Dive Summary:
- TerraCycle is leading a program to encourage the recycling of disposable chip bags in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.
- The Chip in For Change program aims to collect 10% of all used chip bags in Hamilton. Eventually, the company would like the recycling rate to hit 30% - the equivalent national rate for recycling soda containers
- Over 15,000 bags have already been collected. For each bag collected, TerraCycle will donate a half a cent to local charities and schools.
- Next week, the TerraCycle and the town will more than 1,000 collection containers throughout the city.
From the article:
Township residents recycle less than 1 percent of their used chip bags, according to TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Szaky, who wants to change that.
The Trenton-based recycling company announced yesterday that Hamilton will serve as the pilot township for its Chip In For Change program, which aims to collect 10 percent of the empty chip bags that people in Hamilton throw out.
Speaking at a town hall press conference, Szaky said the program hopes to bring the percentage of chip bags that are recycled up to 30 percent, equivalent to the rate that soda bottles or aluminum cans are recycled each year.
“If we can show that, then we have a very big opportunity, through the support of the corporations that support us, to be able to replicate the success we would have here in Hamilton not just across New Jersey, but all across the United States,” Szaky said.
