‘Tis the season for gift giving, festive parties and unfortunately, a lot of unnecessary holiday waste. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Americans throw away 25% more trash than any other time of year – amounting to an estimated 125,000 tons of plastic packaging discarded every holiday season, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Casella), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, in partnership with TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that specializes in hard-to-recycle materials, is doing something to reduce these numbers.
“Every year, the holiday season brings joy, cheer, and an unfortunate amount of excess waste into our homes,” said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle. “Through the TerraCycle Pouch by Casella program, we are offering residents in the Burlington area an easy way to recycle any plastic packaging that is not accepted by their curbside recycling program. This way, they can celebrate sustainably this season, without guilt over the excess waste that the holidays produce.”
Through the TerraCycle Pouch by Casella program, households and businesses in and around Burlington, Vermont can subscribe to the service for a wide array of items that are not accepted in curbside recycling bins. In addition to plastic packaging, the program also collects the following waste streams:
• Cosmetics Packaging
• Oral Care Packaging
• Party Supplies and Disposables
• Media Storage and Wires and Cords
• Pet Food Packaging
• Plastic Toys and Sporting Goods
• Milk and Juice Cartons
• Styrofoam™ and Corks
• Food & Drink Pouches
• Coffee Capsules and Water Filters
• Worn Clothing and Eyewear
• Shoes and Footwear
• Ink Cartridges and Office Supplies
To participate, customers can subscribe to the TerraCycle Pouch by Casella program by visiting http://www.terracyclepouch.com to choose a plan that fits their needs. Casella will deliver recycling pouches to customers to collect the material in a simple and convenient way. Once the pouches are full, customers request a pickup by scanning the pouch’s QR code or logging into their account. Once pouches are full, customers can place them on their doorstep. Casella will pick the pouches up and TerraCycle will recycle everything inside.
The TerraCycle Pouch by Casella program is in a pilot phase and is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization in select towns in and around Burlington, Vermont. If the program proves to be economically and environmentally valuable for customers in the pilot group, Casella hopes to bring it to other areas of its operating footprint in the future.
About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services in the northeastern United States. For further information, investors should contact Jason Mead, SVP finance and treasurer at (802) 772-2293, and media should contact Jeff Weld, director of engagement at (802) 772-2234, or visit the company’s website at http://www.casella.com.
About TerraCycle
TerraCycle is an international leader in innovative sustainability solutions, creating and operating first-of-their-kind platforms in recycling, recycled materials, and reuse. Across 21 countries, TerraCycle is on a mission to rethink waste and develop practical solutions for today’s complex waste challenges. The company engages an expansive multi-stakeholder community across a wide range of accessible programs, from Fortune 500 companies to schools and individuals, and has raised over $44 million for schools and nonprofits since its founding more than 15 years ago. To learn more about TerraCycle and join them on their journey to move the world from a linear economy to a circular one, please visit www.terracycle.com.