Trenton-based TerraCycle, a company known for “recycling-the-unrecyclable,” announced record expansion and revenue growth.

YVR’s waste management program was recently selected as the winner of the 2018 ACI-NA Environmental Achievement Awards in the Environmental Management Award category.

The connections to the U.S. industry aren't always obvious, but they do exist. For one, U.S.-based firms like the Closed Loop Partners are heavily involved in funding for cleaning and mitigating marine debris. Others, such as TerraCycle, are part of the push to find new uses for that material.

Henkel announced a new partnership with the organization Waste Free Oceans to gather plastic waste from waterways and turn it into Lovable laundry brand bottles. The German chemical and consumer goods company aims to have enough for at least 1 million bottles.

On foot, by bicycle, through water and combinations of the above, distance races such as marathons and ocean races are a global phenomenon. Running and cycling races have become a big business in recent years, due to the opportunity for sponsorship and the brand affinity that comes with it. Races including Tough Mudder, the Boston Marathon and the Tour de France have taken their place among sporting events such as the Super Bowl and the World Cup for the name recognition. But instead of paying to watch, fans are paying (and training) to play.

“Drink more water” is a prescription that for too many people around the world is easier said than done. As it stands, one in ten people (663 million people - twice the population of the United States) are currently living without access to safe water. Cited by the World Economic Forum as being the #1 global risk to society in terms of devastation and impact, this water crisis stands in the way of the health, safety and economic empowerment of people in both developing countries and first world nations.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year. The foundation that leads the world in celebrating Earth Day, called Earth Day Network, is focusing this year’s Earth Day on ending plastic pollution, an epidemic that is poisoning our earth’s resources.

TerraCycle has partnered with Colgate and ShopRite in the 2018 Recycled Playground Challenge. Students will compete for one of two recycled playgrounds for their school in the biggest contest in the promotion’s history. Schools in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, and Maryland can compete for two new playgrounds made of recycled material.

Tom Szaky is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a global leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams. TerraCycle operates in 21 countries, working with the world’s largest brands and companies to create national platforms to recycle products and packaging that currently go to landfill or incineration. Through TerraCycle, Tom is pioneering new waste management processes to create circular solutions for materials such as cigarette butts, laboratory waste, coffee capsules, personal and oral care waste and even food packaging that otherwise have no other path to be recycled.

If you reach a sudsy arm out from behind the shower curtain and toss your empty shampoo bottle in the trash, you’re not alone. According to DoSomething.org, 50 percent of people in the U.S. don’t recycle personal care items. And failing to recycle bathroom products means 552 million plastic bottles could wind up in U.S. landfills every year, according to Johnson & Johnson.