About TerraCycle®
TerraCycle® is a social enterprise on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste.
Here’s how you start Eliminating the Idea of Waste®
The recyclables we collect are aggregated at our facilities, mechanically and/or manually separated into fabrics, metals, fibers, and plastics, and sent to third party subcontracting facilities for processing and conversion work. Once converted into usable material, it is sent to a wide network of end-users who incorporate the recycled material into their final products.
Fabrics are reused, upcycled or recycled as appropriate. Metals are smelted into bars so they may be recycled. The fibers (such as paper or wood-based products) are recycled or composted. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.
In terms of PPE waste, these materials are crushed into a densified crumb that can be recycled and used to make plastic lumber that is found in composite decking, outdoor furniture and plastic shipping pallets.
Free Recycling Programs
TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. Simply choose the programs you’d like to join; start collecting in your home, school, or office; download free shipping labels; and send us your waste to be recycled. You can even earn rewards for your school or favorite non-profit!
To date, over 202 million people are collecting in 21 countries and have collected billions of pieces of waste, raising over 44 million dollars for charities around the world.
Zero Waste Box™ platform (purchase required)
TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box™ platform allows you to recycle almost any type of waste, from your coffee capsules to complex laboratory waste. Choose the waste stream you’d like to recycle, purchase your preferred box size, collect your waste, and send it to TerraCycle to be repurposed (shipping back is included). Zero Waste Boxes™ are available for purchase via our Zero Waste Box™ website and many major retailers.
Municipal programs
TerraCycle partners with many municipalities around the world to provide zero waste solutions such as city-wide programs for recycling cigarette butts.
Industrial waste solutions
TerraCycle partners with many manufacturing facilities around the world to help recycle hard-to-recycle waste at the facility level. Our programs range from helping to recycle large volumes of packaging scrap to personal safety equipment. We also provide zero waste consulting and closed-loop R&D support.
Regulated waste recycling
TerraCycle's regulated waste division provides products and services to help you facilitate the effective and compliant management of regulated, universal and hazardous waste. This may include fluorescent lamps, bulbs, batteries, and e-waste as well as organic waste, medical waste and other waste streams that are potentially harmful to the environment.
Loop
From the minds at TerraCycle, Loop offers your favorite products in beautiful, counter-worthy containers that can be refilled again and again, changing the way the world shops. Buy trusted brands reimagined in durable packages conveniently delivered right to your door. Best part? We’ll pick up your empties and ship new when done.
TerraCycle Global Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit
TerraCycle's affiliated non-profit, the TerraCycle Global Foundation, is on a mission to address the complex challenges of the waste crisis in emerging countries around the world. In Thailand, their work is focused on collecting river plastics and debris from polluted waterways and engaging the local community. Launching in India next, they are partnering with local waste collector groups to recycle plastic sachet waste—an increasing litter problem. Learn about and support the mission at www.terracyclefoundation.org.
The TerraCycle solution
TerraCycle reuses, upcycles, and recycles waste instead of landfilling it. This moves waste from a linear system to a circular one, allowing it to keep cycling in our economy.
In the News
The latest newspaper and magazine articles, blogs, and social content can be found below.
If you are a member of the media and would like to learn more about TerraCycle, please visit our Media Room.
Post Malone’s Maison No.9 Wine: Is it worth the hype?
Over the years, rap music has become synonymous with a number of topics, including alcohol. So much so, that even the most unschooled among us are likely to be able to rattle off the names of several high-profile drinks mentioned … Continue Reading
Yahoo! News · Dec 16, 2020Rodan + Fields Expands Partnership With TerraCycle To Increase Recycling Aimed At Reducing Packaging Waste
TORONTO – Rodan + Fields, a leading skincare brand in North America, in partnership with international recycling leader, TerraCycle, announce the expansion of the Rodan + Fields Recycling Program, already available in the United States, throughout Australia and Canada. In line with the company’s Do … Continue Reading
Waste 360 · Dec 15, 2020Coronavirus: More Montreal communities adopting PPE recycling
Two more Montreal-area communities are making it easier to recycle personal protective equipment. Authorities in the cities of Vaudreuil-Dorion and Pointe-Claire have set up boxes at various locations where people can drop off the items. Officials in both cities say it’s … Continue Reading
Dec 3, 2020History
TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a student at Princeton University, on a mission towards Eliminating the Idea of Waste®. From these humble beginnings TerraCycle has grown into the global leader in collecting and repurposing hard-to-recycle waste: operating in over 20 countries, engaging over 80 million people, and recycling billions of pieces of waste through various innovative platforms.
Awards
TerraCycle has won over 200 awards for social entrepreneurship and sustainable business.
Inside TerraCycle
TerraCycle is like no other waste management company in the world. Our offices around the world are made entirely from upcycled waste, our walls are covered in ever-changing graffiti from local artists, and we thrive on a culture of transparency and high-energy innovation. To see a day in the life of a TerraCycle employee, tune in to our critically acclaimed TV show, “Human Resources,” on Pivot, or look through our available careers and internships to experience it for yourself.
