2021 TerraCycle Recycling Program Summary
I signed up for a few of the free TerraCycle recycling programs prior to the pandemic, but with everything shutting down, not much happened in 2020. After stores began reopening, the Community Eco Store in downtown Phoenixville agreed to host my collection bins at the end of 2020 (so I wouldn’t have people coming to my house!). In 2021, we collected more waste than I was prepared for. I shared my blog post (link here) with a few friends and family members, and posted it on Nextdoor hoping to find a few people interested in collecting. Word of the collection has spread around the area and reached people I’ve never met!
I’m really excited to say that in 2021 we collected almost 103 pounds of items destined for the landfill! (102.6 pounds to be exact)!!
Not only is this exciting because we are diverting items from landfills that can be recycled and made into new products, but for every shipment I send in, we earn points that can be redeemed through TerraCycle for charitable actions, including providing clean drinking water to a community, feeding a family in need, cleaning up a river, or preserving natural lands, and more. Points can also be redeemed for monetary donations to charity.
The summary of the 2021 collection is in the table below. If you collected items, THANK YOU for being a part of it! And a huge thank you to Steve and Deb of the Community Eco Store who have spent their time, energy, and store space to make this collection a success!
If you would like to start collecting, check out the list of accepted items here and bring them to the Community Eco Store (252 Bridge St, Phoenixville, PA). I made a video of what we collected in 2021, so check that out below along with a few other videos detailing specific collection programs (more videos to come…).
So far (as of mid-Dec 2021), we have amassed 2,161 points, which translates to $21.61. 1,879 points were earned this year from our Tom’s of Maine and Late July collections. I still need to ship the Bic collection to get those points added to our total. Some of the smaller collections like Gillette and Febreze need to collect more items to have an appropriate weight to ship to TerraCycle (the less often we ship, the better for the environment). Drop-off programs like Subaru Loves the Earth doesn’t earn us any points, but we still removed almost 46 pounds of trash from going to the landfill.
Unfortunately Brita paused their collection program this year, but according to their website, the program should be back next year. Please keep your Brita items at home for now and hopefully I will be able to take them again in 2022. I have almost 17 pounds in my basement that I’m not willing to give up on yet!
UPDATE: I was able to get a limited-time shipping label in June 2022 and shipped back 21 pounds of Brita waste to be recycled (numerous Brita pitcher filters, wrappers, and several broken Brita pitchers)!!
2021 TerraCycle Recycling Summary
| Collection | Subaru Loves the Earth | Tom's of Maine Hello | Bic | Late July | Gillette | Brita | Febreeze | Nordstrom* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (pounds) | 46.7 | 13.9 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 1.4 | 16.7 | 0.5 | 10.5 |
*Nordstrom BEAUTYCYCLE is a drop-off program through TerraCycle that accepts all brands of beauty product and skincare packaging (including pump caps, hair spray triggers, lipstick cases, eyeliner pencils, and mascara tubes). I wasn’t officially collecting for this program in 2021 but I received various products through the Eco Store collection this year that fall into that collection. As a drop-off program, anyone can drop items at a participating Nordstrom store instead of bringing them to the Eco Store. You can find participating locations at this link.
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