When Given the Chance, Will Consumers Pay More for Green?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:55:29 GMT

Image courtesty of TerraCycle We just began an interesting experiment at TerraCycle: Opening our first retail outlet and giving people a place to bring in what they'd normally mail to us as part of our collection Brigades. But that's not the most interesting part. We've decided to see what people will do when given the chance to pay whatever price they want for products. In this economy, will people intentionally undercut the price? Will they, unaware of what we really charge, which, whenever possible, is the same or lower then comparable non-green products, actually overpay for their purchase? Or, might they, knowing we're a company working hard to make as sustainable a product as possible, make a point to pay more as a show of support? ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

TckTckTck Campaign: An Interview with Kumi Naidoo

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:24:28 GMT

Photo by Remy Steinegger This week something fairly monumental is taking place: It's Climate Week NYC, where among other things, top government leaders from 90 countries are gathering for the United Nations climate session. It's also time for things to kick into high gear for TckTckTck, an innovative global alliance of people, businesses, even faith groups, with a singular purpose: Make it abundantly clear the great importance they see in their country's leaders coming together for the pinnacle of this series of high level climate change focused discussions, COP15, happening in Copenhagen in December of this year.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Is Globalization Ever a Good Thing?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Courtesy of TerraCycle So often, you read about the negative effects of globalization - homogenizing world culture, poor treatment of workers, jobs lost, lack of cultural sensitivity in the new areas of a world a business starts up. Nasty business, and not something I'm in support of. Why then are we about to start operations in the UK, doing largely the same thing we're doing here in the US? The difference is enormous, yet the impact universal. Universally positive. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

A most FABulous way to Mainstream Being Green

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Image courtesy of FAB/ Starpoint In today's world, it just does not make sense to try and do everything for yourself, whether as a person or a business. Being an entrepreneur, I at first thought it a sign of deficiency if I and my company couldn't do everything ourselves. We prided ourselves on seat of our pants figuring out how to do X, bringing everything together in the nick of time. While exciting and satisfying, I've come to realize it's terribly inefficient, and that in order to make the kind of progress we want to make as a company, and need to make as a planet in making a more sustainable world, it's time to collaborate with other companies that do what we need to do, better. A recent example is FAB. FAB may not be a name you're familiar with, but it's a safe bet you, or more likely your children, own something made by them.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Sweeter Side of Sustainability - An Interview with Mars

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Photo courtesy of http://candychocolicio.us As you may have read earlier, we recently partnered with Mars in our largest post industrial collection agreement. That means that packaging for more then 20 brands that were imperfect or no longer current will find new use and life, when they were otherwise done. Mars, you may be surprised to know, has made a deep commitment to being a sustainable company. I had the privilege of talking with Howard-Yana Shapiro, Global Director Plant Science and External Research at Mars and Foudner of Seeds of Changes, about their ambitious goal of 200,000 tons of sustainably certified cocoa by 2020, their open book mapping of tree genomes for non GMO improvement of trees in our changing climate, and a term I'd never heard of, agroecology. Learn from this Fulbright scholar why Mars is so focused on sustainability, how Seeds of Change was able to stay on track after it became a part of Mars, and how his expertise and focus on environmental responsibility is influencing one the world's largest food and beverage manufacturers. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Who Is Responsible for How Responsible a Company Is?

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia We as a company take our role in reducing and reusing waste very seriously. But should others have to do the same? Is it a company's responsibility to be good corporate citizens on their own volition, or do we as consumers or the government have a role to play? How much? Basically, who is responsible for how responsible a company is? The answer may seem straightforward, but I don't see it that way. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How to Turn Unrecyclable Waste Into an Asset

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Image via Terracycle How many billboards did you pass today? If you can even keep count, you're lucky. Most of those are made with vinyl. And most of them get thrown away. Over 3 million a year in the US alone. That's nearly 10,000 tons, or to give you a visual, about the weight of 2500 adult elephants. Once it makes it to the landfill, it's not going anywhere. Vinyl does not biodegrade. We thought something should be done about that. Starting this month, we are.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

