Tuesday, 10 March 2015, 11:14 am Press Release: TerraCycle Back to school tools for a healthy smile and healthy planet Bright Smiles Bright Futures launches school oral care recycling program with TerraCycle http://www.terracycle.co.nz/en-NZ/brigades/bsbf-schools.html In March, 2,200 primary schools in New Zealand will be invited to take part in the Colgate Bright Smiles Bright Futures Program (BSBF) to learn how to achieve good oral health and take steps to create a healthy planet. The unique recycling solution is a joint initiative with recycling company TerraCycle and Colgate-Palmolive. Teachers are invited to register for the Colgate Oral Care Brigade and encourage their students to recycle oral care waste and win rewards for their school. The BSBF Oral Health Education kit has been provided free to primary schools each year since 1997. Developed by teachers and oral health professionals, the curriculum features an exciting array of activities designed to encourage students to take responsibility for their oral health. Students meet the engaging Dr. Rabbit and his team of Tooth Defenders on their mission to fight the sticky villain, Placulus and save Tooth City. Along the way, they learn the importance of brushing twice a day, having a regular dental check-up and using their "tools for a bright smile". The Colgate Oral Care Brigade encourages school communities to collect and send these "tools for a bright smile" or “unrecyclable” oral care items to TerraCycle free via New Zealand Post. This includes toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss containers and their outer packaging which will be recycled into sustainable products. Since 1997 the BSBF program has inspired over 1 million children and their families to take care of their oral health. All schools ordering the BSBF kits will receive a "Recycle Your Tools for a Bright Smile" pack featuring a class activity to design a collection box to store used oral care items. Once registered, they will receive incentives to boost the school collection drive throughout the year and at the same time raise money for their school. For every used oral care item collected and sent to Terracyle, a donation of two cents will be made to the collector’s school. Colgate will also award $1,000 to the registered school sending the most oral care waste in total by 1 November 2015. “It is estimated that 9 million toothbrushes and 16 million toothpaste tubes are used in New Zealand each year. This is a great community effort to recycle waste that would otherwise end up in landfill,” said Anna Minns, General Manager, TerraCycle. “At TerraCycle our mission is to ‘eliminate the idea of waste’ by educating on re-use, upcycling and recycling. Our team of designers, headed by Tiffany Threadgould devise ways to give oral care waste a second life such as a toothbrush made into a pen or a play ground made of toothpaste tubes.” “It’s a big ‘win and grin’ initiative for students. The program encourages students to participate as they head back to start the school year and to continue learning and recycling throughout the year.” Visit www.terracycle.co.nz to learn more about TerraCycle Brigade programs. -ENDS- © Scoop Media

In 2001, Terracycle founder (and the man they now call the Zuckerberg of trash) Tom Szaky was just another university undergraduate trying to come up with an idea for the Princeton Business Plan Conest. An Autumn trip to Montreal introduced him to the wonder of worm farming and he was soon singing the praises of the fertilizer that they produce. Years of back breaking work and diversification later and Terracycle is now a global leader in waste minimisation – operating in 21 countries around the world, with 60 million consumers collecting waste for their repurposing operations. This extend far beyond fertilizer, with Terracycle now targeting the waste that has not traditionally been recycled, at both the pre and post-consumer level. What does this include? In the USA, Terracycle has 60 different waste streams, converting everything from used gum to cigarette butts to dirty diapers into (respectively) rubbish bins, assorted plastic products and compost – not bad, for what we once considered trash! In New Zealand, Terracycle is currently limited to two waste streams: Oral Care products (toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss containers etc), and Nescafe Dolce Gusto Capsules (from coffee machines) – but more are on their way. Of particular interest to sports clubs is the pending collecting for confectionary wrappers – stay tuned! So how does it work? Their system is simple. Interested individuals sign up online at www.terracycle.co.nz, choose a category of waste that they would like to collect and start collecting it. While Terracycle don’t provide a box for this (they want to encourage reuse of existing ones!), once your group has collected enough to fill a container your leader can request a free shipping label. This is affixed to the box and off it goes! For every piece of waste received, TerraCycle credits the group with a small donation (2 cents per item in NZ) that can be donated to any charity or school of their choice – meaning that your sports club can directly benefit, as well as reducing the waste sent to landfill. As LiteClub co-founder Michael Campbell says, “if we all do a little, together we can achieve a lot.”

