Terracycle

I’ve noticed on some packages I’ve gotten recently the word “Terracycle” in corners.  I decided to look into what that means.

Terracycle is a company that collects what they consider “previously not recyclable or hard-to-recycle materials.”  Examples of this would be chip bags and Ziploc bags.  They then take these products and “upcycle” them into new products.

Terracycle insists that recycling is different from upcycling.  Although similar in concept, when recycling, you break the object down and change its form.  In upcycling, you keep the product in the same form, but just reuse it.

To participate, you join a collection group, or “brigade”, and start saving your materials that you signed up to recycle.  Then, take it to your local UPS Store, which ships the products to Terracycle.  Most of their programs are free, and most will donate two to four cents for each product to a school or charity of choice. 

Terracycle is an excellent way to live sustainably.  They are eliminating the idea of “trash,” and are finding excellent ways to reuse materials.  They currently make 256 different products, and that number is expected to grow within the years to come.

Source: Terracycle: http://www.terracycle.net/