Revolutionising recycling, with TerraCycle
A completely recycled playground by waste warriors TerraCycle. Image via TerraCycle
Recycling is complicated. Ever been stumped by the chasing arrows symbol with the numbers inside? They don’t all mean the item is curb-side recyclable! What goes in which bin can be really hard to know, and it changes across each local government.
The aim of course is to reduce what we need and consume FIRST, before reusing what we have and recycling as the very last step (well, before landfill anyway). What I can’t reduce and reuse I search high and low for a recycling option for those items - things like lightbulbs (my council recycles these), CDs (Officeworks in Australia), pillows (check your local animal shelter)… what to do with them at the end of their life? Can they be made into something else valuable?
TerraCycle are modern day waste heroes.
Started by entrepreneur Tom Szaky in 2001, they’re out to prove that EVERYTHING can and should be recycled, even things like cigarette butts and dirty nappies. They’re flipping the system on its head and changing the economics of the recycling game, working with big brands to help them and their consumers take responsibility for their traditionally non-recyclable items, like toothpaste tubes and contact lenses.
I caught up with Jen Walker, TerraCycle’s Head of Public Relations & Communications in Australia & New Zealand on why their mission is so important, what got us into this mess in the first place (including COVID-19 making matters worse), how we can all play a role (easily!), and the exiting closed-loop plans for TerraCycle down under.
Why do you think the recycling programs TerraCycle offers are so important, particularly in Australia?
TerraCycle take the traditionally “non-recyclable” and make these waste streams economically viable by partnering with big brands. Here’s my collection getting ready to send to TerraCycle!
TerraCycle recycles items that are not accepted in council recycling, so our programs directly reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill. Things like toothbrushes, disposable razors, coffee pods, contact lenses, even L.O.L Surprise toys that would ordinarily be thrown in our red bins are captured through our programs and used to make new products.
“This is important in Australia especially as we are not great in the recycling stakes - we are usually around 16th in the world rankings and only recover about 16% of plastic packaging.”
Also, recycling capabilities vary between local councils whereas TerraCycle is accessible to everyone throughout Australia and New Zealand.
How do you think we got to where we are with our recycling industry (Australia and globally), when even the bigger, more economically-valuable streams struggle to be sold and used, like the stockpiling of glass?
Whether something is recycled or not, and what happens to the material, is purely down to economics: if there is strong demand for the output then there is more incentive to recycle it.
“Technically, everything can be recycled, so it comes down to who wants to pay for it.”
For example, with glass, at the moment it is cheaper to import new glass than to recycle it. And during COVID we saw oil prices drop to record lows, which meant that it was cheaper to make packaging using virgin plastic than recycled plastic. There are several ways to address this including corporations seriously committing to sustainability in their packaging and using more recycled content, and governments intervening with tariffs and subsidies to support a stronger market for recycled materials.
Reduce and reuse should always come before recycle! My favourite thing to reuse again and again is glass jars.
How do you think we can work towards a more economically sustainable recycling system? How do corporates, governments and individuals fit into the picture?
As mentioned above, developing a market, and thereby creating more value, for recycled materials is paramount. Recycling comes down to economics. If there is money in it (i.e. a demand for the product) processors will be willing to accept more recycling and invest in infrastructure.
The Australian Government is supporting this by recently committing $190m to recycling infrastructure, and supporting moves to stipulate how much recycled content packaging must have (50% average recycled content across all packaging by 2025), and for 100% of packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
“But just saying that something can be recycled doesn’t mean that it will be.”
That’s why there needs to be incentives for consumers to actually do it, such as the Return & Earn scheme and TerraCycle’s charity donations that are linked to the amount our collectors send in (sponsored by corporates). Individuals can contribute by learning what can be recycled and where so they can recycle as much as possible and not contaminate recycling streams.
They can also vote with their wallets: support products with a recycling plan for their packaging, or if there isn’t a solution put pressure on the brand to create one (creating solutions is what TerraCycle specialises in).
Many people argue that recycling is not the answer when it comes to waste - we need to slow consumption rapidly first (and ultimately rethink our invention of waste in the first place!). But why is recycling so important in this bridging period when as a society, we are not yet fully embracing reduce and reuse?
At TerraCycle we believe in the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, then waste to energy, incineration, landfill.
“The most environmental product is the one you don’t buy.”
As such, recycling is not the answer, but unfortunately we will always need to do it. Even reusable containers will need to be recycled at some stage. The trick is seeing the waste as a resource, not as garbage. Only about half of the packaging that enters the Australian market is recovered at the moment. That leaves more than 2m tonnes going to landfills every year, even though about 88% of packaging can be recycled. So while reduce and reuse is the ultimate goal, we still also have a long way to go with recycling as well. This is especially important at the moment when COVID saw us revert to using a lot more single-use plastic and creating more landfill.
How can we encourage people to care more about recycling what they cannot reduce and reuse first?
Research has shown that the top two reasons people will recycle are if they see everyone else doing it, and if it’s easy. Saving the environment is sadly a little way down the list. So we need more education about what can be recycled (pretty much everything!), how to recycle it, and then make collection spots as publicly accessible as possible and leverage peer pressure!
TerraCycle and Gillette’s razor recycling program - most programs accept any brand of that waste stream too!
I believe a lot of this comes back to convenience. I would love to see recycling of the traditionally non-recyclable items as convenient as people see their own waste bins at home. What is next for TerraCycle's growth to make this kind of recycling ideally second nature for consumers?
We have just relaunched our Community Collection Hubs to encourage more people, businesses and groups to become a central collection point for their communities and be open for the public to drop off their items for TerraCycle programs. Hubs can join as many of our free recycling programs as they like (and can skip waitlists) and because they send in bigger shipments, they earn charity points faster.
Groups such as schools or sporting clubs can use the points to raise funds for themselves, or a local business can use the hub to attract foot traffic. Plus posting fewer larger shipments are much more ecologically friendly than small, more frequent shipments, so it’s a win all round. With more hubs around, recycling can be incorporated into family activities such as dropping the kids off at school, going to sport, or doing the shopping.
The Loop system means customers can buy their favourite brands in reusable packaging - genius! Coming to Australia mid-2021.
I LOVE the concept of LOOP! it will be a game-changer as people can still buy their favourite products conveniently, without the waste. Can you tell us more about when and how it will roll out in Australia, and how is it going so far in the U.S.?
Loop is now operational in the US, UK and France and is expanding beyond supermarkets. In the US Ulta Beauty has just been announced as Loop’s first beauty retailer, in the UK Loop is working with McDonald’s to test a reusable cup for hot drinks on-the-go (the plan is that you can drop Loop packaging off at any Loop partner, so you can buy your coffee in a reusable cup at McDonalds and then drop it in the Loop bin at Tesco and vice versa) and in France grocery retailer Carrefour is now selling Loop products via their own ecommerce platform (so it is a totally seamless experience).
We’re planning to launch Loop in Australia through Woolworths in mid 2021.
Want to join TerraCycle’s closed-loop recycling revolution and ‘refillution’?
Learn what TerraCycle recycles in Australia and start recycling through their free programs! Think dental waste, razors, coffee capsules, beauty products, pens and more.
Find your nearest Collection Hub or sign up to become your own Hub!
Read some handy tips to reuse items and reduce your household waste and recycling first.