1 October – For the first time in New Zealand, oral care waste is now recyclable. TerraCycle and Colgate have partnered to create a recycling solution for the nation’s oral care waste through the Colgate Oral Care Brigade. New Zealanders can now register on the TerraCycle New Zealand website to collect used oral care items in any box, then download a free shipping label, affix it to the box and ship it via New Zealand Post to TerraCycle to be recycled into sustainable products and materials. “We are working with TerraCycle to tackle oral care waste through this innovative programme. This environmental initiative also engages local communities, schools and households around sustainability.” said John Garside, General Manager, Colgate, New Zealand. The Oral Care Brigade will allow groups and individuals to recycle any brand of used toothbrushes as well as toothpaste tubes and caps, floss containers, toothbrush and toothpaste tube outer packaging from home, schools or the workplace. Collectors can earn TerraCycle points for which they can redeem two cents per piece of waste collected to donate to their nominated school or non-profit organisation. TerraCycle General Manager, Anna Minns said this environmental initiative will divert this previously ‘un-recyclable’ waste from landfill. “Colgate has also opened the Oral Care Brigade to recycle any brand of oral care product. All schools, groups, individuals and businesses are welcome to participate in the programme. The Oral Care Brigade is the latest addition to TerraCycle New Zealand’s recycling Brigade programmes including NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Capsules Brigade.” To date, TerraCycle has kept more than 2.6 billion pieces of waste from landfills around the world through its innovative recycling Brigade programs. To learn more about the Oral Care Brigade program visit www.terracycle.co.nz How does it work? It’s easy and free to participate in the Oral Care Brigade Interested individuals and groups can sign up for the Brigade and view further terms and conditions by visiting www.terracycle.co.nz Accepted waste includes toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, toothpaste caps, floss containers, toothbrush and toothpaste tube outer packaging materials packaging materials. Once enough waste is collected, collectors log into their account and print a free prepaid New Zealand Post shipping label to return their box or satchel at no cost. For every piece of waste collected, NZ$0.02 is donated to the collectors’ nominated school or non-profit organisation. Collectors must send in at least one kilogram of oral care waste to earn the TerraCycle points donation. TerraCycle has already kept more than two billion pieces of food and beverage packaging and other waste from going to the landfill and with its partners, dispersed more than USD$9 million to charity through its various Brigade programmes. This newest Brigade® programme joins one other Brigade currently available with NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® capsules to recycle coffee and tea capsules. About TerraCycle TerraCycle is an international recycling company that engages the community to collect ‘un-recyclable’ packaging and products, and turns them into new sustainable products. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over 110 of the world’s largest consumer goods brands to collect 75 different waste streams, including chip bags, pens, toothbrushes, chewing gum and even cigarette waste. TerraCycle has operations in 26 countries and has over 60 million people participating globally in our programs to collect waste.

3 September 2014 - The NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Team has joined with global recycling and upcycling pioneers TerraCycle® on a programme to recycle used coffee capsules. TerraCycle is the world leader in developing solutions for recycling “un-recyclable” items and has kept more than 2.6 billion pieces of waste from landfills around the world. NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® plastic ‘smart capsules’ will now be given a second life through TerraCycle’s innovative recycling programme called “Brigades® ”. New Zealanders can now send their used NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® coffee, tea and milk capsules to TerraCycle to be recycled into new products and materials. “The commitment of the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® team to providing quality coffee goes hand in hand with our commitment to sustainability. We are pleased to partner with TerraCycle to provide consumers with a free recycling scheme for our single-serve capsules. NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® is the first NESCAFÉ® brand to partner with innovative company TerraCycle in New Zealand” said Nestlé Australia, Head of NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Australia and New Zealand, Tracy Hardwick. “The NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Capsule Brigade will salvage single-use capsules otherwise destined for landfill. Brigade participants can send their capsules to TerraCycle to be recycled via New Zealand Post by simply downloading a free shipping label from the TerraCycle website. Participants also have the opportunity to generate two cents per capsule collected to donate to a charity of their choice,” said TerraCycle New Zealand, General Manager, Anna Minns. “NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® capsules don’t have to be discarded after one use at your morning coffee break but can be recycled at no cost to the consumer. TerraCycle’s Brigade programs like the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Capsule Brigade also aim to engage the community around sustainability and to re-think where our consumer waste and packaging ends up.” TerraCycle will collect used NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® capsules sent in from the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Capsules Brigade then recycle them into two streams. As part of the recycling process, organic material such as residual coffee grounds will be separated and sent to an industrial composting facility. The plastic capsules will be melted down and made into new products. TerraCycle New Zealand is also tackling other difficult to recycle waste streams including a new programme to recycle oral care waste such as used toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss containers. For more information about the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto® Capsule Brigade visit www.terracycle.co.nz

Wondering what to do with your chocolate wrappers left over from Easter? Westbrook School is participating in a nationwide programme collecting confectionery wrappers and recycling them to help the environment and raise money for school projects.  

Kiwis will soon be able to recycle toothbrushes and coffee capsules thanks to the local expansion of global trash-to-treasure company TerraCycle

While no one has an exact figure of how much waste we generate as a planet, the figure is in the billions of tonnes. Many organisations and businesses are now focusing on diverting rubbish from landfills, giving waste a new lease of life.