TerraCycle

American industrial company
the bicycle manufacturer

TerraCycle is a private U. S. based recycling business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. It primarily runs a volunteer based recycling platform to collect non recyclable pre consumer and post consumer waste on behalf of corporate donors, municipalities, and individuals to turn it into raw material to be used in new products. TerraCycle also manages Loop, a consumer products shopping service with reusable packaging.

TerraCycle was founded by Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer in the fall of 2001. In 2002, the company bought a US$20,000 continuous flow composting system invented by Harry Windle of Gainesville, Florida, to take organic waste and have it processed by worms into fertilizer. Initial funding came from family and friends of Szaky and Beyer, as well as awards from business plan competitions. Further funding came from private investors. The dining halls of Princeton University were the first sources of waste used. Instead of pure fertilizer, TerraCycle sold its products in liquid form upon concluding that liquid fertilizer could have better consumer reception. The original rationale for packing its liquid fertilizer in used plastic bottles was because the company could not afford new ones. Later, the company continued this process and marketed their gardening products as "Waste in Waste". In 2004 and 2005, The Home Depot Canada and Wal–Mart Stores Canada began carrying TerraCycle products. During its growth, the company bought an abandoned mansion to house its interns and a warehouse for its fertilizer production and offices. Kraft granted TerraCycle permission to use Capri Sun brand pouches in its products, They obtained additional sponsorship for the Drink Pouch Brigade as well. TerraCycle changed to use the majority of its collected post consumer waste for recycling into plastic molding pellets. By 2009, the firm moved away from manufacturing to licensing all of its products. The same year, it outsourced its vermicompost production to worm farmers in North Carolina. From 2012, the firm and various tobacco companies partnered to launch a widespread collection and recycling system for cigarette butts. The cigarette filters, generally made from cellulose acetate, are refined into pellets that are then used in the production of plastic items such as shipping pallets, benches, and ashtrays. The company promises that the recycled plastic from cigarette filters will only be used in industrial products and not in household plastics, due to exposure to nicotine. In January 2014, Progressive Waste Solutions announced a 19.99% interest acquisition in TerraCycle Canada to cooperate on recycling initiatives in Canada. In October 2016, TerraCycle and Suez Environment announced that Suez acquired 30% of TerraCycle's European operations to develop collection and recycling programs in Europe. At the World Economic Forum in January 2017, TerraCycle, Procter & Gamble and Suez announced production of the world's first recyclable shampoo bottle made from plastic recovered from beaches, rivers and waterways for the Head & Shoulders brand. The first bottles went on sale in France in June 2017 and in October the project was recognized by the United Nations as a winner of a Momentum For Change Lighthouse Activities Award. In 2019, TerraCycle announced Loop, a closed loop reusable packaging platform for consumer packaged goods companies. The system ships food, household cleaning, personal care products in a reusable padded container. The products are delivered in reusable containers, which are returned to the Loop tote, picked up by Loop, cleaned, refilled and reused.

TerraCycle has created approximately 200 products, all of which are licensed to manufacturers, instead of being manufactured by TerraCycle itself. It began with the production of fertilizer made from vermicompost, which is produced by feeding organic waste to worms. The worms' excrement was then liquefied into "compost tea" by mixing it with air and warm water in large vats. It was packaged in reused plastic water bottles. The spray bottle tops were rejects from other companies. The company diversified its production into upcycling around 2007 and began creating products from other waste items Various products are produced from pre consumer waste and post consumer waste, including messenger and tote bags. Its recycling programs enable individuals or groups to collect specified waste materials in exchange for donations to a selected cause or school.

TerraCycle's main headquarters are located in Trenton, New Jersey. The headquarters were purchased by TerraCycle in the summer of 2004. Its renovations were done by TerraCycle's internal design team, led by employee Tiffany Threadgould, and its walls are painted annually by local graffiti artists at "Graffiti Jams". In response, TerraCycle started a media campaign known as "suedbyscotts. com". Scotts dropped the case after TerraCycle agreed to recolor its packaging to orange and green, and remove pictures of fruits and vegetables on its labels. TerraCycle was the subject of a National Geographic reality television series named Garbage Moguls. The pilot premiered on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. It also partnered with game developer Guerillapps to make a Facebook based flash game known as Trash Tycoon. In 2021, TerraCycle agreed to update its labeling after settling a lawsuit accusing it of misleading product labeling. It was alleged that the company did not disclose the limits to the quantity of packaging that would be recycled.