To Donate, or Recreate: Where Should Your Old Jeans Go?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:11:00 GMT

Photo Courtesy of Neatorama Next time you're home, look around your closet. Your attic. How many pairs of jeans do you have there, unworn for months, years, decades even? I have four. Aside from the ones you keep for "some day" when you're skinny again or returning to fat, which ones of those could go? And where should they go? I'm betting your first thought was Salvation Army or some local version of such a thing. A commendable thought, but there's a problem. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

TerraCycle Goes Global, Rides the Big Business Wave to Brazil

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:48:00 GMT

Images via Terracycle This week, TerraCycle officially launched in Brazil! The new global launch comes just six months after launching with Frito-Lay in the US, and now the expansion into Brazil - with other countries to follow - makes an important point: Big business isn't always a bad guy. In fact, it can help small business grow via sustainability.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What is More Valuable - Material or People's Time?

Fri, 22 May 2009 10:41:00 GMT

So many coffee lovers have switched to single portion delivery devices produced by a variety of brands, including Tassimo, Flavia and Green Mountain. The coffee tastes is always fresh, perfectly brewed and one doesn't waste extra coffee left from brewing a full pot. However, the packaging isn't made to be recyclable, so if it is to be diverted from landfills, it needs to go through a time consuming process of disassembly. This begs a serious environmental question. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What Do Lays Chip Bags And Classical Music Have In Common?

Fri, 01 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Even though it seems everyone has an iPod or MP3 player and is downloading music, traditional CD's are still a huge business. The jewel cases are made from a variety of plastics that break easily and are not easy recyclable; sooner or later most of them will end up in landfills. I'm excited to tell you about the world's most eco-friendly CD case TerraCycle just created made from recycled, shredded chip bags! ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Garbage Moguls, the TerraCycle Reality TV Show!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:35:00 GMT

After 3 years of pitching networks, meeting with various producers, and all of the other Hollywood headaches,TerraCycle finally has our own Reality TV Show. Garbage Moguls, which debut's on National Geographic Channel on Earth Day, April 22, at 9pm EST and 9pm PST, follows our team at TerraCycle as we take waste like Oreo Wrappers and Coca-Cola Billboards, figure out how to upcycle them into products like kites and messenger bags, and finally sell them to a major retailers like Wal-Mart and Office Max. Check out more info after the jump. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Plastic Labeling System Often Confused for Recyclability of Plastic Products

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:47:00 GMT

Have you ever noticed on the bottom of a plastic product one of these 7 symbols? It's a number inside a recycling logo. In seeing a label like this you might have thought, "Oh isn't it nice this product is recyclable..." I'm sorry to inform you that if you had that reaction, you, like most people who see that symbol and number, would be mistaken in your assumption.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle Redefines Green Business

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:20:00 GMT

My book, Revolution in a Bottle, hit the streets this week. It follows the story of TerraCycle from our beginnings in my dorm room, shoveling maggot filled organic waste, to creating products we sold to Wal-Mart and other major big box retailers, getting sued by Scotts and creating "sponsored waste" programs to upcycle branded waste. It also offers insights on how we approach media and pursue new opportunities. Read on to catch an excerpt from the book. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

4 Radical Solutions to Packaging Waste

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:40:08 GMT

As CEO of TerraCycle, I'm constantly thinking about how to solve problems with waste. From bottle bills to packaging taxes, nothing is too out-there to me. I've come up with four radical solutions that could help curb the problem. Click through for my concepts and let me know your reactions and alternative ideas. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Could In-Sourcing Labor Be a Solution for Rebuilding American Manufacturing?

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:20:48 GMT

Photo via of Reckon.Vox.Com For decades, we in the US have watched jobs--especially manual labor--be exported overseas to countries like China, Vietnam, and India, where people work for significantly less money. In general, I've noticed that wages drop by an order of magnitude, moving from developed ($10/hour) to developing counties ($10/day) and then by another order of magnitude when moving from developing countries to third world ($1/day). These are rough numbers, but they do underscore my point. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

TerraCycle Announces Initiative to Collect Non-Recyclable Waste at Big Box Stores Nationwide

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:20:06 GMT

We are extremely excited to announce here on Treehugger, for the first time ever the next phase of the TerraCycle national, non-recyclable waste collection system in the front of major retail stores across the country! For more details, click below the fold. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Will Packaging Taxes Solve Waste Issues, or Escalate the Problem?

