TerraCycle

File:Skittles-laptop-sleeve.jpg

Terracycle turns candy wrappers into consumer products such as laptop sleeves

TerraCycle is a privately owned business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. It is a global pioneer in the collection and recycling of otherwise difficult-to-recycle packaging and products.  In 24 countries around the world, TerraCycle operates post-industrial and post-consumer waste collection programs and creates sustainable, affordable consumer products, industrial items and building materials by upcycling, recycling or reusing otherwise unusable waste materials.

Company History

TerraCycle began in 2001 by then Princeton University freshman, Tom Szaky. Szaky and friends began feeding worms organic waste to produce homemade “worm tea” – an organic fertilizer – to feed their dorm room plants.  The fertilizer was then packaged and sold in reused soda bottles that Szaky and friends collected on recycling night.   After winning numerous business plan contests, Szaky decided to drop out of Princeton to dedicate himself full time to growing the TerraCycle business. In 2004, Szaky won the coveted Carrot Capital Business Contest Grand Prize and one million dollars in seed capital. However, the investors providing the money wanted Szaky to fire his friends and stop talking about garbage and sustainability. So, despite having no money left in his accounts, Szaky walked away from the million dollars. 

Later that year, Szaky made his first two major sales to The Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  With these major clients, TerraCycle was forced to quickly scale up. So Szaky purchase an abandoned factory in an Urban Enterprise Zone in Trenton, the “down on its luck” capital of New Jersey.  

By 2006, the company was selling its line of OMRI-certified, organic “worm poop” fertilizers to Whole Foods Market, Target, The Home Depot, Wal-Mart and many more. The company began sourcing its packaging by collecting used bottles through the “Bottle Brigade,” which was a free fundraising program that paid schools five cents for every soda bottles they returned. By 2007, the Bottle Brigade had over 5,000 participating schools.  

TerraCycle saw the potential in creating products from waste materials and began to “upcycle.”  Upcycling is the process of taking seemingly useless waste materials and creating new useful products – thus increasing the life cycle of the material.  TerraCycle also learned how to break garbage into useable materials that it would sell to other companies.  The company began to partner with companies such as Kraft Foods, Capri Sun, Honest tea, CLIF BAR, Huggies, M&M’s, Elmers, Scotch Tape, Sanford and Frito Lay, among others to produce upcycled products from their post consumer waste materials.

Brigade® Programs

After the success of its “Bottle Brigade” in 2007, TerraCycle began to implement this idea on a large scale.  TerraCycle partnered with consumer packaged goods companies to help create “Brigade”programs – free fundraisers that pay schools, community groups or non-profits two-cents per piece of waste they collect and return.  TerraCycle would then upcycle, recycle, or reuse the collected material.  The company’s first Brigade was with Honest Tea and collected juice packages that were upcycled into products such as backpacks, lunch boxes, pencil cases and duffel bags.

Garbage Moguls

Garbage Moguls, a National Geographic exclusive, takes a look inside of TerraCycle process of turning trash into consumer products.  Garbage Moguls consists of four one hour-long documentary styled specials staring CEO Tom Szaky on his quest to turn garbage into usable products.  Szaky and his team face battles such as turning billboards into messenger bags and Oreo cookie wrappers into kites.

Revolution in a Bottle

In April 2009, Portfolio published CEO Tom Szaky’s first book, Revolution a Bottle. It received huge critical acclaim and was even called “the best book on entrepreneurship even written” by the Harvard Business Review.  Tom’s second book, ‘Outsmart Waste’ will be available in early 2014.

Offices

TerraCycle headquarters in Trenton, NJ is a 99% upcycled office.  Once an abandoned factory, TerraCycle’s office is outfitted almost completely with upcycled tables, chairs, artwork,and more.  Dividing walls and ceiling decorations are made from recycled bottles and one-of-a-kind upcycled goods are located throughout the building. Both inside and outside walls adorn graffiti from local artists and are constantly changing. TerraCycle’s HQ is also“off-the-grid” with a roof covered in solar panels that produce more electricity than the company uses 8 months a year. Similar offices are located in Canada, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and the UK.

Graffiti Jam

TerraCycle enjoys displaying its strong graffiti culture. Once a year, TerraCycle headquarters opens its office to graffiti artists across the globe to come decorate the company’s indoor and outdoor walls at this grand community event.

Recent History

In 2009, TerraCycle began expanding internationally first to Brasil, Mexico and the UK. Since that time, TerraCycle has launched operations in Norway, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark, Israel, Belgium, Argentina, Turkey, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and is currently operating in 24 countries worldwide. 

TerraCycle is currently partnered with over 100 global corporations providing end of life solutions for their packaging and product waste. The company has launched over 100 new waste collection programs and has grown in total staff to above 120 employees globally.  

Today, Brigades are currently available in 125,000 locations worldwide and 33 million people have participated in collecting more than 2.5 billion pre- and post- consumer packaging, resulting in over $7 million in donations to schools and nonprofits. 

Recently, TerraCycle launched the world’s first and only widespread collection and recycling system for cigarette butts. Currently collecting in the US, Canada, Spain, France and in the Nordic region, TerraCycle has already collected and recycled over 20 million cigarette butts in the first year of the program.  

TerraCycle is currently testing recycling processes to collect and recycled used diapers and chewing gum.

Recognition

TerraCycle has received 100’s of awards and accolades for innovation, entrepreneurship, marketing and sustainability. The seaward include: Inc. 500List, Edison Green Awards, Environmental Business Journal Bronze Medal, Red Herring 100 Most Innovative, Entrepreneur 100 Most Brilliant Companies 2010,EPA Certification, Zerofootprint Seal of Approval, Parenting Magazine Mom-Tested, Newark Star-Ledger 10 to Watch in 2010, Edison Green Award Silver Medalist, New York Enterprise Green Business Finalist, 2013 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Cause Marketing Forum’s Golden Halo, PR News CSR Awards and many more.

Key Partners

Kraft Foods, , Nestle, Mars, Inc, Kimberly-Clark, Frito-Lay, Sanford, Elmer’s Products, Inc, VWR, 3M, Malt-O-Meal, Colgate Palmolive, L’Oreal, BIC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company and many more.

Products

TerraCycle breaks down pre- and post- consumer packaging into a materials to be sold to other companies and also upcycles products of its own including: 

Garden Products: all purpose plant fertilizer, deer repellant, bird feeders, flower pots, watering cans,plant caddy.

Household Products: all purpose household cleaner, drain cleaner, stain and odor remover. 

Consumer Goods: messenger bags, pencil cases, folders, pencils, notebooks, laptop cases, Dobb kits, lunch bags, iPad cases. 

Recycled Plastic Items: Playgrounds,plastic lumber and decking, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, park benches. 

External links

• TerraCycle website
• TerraCycle UK