GERMANTOWN — Germantown Laundromat, a solar- and wind-powered laundromat and sustainable shop, has teamed up with TerraCycle to offer the community a solution to recycle traditionally unrecyclable waste through the Zero Waste Box program.   As a business, Germantown Laundromat is committed to helping customers explore what it means to live a cleaner life, to combat throwaway culture and to make more sustainable and ethical choices. With the Bathroom Separation Zero Waste Box, customers can conveniently drop off all non-recyclable waste generated in their bathrooms, including bath and shower accessories and health and personal care packaging. After they have recycled their empty products, shoppers can purchase zero-waste alternatives in the laundromat’s sustainability shop.   A Safety Equipment and Protective Gear Zero Waste Box is stationed by the shop’s front doors to collect and recycle all PPE used by customers, staff and community members. Germantown Laundromat also installed TerraCycle’s Cigarette Receptacles outside for smokers to responsibly dispose of their extinguished cigarettes.   “We provide TerraCycle boxes for products that are not compostable or recyclable through regular channels. This helps address the final stage of a product’s life cycle in order to keep it out of the landfill,” said Tracy Martin, owner of Germantown Laundromat. “Businesses and consumers need to consider the full life cycle of everything they purchase in order to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible.”   The conventionally unrecyclable waste collected through the Zero Waste Boxes would have otherwise been landfilled, incinerated, or may have even contributed to the pollution of marine habitats. The collected packaging will now be recycled into a variety of new products such as park benches, bike racks, shipping pallets and recycling bins.   TerraCycle, the world’s leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams, created the Zero Waste Box program to provide solutions for difficult-to-recycle waste that cannot be recycled through TerraCycle’s brand-sponsored, national recycling programs or via standard municipal recycling.   In addition to employing the Zero Waste Box program, Germantown Laundromat offers eco-friendly washers and dryers, mending and repair services for damaged clothes, a clothing donation program, and a bulk refill station to decrease packaging waste. The laundromat prides itself on ensuring its commitment to the environment while educating the community on ways to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle.   “Our business spends a lot of time thinking about the full life cycle of the products we use in our day-to-day lives -- from laundry detergent, to toothbrushes and toilet paper. We sell only items made to last that will not fuel the throwaway nature that we have all grown accustomed to in this country,” said Martin. “By learning about the impact our buying choices can have on our earth and bodies — we can begin to make more sustainable and ethical choices together.   More information regarding Germantown Laundromat can be found by visiting their website, www.germantownlaundromat.com. All collected materials from the Zero Waste Box program are sent to TerraCycle for recycling, where they undergo a series of treatments before getting turned into new items. For more information on TerraCycle, please visit www.TerraCycle.com.   TerraCycle offers Zero Waste Boxes for nearly every category of waste. By purchasing Zero Waste Boxes, companies and consumers save trash from landfills and help reach TerraCycle’s goal of creating a waste-free world.