TerraCycle: A New Trend in Recycling

If you have ever seen our blog before, you have probably noticed that we place a large emphasis on recycling unwanted goods and appropriate trash. Recycling is clearly a great way to help out our environment, but it has never been seen as an interactive process. Because after all, when we 'throw away', it never goes away, it ends up in a landfill.

Enter TerraCycle, a company that focuses on re-purposing materials (some not normally known as recyclable) and turning them into usable goods. Take a look at some of their awesome products below!

The interactivity aspect of TerraCycle's vision is highlighted by the brigade programs that the recyclables are funneled into. When signing up for TerraCycle you are asked to join a brigade program, which specifies what type of materials you want to collect. There are over forty different brigades, including cigarette waste, energy bar wrapper, solo cup, diaper packaging, candy wrapper, etc. People are encouraged to join multiple brigades. 

When your waste is ready to be sent in  a shipping label can be downloaded from the TerraCycle website and directions are given for the materials to be sent to the appropriate TerraCycle facility. 

Once the products are received by TerraCycle, points are given to the sender based on the amount of products sent in. At any point the points accumulated can be redeemed for a variety of charitable gifts. Gifts include donations to various organizations and schools. Over the course of the year, individual brigades and TerraCycle as a whole hold competitions where prizes are given based on the amount of materials submitted.

Users are able to track their points, as well as the points of their respective brigades in real time on TerraCycle's website. This is a great way to make recycling fun and competitive!

Check out the website for information on Terracycle's recycled products available for purchase. As well as their groundbreaking cigarette waste program and zero-waste boxes.