Do you pack fruit pouches in your child’s lunch box? Are pretzels, chips, or granola bars a snack-staple in your house? Are infant formula and baby food on your shopping list? What do you do with broken toys that cannot be fixed or donated?
While they’re plastic and it is often assumed that all plastic can go in your regular recycle bin, none of the above actually can.
Some types of plastic, such as #1 and #2 plastic or hard plastic like bottles or containers that once held a liquid, milk jugs, detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, etc., are accepted in most curbside or municipal recycling programs.
Other types are more difficult to find a standard, local solution for, due to their complexity, size, high collection costs, or lack of value in the recycling system. Examples: cereal box plastic, clear plastic wrap, snack bags or pouches, cheese or candy wrappers, clothes hangers, etc.
TerraCycle offers a range of national, easy-to-use recycling platforms allowing everyone to recycle and do their part to move the world away from single-use packaging.
These programs are free, national recycling solutions for typically hard-to-recycle waste streams. Some recycling programs are brand-specific, which means you can only recycle the packaging of this particular brand, e.g. Entenmann's Little Bites. However, some brands allow you to collect any brand of waste for their free recycling program, e.g. Honest Kids.
Free Recycling Programs by TerraCycle
We’ve put together a list of recycle programs for items typically consumed or used by kids.
Toys & Art Supplies
Packaging from single brand only
The following recycling programs allow you to send in packaging from the respective brand only:
ZURU Bunch O Balloons™ Recycling Program - recycling program for ZURU Bunch O Balloons products and packaging. ZURU Bunch O Balloons brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with VTech & LeapFrog - national recycling program for select VTech and LeapFrog electronic learning devices and electronic toys. VTech and LeapFrog brand items only.
Recycling in partnership with Hasbro - free recycling program for used toys and games. Hasbro brand items only.
Recycling in partnership with Dixon - TerraCycle® and Dixon have partnered to create a free recycling program for Ticonderoga, Prang, and Lyra art supplies and writing instruments. Dixon brands Ticonderoga, Prang, and Lyra brands only.
Recycling in partnership with L.O.L. Surprise!™ - a free recycling program for L.O.L. Surprise! packaging, accessories, and products. L.O.L. Surprise! brand items only.
Personal Care
Packaging from any brand
The following recycling programs allow you to send in packaging from any brands:
Recycling in partnership with Tom's of Maine - national recycling program for natural care packaging. Natural care packaging from any brand.
Recycling in partnership with Colgate® - national recycling program for all brands of used or empty oral care products and packaging. Oral care products and packaging from any brand.
Recycling in partnership with RB - national recycling program for packaging from all brands of vitamins, minerals, and supplements; cough, cold and flu medicine; sexual well-being, personal care, and foot care products; and infant formula and child nutrition. Packaging from any brand.
Food & Snacks
Packaging from any brand
The following recycling programs allow you to send in packaging from any brands:
Recycling in partnership with GoGo squeeZ® - free recycling program for healthy snack plastic pouches and caps, as well as a fundraising opportunity for participants. Packaging from any brand.
Recycling in partnership with Gerber® - recycle baby food packaging and small and large hook Gerber baby clothing hangers with the opportunity to fundraise for charity with the national recycling program powered by TerraCycle® and Gerber®. Baby food packaging from any brand, and only small and large hook baby clothing hangers by Gerber.
Recycling in partnership with Honest Kids - free recycling program for drink pouches as well as a fundraising opportunity for participants. Packaging from any brand.
Packaging from single brand only
The following recycling programs allow you to send in packaging from the respective brand only:
Recycling in partnership with Once Upon a Farm - a national recycling program for Once Upon a Farm baby food, applesauce, and smoothie pouches. Once Upon a Farm brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with North Coast - free recycling program for North Coast apple sauce pouches and caps, as well as a fundraising opportunity for participants. North Coast brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Nature’s Heart - national recycling program for Nature’s Heart organic baby food pouches. Nature’s Heart brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Entenmann's Little Bites® - national recycling program for Entenmann's Little Bites® pouches and Entenmann's® Minis film packaging. Entenmann's brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Cerebelly - national recycling program for Cerebelly pouches. Cerebelly brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Brainiac Kids- national recycling program for Brainiac Kids applesauce pouches. Brainiac brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Buddy Fruits- national recycling program for empty Buddy Fruits pouches and tubes. Buddy Fruits brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Happy Family Organics - national recycling program for Happy Family Organics flexible plastic packaging, pouches, and caps. Happy Family Organics brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Quinn Snacks - free recycling program for Quinn Snacks pretzel bags, microwave popcorn bag cellophane wrapper, and foil-lined ingredient pouches. Quinn Snacks brand waste only.
Recycling in partnership with Serenity Kids - free recycling program for Serenity Kids baby food pouches. Serenity Kids brand waste only.
There are many more programs available for items for adults, pets, food, personal care, or household.
What happens to recycled plastic?
TerraCycle captures, sorts, and processes the world’s most commonly discarded items into a material format used to make new items.
Collection
Recycling starts with you. Instead of throwing your plastics in the trash, collect them for recycling through one of our many National Recycling Programs or a Zero Waste Box™.
Sorting
Once your collections make it to TerraCycle, items are sorted by resin code or material type—such as #1 (PET), #2 (HDPE), #5 (PP) and more— so they can be sent to be further processed using their resin-specific technology and process flows.
Processing
The sorted plastics are processed to transform them for sale to manufacturers. This is where your plastic tube or wrapper gets shredded, melted down, perhaps combined with other additives, and turned into a usable raw material format like regrind, pellets, or powder.
Recycling
These converted plastics are then melted, molded, and extruded or injected into the manufacturing supply chain and recycled as new, durable products made from items we use every day!
Join the Program – It’s Free and Helps the Planet
Join as many programs as you like to help reduce your impact on our planet. Through TerraCycle’s free recycling programs, you can earn TerraCycle points which are redeemable for charitable gifts, TerraCycle products, or a donation to a school or non-profit of your choice.
Simply choose the programs you’d like to join; start collecting in your home, school, or office; download free shipping labels; and send your waste to TerraCycle to be recycled.
Some of the programs are already full, but you will be put on a wait list and notified, when you’ve been added to the program.
Happy Earth-Saving!
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