Albatross Blade Take Back Program
Albatross Blade Take Back Program
Check if there is a Blade Take Back drop-off location near you.
The Albatross Blade Take Back Program originally started because not all municipal recycling companies currently accept used razor blades. It was a way for us to ensure that our products would be truly Zero Waste and cradle-to-cradle. But, from the inception of this program we had more ambitious goals. Namely, that we wouldn’t just recycle the steel through a downward spiral of convention, but upcycle it into products as robust or more robust as the blades themselves. And, of course, if we are designing these subsequent products, they too will, necessarily, create a direct, positive environmental impact.
So far the program has been kicking proverbial butt, and we are amazed by the amazing response from our awesome customers. The Blade Take Back program began slowly. When we started we only asked for your blades if you lived in an area with a recycling center that did not accept blades. Then we started trying to get more and more blades as we got more and more dialed in with what the heck to do with all these blades! Now, we have set the goal of Taking Back all the blades we produce. It is ambitious but we think can.
High quality stainless steel like that found in most shaving blades can be an infinitely reusable material, and we want to prevent as much of this material as possible from entering, say, landfills. We actively encourage our customers – and users of any other brand of double edged shaving blades—to please send us your used blades so that we can upcycle them into other awesome things!
HOW To Participate:
Albatross customers receive a small envelope with their blades. Used blades can be collected in this envelope. Once full simply insert the small envelope into any other envelope at least 3.5” X 5” large (USPS minimum) and send to:
Albatross Designs Europe Srl
PO Box 86
22100 Como, Italy
If you are sending another brand’s blades to us, please make sure to use at least a double envelope to send us back your blades. You can store and ship your blades in a variety of containers, such as used pill bottles, a used soup can duct taped on one end, or by using a heavy weight internal envelope inserted into another envelope as is our standard procedure.
What are we making from the used blades?
As of December 2019 we are thrilled to introduce our first product made in part from Upcycled Shaving Blades: Albatross Take Back Ware
All our design work so far has centered around the question:
“What can we make out of these used blades that will maximize direct, positive environmental benefit?”
Our Take Back Ware aims to help address the more than 100 Million plastic utensils thrown away each day in the US alone!
Moreover, we are always interested in collaboration with bright minds. If you think you have a good idea for a product to be made from our used blades and want to talk about it, please e-mail us at ciao@albatrossdesigns.eu with “TAKE BACK PRODUCT IDEA” in the subject line.