It’s no secret that municipal recycling programs are largely failing, and China’s announcement one year ago that they would no longer buy the world’s plastic refuse by the shipload has created an even larger backpile of waste. Actually, there are some who say that China’s ban was a blessing in disguise, since most of what we sent there in unsorted bales was un-recoverable (they mostly only made use of plastic numbers 1, 2, and 5) and ended up being disposed of improperly (back into the water or landfills; different continent, same earth). Besides the single-use plastic waste that’s finally starting to get the attention it deserves, we have piles and piles of what can be called “complex waste”; materials that most municipalities can’t afford to separate and ship to someone who could salvage it. Even if consumers and distributors of every day goods are able to make drastic strides towards a closed-loop economy, it’s hard to imagine a world where we don’t have industrial, construction, medical, and other inevitable waste streams. TerraCycle, founded in 2001 by an ambitious college freshman, has found viable, profitable solutions to some of our worst long-term waste problems.

TerraCycle has culminated 17 years of working complex recycling problems with an accomplished 2018, which included the acquisition of AirCycle, a leader in recycling mercury-containing bulbs and other electronics, and qualifying for a $25 Million Capital A Raise with the SEC (which just means that anyone can buy shares, but the company is not yet publicly traded on the stock exchange). Out of an unassuming, graffiti covered, upcycle-loving headquarters in Trenton, NJ, TerraCycle is forging profitable connections between consumers with an abundance of waste, cutting-edge science, and willing buyers of recovered material. By partnering with some major producers of plastic packaging such as Bausch and Lomb, L’Oreal, Tom’s of Maine, and others, they have created programs in 21 countries that are lucrative enough to provide free mail-in programs to the general public, and then allow participants to elect a charity of their choice to donate their accrued “points”. In addition to brand-sponsored programs, TerraCycle sells categorized collection boxes for larger amounts of waste such as electronics, small automotive parts, cooking oil, and office supplies.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Either sign up for a specific program (usually you will be put on a waitlist) or purchase a box to place in a communal space, such as your school, office, gym, or other organization.
2.  Receive a free shipping label or other special instructions with your box.
3. Tell friends, family, and colleagues about your program and collect as much as you can to ship back in.
4. TerraCycle sorts and finds solutions, whether by selling material directly back to the sponsoring companies to recover as packaging, creating plastic resin or lumber to use in playgrounds, benches, etc., or creating upcycled goods to sell on their Etsy marketplace. 
5. You collect points to elect dollars to be sent to a charity of your choice.

For a limited time, Colgate and Sam’s Club are sponsoring a free shipping label program, no wait list required, to recycle all of your mouth things! Check out TerraCycle for more information on all of the above.