What can be recycled?  There is a company that thinks almost anything can.

It’s called TerraCycle, and it offers free recycling programs that are funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers to help people collect and recycle especially difficult waste. Participants choose the programs they would like to join, collect the items to be recycled, download free shipping labels, and send the waste away.  There is also a rewards program for schools and non-profits, claiming over $15 million for charity to date.

The company was founded in 2001 by a young man named Tom Szaky who was a freshman at Princeston University.  He and another student started feeding leftovers from the dining hall to worms, then liquefied the worm compost to create an organic fertilizer.  This was so successful that Szaky dropped out of school to form his company.  Today TerraCycle operates in over 20 countries, engaging over 60 million people under the motto “Recycle Everything”.

For more information, check out their website at http://www.terracycle.com/en-US

A good article describing the company is at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2016/0204/Tom-Szaky-started-TerraCycle-to-help-de-junk-the-world