Stream: Gentrification, Dramatized The rising tide of high-quality television doesn’t lift all boats. Participant Media recently announced it would shut down its three-year-old cable channel, Pivot, one of the multitude of outlets scrambling to build a reputation for original programming. Pivot made quirky, interesting choices: the unsettling Arctic murder mystery “Fortitude”; the Australian coming-out comedy “Please Like Me”; and “Human Resources,” an “Office”-like documentary series about an actual New Jersey recycling company.

We have just a few months left with Pivot, sometimes known as the Joseph Gordon-Levitt channel, the “Friday Night Lights” channel, or “that channel with all of the sad commercials about abused dogs.” Participant Media, which launched Pivot in 2013, announced Aug. 17 that it would be closing up shop at the cable network later this year. Pivot was best known for its tent-pole program, “Hit Record on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt,” a variety show created by the actor and inspired by his upbeat collaborative production company. “While this conclusion was not an easy one,” Participant Media CEO David Linde said in a statement of Pivot’s demise, “it is ultimately in the best interest of all our stakeholders, and allows us to allocate more resources toward the production of compelling content across all platforms.” Putting an end to Pivot might be the best decision for investors, but to me, the end of the network is a great sadness. The network had its own reality show, but this was Pivot, so it was no “Real Housewives.” Its take on the genre was “Human Resources,” which followed the happenings at the recycling company TerraCycle in Trenton, N.J. Even when plotlines got dramatic, it was all about bettering the world. Deborah Jaramillo, associate professor of Film and Television Studies at Boston University, has some theories about why. She’s studied how cable networks evolve, and what it means to have a network identity. Her best example is AMC, which used to have one goal: airing classic cinema. AMC took its platform to another level when it launched its own similarly-themed original programs, such as “Remember WENN,” about a radio station in the 1930s and ’40s. But over time, AMC realized it couldn’t survive with such a restricted focus. It began showing newer movies and relying more on advertising, Jaramillo says. Over the years, it became what it is now — the network that made “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” and, more recently, “The Night Manager.” During the day, though, it airs random films like “The Mummy.” Jaramillo says Pivot may have been too specific with its mission, just like AMC was in its early years. Pivot needed its syndicated material to have “more mass appeal, while maintaining that socially conscious message.” Pivot probably also should have thought beyond millennials at launch, Jaramillo says, because many young people — including her students at Boston University — rely on streaming devices. (Even Jaramillo says she discovered the British thriller “Fortitude,” which airs in the United States on Pivot, through Amazon.) The perfect audience for Pivot, Jaramillo agreed, was actually me — an older-than-millennial who has time to binge-watch old favorites, is open-minded enough to consider new shows, and wants to feel better about watching so much TV. Come fall, when Pivot is expected to start to fade away, I’ll have to go back to feeling conflicted about my television consumption. I’ll have to go back to getting my “Buffy” on Netflix, without commentary, like everyone else.

HUMAN RESOURCES7:30 p.m. on Pivot. This kooky workplace reality series follows Tom Szaky, the founder and chief executive of TerraCycle, a recycling company in Trenton, and his army of thinkers and doers whose mission is to eliminate waste — all of it. In Season 3, they take on condoms and toiletries.

“Human Resources” returns to Pivot TV Friday August 26 for its third season, and if you still wonder whether or not someone could make great TV out of life at a company whose business is green, wonder no more. The comedic docu-series is centered on the worldwide headquarters of TerraCycle, a company in Trenton, New Jersey that has lapped the field of recycling by being creative and motivated to end the need for landfills, as we know them. While it is a reality TV show, “Human Resources” is shot like a documentary, or in some ways like the great workplace sitcom, “The Office”. There is a lot of camera time for individual employees to comment on the project at hand and their TerraCycle colleagues, whether it’s about the pet policy in the office or one guy’s habit of eating his colleagues’ lunches, if they dare to step away from their desks. CEO Tom Szaky could play the part of Michael in “The Office”, but he doesn’t have to, because he is the anti-Michael, brilliant, articulate and constantly busy. While reviewing a season 2 episode we noted that Szaky has a vibe and style like NFL head coach Pete Carroll, someone who provides the guidance and a loose atmosphere for talented people to succeed, while challenging them to go further than they thought possible. There’s not too much structure at TerraCycle, and as a result the creativity is off the charts. The people are smart as whips, and many are a bit quirky, making for many an awkward moment. The department work together on projects that range from devising methods to recycle used tampons to creating schoolyard equipment from recycled material. If the show leaves you wondering why there aren’t more of those Zero Waste green boxes everywhere you go, it’s done its job. If you check out the season trailer posted below, you can get an idea of the work culture, but you have to watch the show to understand the passion of the staff and their love for a mission that is worthy and necessary. Season one is now available on YouTube and will continue to be available on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. Pivot TV will air season 3 of “Human Resources” beginning Friday night August 26th at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. Image/video credit: Pivot TV, used with permission

Human Resources is an unconventional, comedic, behind-the-scenes look at TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company whose mission is to eliminate the idea of waste. TerraCycle takes anything and everything that is landfill bound—from potato chip bags to cigarette butts—and recycles, upcycles, reuses, or otherwise transforms these objects into something else. Using science, creativity, and a little DIY attitude, they're changing the way we think about trash.  

Pivot announced that the third season of “Human Resources” will premiere on Aug. 26 at  7:30 p.m.According the network, the series “chronicles the innovative global recycling company, TerraCycle, and its goal to eliminate all waste.” Previous seasons will continue to be available on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

Other initiatives coinciding with Earth Week include Tom’s of Maine and TerraCycle’s#LessWasteChallenge, Disney and Recyclebank’s “Magic of Conservation” campaign to encourage families to recycle, H&M’s World Recycle Week, and Fashion Revolution Week.

The lobby of TerraCycle’s global headquarters is far from what might be expected for a company that reported $18.7 million in revenue in 2014. Mismatched couches and a row of aged bowling alley chairs surround a shipping pallet-turned-coffee table. The company’s logo on a wall is created from recycled juice packets. Above, light fixtures are enlivened with used product containers and bottles. The floor is covered in used artificial turf.

Fredericksburg United Methodist Church Preschool is working with TerraCycle to collect empty applesauce pouches for recycling in the GoGo squeeZ Brigade. The school is among the top GoGo squeeZ collectors of 2015, having collected 1,360 this year. Since signing up for the program, the FUMC Preschool students have collected 4,158 pouches, earning nearly $100 for their school.

Recycling company TerraCycle is hosting the 10^th annual Jersey Fresh Jam, Jersey’s biggest showcase for hip hop and graffiti, on Saturday, August 22, 2015 from noon to dusk. The event offers graffiti artists from the tri-state area a place to showcase their work and will include performances from local MCs and musicians, featuring headliner Wu Tang Clan Member Cappadonna. Visitors will also be able to check out fare from local food trucks and wares from vendors while watching artists paint the exterior walls of TerraCycle’s Trenton headquarters.