Traditional Recycling Compared with Terracycle
I’ve written before about how much I love using Terracycle for recycling items our municipal plants can’t accept. Plenty of things are technically recyclable, but because of limitations on funding and availability, many things are simply thrown out instead of processed. For example, in my county, we cannot recycle shredded paper, wire coat hangers, paper plates (even unused ones, it seems), plastic dental flossers, or empty pill bottles.
What Can You Recycle with Terracycle?
Compared to municipal recycling, the question of “what can you recycle with Terracycle?” offers a much broader answer.
When perusing their new Terracycle programs the other day, I realized that there are so many things that can be recycled through them that you would not think of!
Things You Can Recycle that You Might Not Expect
I’ve been using a few of the Terracycle programs for a while now, namely the oral health care recycling program and the beauty products recycling program. However, there are many other great options available for things you might not think of. Here are some of the ones I thought you might find most surprising:
- Pre-made pasta pouches from Barilla
- Contact lenses
- Used pens and related packaging
- Martini & Rossi Frosé and Frosecco pouches
- Overworn Stasher reusable bags
- String from musical instruments, including nylon, steel, and orchestral strings
- Plastic bread bags from Bimbo Bakeries (which includes Thomas bagels)
- Used Brita filters and related Brita products, including bottles, faucet systems, and packaging
- PopSockets
- Car seats and other Century brand baby gear
- Cigarette waste, and the remaining tobacco is composted
- Pet food bags from Earthborn, Wellness, and Weruva
- Empty Fabreze aerosol containers
- Newell Brand candles and room scent products (including Yankee Candle, WoodWick, and Chesapeake Bay Candles)
- Razor blades, razors, and plastic packaging from such products
- L.O.L Surprise! packaging, accessories, and products
- Well-used food storage containers and tupperwear of any brand
- Schwarzkopf hair color packaging
Which of these is most surprising to you? Which would be the most useful?
Further Reading on Specialized Recycling
If you are looking for more information on TerraCycle and sustainable solutions for the home, please check out my other posts on the topic:
- How to Recycle With TerraCycle
- Sustainable Grocery Shopping Tips: How to Make Your Meal Prep More Environmentally Friendly
- Sustainable Beauty Solutions
- How to Recycle Beauty Product Bottles & Packaging
*This post was originally published in 2021. It was most recently updated on June 27, 2023.