As seen on Good Morning America: Recycle toys & more with TerraCycle
Most toys aren’t recycled. But that’s not because they can’t be. Keep old toys and so much more out of landfills and incinerators by recycling with TerraCycle.
TerraCycle’s core purpose is to combat the global waste crisis, and we’ve been working for two decades as a mission-driven recycling company to address it. We’re different from your local curbside recycling service. TerraCycle recycles the unrecyclable—items not typically accepted by traditional recyclers, like toys and so much more.
Local recycling services accept items that they can profit from recycling. If the cost of collecting and processing the trash is of lower value than the resulting raw materials, it will likely be accepted by curbside services. If the costs are higher, then it likely won’t be. Toys and many other hard-to-recycle waste streams cost more to collect and process than the resulting recycled materials are worth, so they are typically not accepted by local curbside recycling services.
The good news is that most trash can technically be recycled, and TerraCycle has solutions for you!
See our CEO, Tom Szaky - and our toy recycling process in action - on Good Morning America.
Zero Waste Boxes
Zero Waste Boxes are the easy-to-use solution to recycle items that typically aren’t accepted by local recycling services. With so many boxes to choose from, we make it simple to #RecycleEverything!
Getting started with Zero Waste Boxes is easy. We have boxes for everything from coffee capsules to toys, beauty empties, PPE, and more! Browse our website and choose the one that matches the hard-to-recycle trash that you want to recycle. When the box is full, simply seal it and ship it back with the prepaid shipping label that’s already attached to the box–there are no additional costs or fees. Plus, all boxes ship carbon-neutral.
The cost of a Zero Waste Box reflects the cost of sorting, cleaning, processing, and recycling the collected waste, box, and liner, production of the box, transportation to you, and then back to our recycling facilities.
Feeling inspired to recycle toys? Order your Toys - Zero Waste Box™, fill it up with plush toys, electronic toys, board games, and more. Or check out any of our other best-selling boxes and #RecycleEverything.
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This was the most satisfying experience. With two young children, the amount of plastic, broken toys in our house was overwhelming. Being able to recycle these old toys feels so much better than putting them in the garbage. So happy to have found this resource!
- Allison S.
Free toy recycling programs
Brands partner with us to offer free recycling programs for their products and packaging that can’t be recycled curbside. Join one of TerraCycle’s many brand-sponsored recycling programs to recycle toys and so much more!
Most of our free recycling programs include TerraCycle Recycling Rewards, which are points that can be redeemed for a cash donation to the school, nonprofit, or charity of your choice. And schools and other nonprofits can even raise money for their own organization! Learn more.
💡Please donate toys whenever possible and recycle toys that are broken or unusable.
Recycling solutions for hundreds of waste streams
We don’t just recycle toys! TerraCycle has created hundreds of first-of-their-kind recycling solutions for everything from beauty waste to coffee capsules to cigarette butts. Explore all of our recycling solutions.
FAQs
Why can’t I put items like toys in my curbside recycling bin?
Your local recycling company will accept an item if it can profit from recycling it, as shown in the illustration below. For example, aluminum cans are very profitable to recycle, so most curbside programs accept them. Toys and other hard-to-recycle items cost more to collect and process than the resulting recycled materials are worth, so they are typically not accepted by local recycling services.
How can TerraCycle recycle the unrecyclable?
TerraCycle can recycle hard-to-recycle trash because we work with brands, retailers, and other stakeholders who fund the recycling process. We offer proven, first-of-their-kind recycling solutions for hundreds of waste streams, like beauty empties, snack packaging, cigarette butts, and so much more. Our supply chains are audited and accredited yearly, backing up our guarantee to recycle all the accepted waste sent to us. Learn more about why TerraCycle is different from other recyclers.
What happens to the trash we recycle?
Every shipment sent to us for recycling is checked in at a TerraCycle material recovery facility (MRF) and then sorted. After we recycle the waste into raw material, it’s sold to manufacturing companies who produce the end product and complete the recycling journey.
Some of the recycled plastic is used to create our TerraCycle Made products. TerraCycle Made is a small collection of products created from materials we collect and recycle together.
