Terracycle - Infrastructure barriers

Hi Rachel!  I am not aware of any other programs like Terracycle that recycle difficult to recycle waste streams, but if you are still looking for support with building the free Terracycle programs I would love to help you out!  I have several years of experience with Terracycle so please reach out to me at [email protected] if you still need help!

Terracycle covers several types of waste that literally nobody else is addressing. However, they also cover some types of waste that others ARE addressing, so it depends on what streams you're looking at. Ink cartridges for example, can be recycled via the Staples takeback. Same thing with writing implements - also Staples. Corks can go through ReCORK (pay for shipping only, unless there's a local dropoff partner). Lightbulbs and e-waste can often go to places like Best Buy or whatever hardware store is local to you. You'll have to do more local research on that as these programs vary drastically even within a given area sometimes.

A lot of implementing a new recycling program starts with understanding your existing waste stream:
Who is producing the waste?
How are they managing it now?
Who manages the existing waste? (both internal - is it lab students? custodians? are the custodians in-house or contracted? Who puts the waste in the bins, and who takes the bins to a larger collection site, and who picks up those larger/final bins for disposal?)

Implementing a recycling program will hopefully come out of a waste audit and an understanding of the waste system. The next step is to understand what sort of space and impact the new program will have. You'll need to ensure clear communication with all affected by the recycling program, whether it's a waste producer, or somebody who has been dumping bins (e.g. custodians). You don't want people misunderstanding and accidentally landfilling your recycling contents, for example!

Finally, I would try to follow up with a waste audit after the program has been in place for a while. Is there a lot of contamination? Are you achieving your initial goals? Is there any intangible information that would be helpful to capture?

Always as you collect data on this process, have in mind what you want to do with the data. You can't make change without good data, but you can't justify the data collection without knowing what you hope to do with the data.

Thank you so much for your insights. Very helpful, and the questions will certainly be a good compass...