TERRACYCLE NEWS

ELIMINATING THE IDEA OF WASTE®

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Method and TerraCycle partner for package recycling program;

Method, a maker of premium, eco-friendly household and personal care wipes and other products, and recycling company TerraCycle, Inc., have created a way for families to recycle their used packaging By joining the "Method Refill Brigade," families can collect their used soap refill packaging and send it to TerraCycle. For each unit of packaging received, TerraCycle and Method will pay two cents to a charity of the collector's choice. The collected packaging will be turned into trash cans, coolers and other home goods. "At Method, we make sure we're using safe and sustainable materials and that our products are manufactured responsibly," says Adam Lowry, Method co-founder. "That doesn't stop at our packaging. We make most of our bottles from 100% recycled plastic and we want to make sure once all of our bottles and pouches are empty, there is a way for them to be recycled." TerraCycle is a leader in collecting difficult-to-recycle packaging, and upcycling or recycling it into new products through TerraCycle's innovative processes, which have been rated as among the world's most carbon-saving waste solutions. Through its free fundraising programs called Brigades, TerraCycle and its sponsors pay an incentive for people to send in their packaging. To date, more than 1.8 billion pieces of waste have been kept out of landfills, almost $2 million has been paid to schools and nonprofits and almost 70,000 locations are sending their packaging to TerraCycle.

Packing a Greener Lunch

For example, Pultyniewicz said, instead of buying individual juice boxes for your child, purchase one large recyclable container of juice and reuse a thermos daily. If you decide to buy individual boxes of juice, choose brands with packaging that can be recycled. Apart from the plastic straw, wax-covered paper juice boxes are now recyclable in Montgomery County (see attached .pdf file for a detailed list about what can and can't be recycled in Montgomery County). Foil juice boxes, although not recycled through the county, are collected at some area schools as a fundraiser via TerraCycle, a company that makes new items from waste products. Any of these choices is ecologically preferable to a week's worth of juice containers piling up in the trash.

From the Food Court to the Compost Pile

There is a lively debate in the environmental community about composting. Just using products that are labeled “compostable” does not ensure that they will be properly composted. Compostable products that are sent to a landfill will not break down quickly if they are covered with other waste. “If you put it in the dump, it won’t degrade,” said Tom Szaky, the chief executive of Terracycle, a company that turns trash into new products. “If the cups and plates aren’t sent to a composter, forget it.”

Staying green through the fall with eco-friendly school lunches

This year, bringing green into the fall and winter is easy. While packing lunches for kids as they head back to school, options for staying eco-friendly and keeping lunch tasty are at your fingertips. TerraCycle, a pioneering recycling and upcycling company, offers eco-friendly, upcycled and recycled lunchboxes as well as a way to earn money by collecting non-recyclable food packaging such as cookies, chips, and juice pouches.