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:31:48 GMT

Photo via ShuttersStock.Com Many environmentalists would say that packaging taxes (like bottle bills) are the solution to low recycling rates and the packaging waste problem. The way these programs work is that they charge packaging companies a "tax" per unit produced as a "deposit" and then give that deposit back to the consumer when they return the package to a center (could be a supermarket or a recycling center). Currently there are bottle bills in over 10 states and a number of Canadian provinces. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Will Recycling Survive the Recession?

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:28:20 GMT

Photo via Stock.Xchng The recycling industry is in a state of panic, hit by two forces beyond its control. The first problem is the economy (go figure). Demand for consumer products is down; retailers are focusing on price versus value. China (the manufacturer of the world's products) is not ordering recycled polymer. Indeed, a large number of factories in China are closing down due to lack of demand. On top of this, as recycling is a commodity industry, the price of plastic is directly related to the price of gas, and gas prices are low. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Absolutely Greener, Relatively Speaking: A Closer Look at CSR Reporting

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:38:15 GMT

I was recently exchanging e-mails with a dear friend, Melissa, who works in the CSR , or corporate social responsibility, department of a major US corporation. We were talking about traditional national and global economic growth rates (which, of course, may not be achieved in times such as the current global slowdown) and how improved environmental standards could go beyond previous relative standards, but still result in cumulative negative impact. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Are Trade Shows Worth the Waste? Maybe, if They Can Cut Down on It

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:07:43 GMT

Image courtesy Eco Gift Festival Did you know the tradeshow industry is second only to the construction industry in the amount of waste it generates? Garbage from discarded packaging, samples, handouts and more piles up for days creating countless tons of unused of garbage! So, as someone deeply into reducing waste, I've been drawn away from participating. A few weekends ago, though, I actually had a great trade show experience, and my views have shifted. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Biodegradable vs. Recyclable: Which is the Better Packaging Solution?

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:22:01 GMT

Energy Bar Wrappers Collected at TerraCycle HQ. We all know that packaging waste is a major issue. But what is the most feasible solution? Today there are fundamentally three choices for consumer packaged goods companies: non-recyclable, recyclable and biodegradable (reusable packaging, a la glass milk jugs are a fourth option that is quickly disappearing.) This question is incredibly important as we as a society try to find a balance between consumerism, capitalism and environmentalism. Please read on and join the discussion. My hope is to get the great minds of TreeHugger engaged in this vital debate.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Could Garbage Be America's #1 Resource?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:35:28 GMT

Garbage is America's #1 export and possibly the biggest raw material source we have. But what is waste? And why do we make it? In nature, waste does not exist - if it did we would not be here today since the creation of a material that another life form cannot use is not sustainable and would lead to the destruction of our eco-system. One way to look at waste is that it is a commodity with negative value. That is, it's a commodity that we are willing to pay to get rid of. It is a liability that has to be transported quickly and efficiently to a landfill. Waste is also a new idea - probably no more than 100 years old. It is an idea that came about with the birth of complex polymers and consumerism (brought on by the fad for disposable products in the 1950s). If necessity breeds innovation, then we are long overdue to find innovative ways to solve the waste issue, which is exactly what TerraCycle (which I started) hopes to do. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

TreeHugger Welcomes Tom Szaky of TerraCycle!

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:33:43 GMT

Tom Szaky is the 26 year old Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Inc. the world's first company that manufactures and packages products from garbage! Tom left Princeton University during his Sophomore year to follow his dream of founding a truly eco-capitalist company. After an inauspicious start in a friend's garage with no investors, TerraCycle and Tom have become an environmental thought leader pushing sustainable products and practices through mainstream outlets.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Tom Szaky of TerraCycle, Trenton NJ