Dive Brief:

• TerraCycle has announced it will sell "zero-waste boxes" in the US via retail chain Staples’ website, which will store household and office waste that curbside haulers will not typically handle, such as cleaning supplies, electronics, coffee capsules, and light bulbs.
• The containers are priced from $80, including return postage for the filled boxes, which are shipped to a TerraCycle processing facility where the materials are sorted and recycled into new products.
• Staples joins over 100 companies in the US and others in 22 countries around the world who work with TerraCycle to promote its recycling products, including a free cigarette butt recycling service throughout the UK. 

Dive Insight:

While some recyclers have struggled through years of a volatile commodities market, they've realized the need for innovation — they see that there is a need to sell more than cleaned, processed waste or products made from waste. At the same time, municipalities have to get people to recycle. They have to figure out how to manage waste that residents and businesses chose not to recycle as well as materials that there is no recycling infrastructure to handle.

One French materials recovery company has come up with an interesting concept in partnership with manufacturers and an e-waste collector. Another business has designed a unique glass implosion technology in North America.

Now, TerraCycle has added to its lineup of innovative products as a way to benefit its bottom line, communities, and the environment beyond.

"We definitely see an interest from people wanting to recycle beyond what they can do curbside," said TerraCycle founder and chief executive Tom Szaky. "Now, new and existing Staples consumers have this resource that allows them to step up their environmental game."