A year ago across Canada, New Jersey-based TerraCycle Inc. started recycling used cigarette butts into plastic pellets for packaging. It now collects close to a million butts a week.In other cases, medium-size Quebec cities have taken the lead in accepting some things in recycling bins that others yet don’t. In Victoriaville, for example, you can put Styrofoam in the bin, something Montreal doesn’t yet allow (the material is considered too expensive to process).
London Drugs has introduced recycling collection boxes for beauty-product packaging and chocolate wrappers at all 75 of their stores. The recycling program is in partnership with TerraCycle, Garnier and Nestlé.
"There's a misconception that garbage as we know it, has been around forever," says Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle. He means garbage in the modern concept. I spoke with Szaky this summer when he was on a business trip to Toronto - his hometown.
Having written about TerraCycle Canada earlier this year, I was curious to learn more about this innovative company. What better way than to ask the person who started it?
What do you think of this chandelier made out of shampoo bottles? It's amazing and creative. This is one example of how we can reuse or upcycle waste for instance shampoo bottles.
TerraCycle Canada is determined to keep as much waste from school lunches out of the landfill as possible. And it’s offering money to schools as an incentive.
Founded in 2001, the international upcycling company collects used packaging (juice pouches, plastic bags, wrappers) and hard-to-recycle products (flip-flops, cosmetics, pens) and gives them new life as funky pencil cases, plastic garbage bins and park benches.
By Karen Creed-Thompson from EcoParent magazine - www.ecoparent.ca
Founded in 2001 by Toronto native Tom Szaky, TerraCycle is a world leader in the collection and reuse of post-consumer waste. Actively collecting non-recyclable or hard to recycle materials and turning them into affordable green products, TerraCycle Canada has collected 4,038,378 units of waste to date and is forecasting 6,800,000 units for 2012, with its international operations collecting over 2.8 billion units of waste globally. TerraCycle Canada works with more than 14 major brands to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. Glad, Mr. Christie’s, Nestlé, Sally’s, Tassimo, Kool-Aid, Huggies and Garnier are just a few of the corporate giants already on board. The company’s Mississauga warehouse is filled with stockpiles of used products like sandwich bags, drink pouches, pens, inkjet cartridges, e-waste... and an assortment of other packaging from cookies, to personal care products. (A complete list of items for collection can be found at www. terracycle.ca.) All of this waste was reclaimed through TerraCycle’s Brigade® programs, which pay individuals and groups for the items they collect.
Imagine: Cigarette butts, whether on the street or in an ashtray, can now be turned into something useful. They could even help organizations do some modest fundraising.
Yes, butt recycling has arrived in Canada, thanks to a program launched mid-May by an innovative company called TerraCycle Canada (
terracycle.ca).
What will those butts become? Skids or pallets made from the plastic filters, according to TerraCycle. The organic leftovers — the tobacco and paper — will be composted.
Andrew Stewart works behind the snack bar at
The Fox and
The Revue Cinemas, two of Toronto’s independent single-screen movie houses.
There’s one thing that’s always bothered him: Garbage. A lot gets generated and dumped quickly as customers exit and staff blitzes the theatre between screenings. Naturally, recyclables, trash and compostables get all mixed up.
“I’ve always felt bad about it,” he confessed at a recent matinee.
Imagine: Cigarette butts, whether on the street or in an ashtray, can now be turned into something useful. They could even help organizations do some modest fundraising.
Yes, butt recycling has arrived in Canada, thanks to a program launched mid-May by an innovative company called TerraCycle Canada (
terracycle.ca).
What will those butts become? Skids or pallets made from the plastic filters, according to TerraCycle. The organic leftovers — the tobacco and paper — will be composted.
"Nothing needs to go to landfill. We're about finding solutions for as many types of waste as possible," says Denise Barnard, Director of Communications at TerraCycle Canada. I spoke with Denise to better understand the company behind the ever-increasing line of products I've been noticing around me. Upcycling is now a recognizable term for using every aspect of waste to create another product. How has the Canadian market been responding to the TerraCycle line of solutions and products? If the company's growth here is any indication, it seems that Canadians are ready to help change the concept of garbage fromwaste to useful.
