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Dog park equipment made entirely from recycled plastic collected at local ShopRite stores is now open in West Orange.

Located at Essex County South Mountain Reservation Dog Park and created in partnership with Trenton-based recycling leader TerraCycle, the new gear was built using 4.6 tons of hard-to-recycle packaging, such as potato chip bags, candy wrappers, bread bags and pet food pouches.

The Aug. 27 reveal marked the conclusion of a year-long partnership between ShopRite and TerraCycle that sought not only to divert waste from landfills and give it a new life but also to show how collaboration and consumer engagement can drive sustainability.

“This project is a testament to how public-private partnerships and community engagement can transform waste into lasting, local impact,” TerraCycle said in a news release.

How it works

As part of the program, dedicated kiosks were set up outside five ShopRite stores in North Jersey that allowed customers to drop off all brands of flexible-film packaging. From there, the materials were sent to TerraCycle for cleaning, separation by type and recycling into raw formats that manufacturers use to make new products.

According to TerraCycle, over 9,125 pounds of flexible plastic was collected and processed into raw materials used to manufacture new, durable dog park equipment.

ShopRite, a member of Keasbey-headquartered Wakefern Food Corp., has long provided recycling programs for plastic bags. However, the company noticed an increase in other types of flexible-film being placed in these bins, so it wanted to offer customers a way to properly sort the material and return it for recycling.

A grand opening celebration at the dog park included representatives from Village Super Market and Glass Gardens Inc., the Wakefern Food Corp. members who operate the ShopRite stores that participated in the pilot. Project partners from consumer goods giants Purina, Procter & Gamble and The Campbell’s Co. were also on hand.