Brookfield Introduces Zero-Waste Packaging at Two Properties
Partnering with the company Loop, the real estate firm is testing the system which will allow tenants at One Blue Slip and Brookfield Place to shop while eliminating disposable packaging.
NEW YORK CITY—We’ve all heard about it—the threat of non-biodegradable trash polluting the oceans at an alarming rate. The New York Times, March 22, 2018 article, “’The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ Is Ballooning, 87,000 Tons of Plastic and Counting,” describes the problem.
We wash and sort our garbage, tossing plastics and other packaging materials into recycling bins hoping we’re not contributing to the oceanic garbage patch. But we silently wonder what amount of what we’re throwing away is actually going to end up being part of the tons of plastic debris destroying our environment?
Brookfield has taken a proactive step contracting with Loop, a zero-waste packaging company that gets consumers and manufacturers to use recyclable containers. In Loop’s first pilot program with a real estate company in the US, Brookfield will test the system starting with its multifamily property One Blue Slip and with Brookfield employees at their office in Brookfield Place.
In partnerships with brands such as Clorox, Tide, Häagen Dazs and Seventh Generation, Loop allows customers to order everyday products in reusable containers instead of disposable plastic packaging. Customers can purchase name brand items they regularly use such as laundry detergent, pints of ice cream, soap, deodorant, salad dressing and spices, on loopstore.com. When finished, the consumers return the empty containers at designated places.
In concept, it’s simple. Brookfield explains, “The model is a modern take on the age-old milkmen, who decades ago delivered reusable bottles filled with milk to homes and later picked them up to be refilled.” Loop successfully launched in France earlier this month.
“At Brookfield, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to enhance the sustainability of our properties, to make it easier for our tenants that want to act sustainably to do so, and to add amenities that make our tenants lives easier and more convenient,” says Sara Fay, VP, Brookfield Properties. “Loop can provide us an opportunity for us to do all three.” She notes if the program is successful the real estate firm will expand it to other tenants.
“Loop’s partnership with Brookfield will help us innovate future expansion of the Loop platform including B2B deliveries and drop-off points while offering residents the exclusive opportunity to access a limited number of spaces in the pilot program,” says TerraCycle and Loop CEO Tom Szaky. He adds Loop plans to expand to other markets including international ones.
The 359-unit, luxury rental apartment, One Blue Slip, is located at Greenpoint Landing on the Brooklyn waterfront. Brookfield Place New York, formerly called the World Financial Center, is a 14-acre, five-building complex along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan. The complex houses a shopping center, public space and offices including the headquarters of Brookfield Office Properties.