this fragile ecosystem.”