- 3 minutes ago
TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky explains how the company is tackling hard-to-recycle waste, from vapes to packaging, and building a more circular economy.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00As consumers demand more sustainable products, companies are rethinking what can be recycled
00:05and how to build a more circular economy.
00:08Joining us now is Tom Zaki, founder and CEO of TerraCycle for more.
00:12So thank you so much for being here, Tom. We really appreciate it.
00:14Thanks for having me.
00:15Of course. So for viewers who maybe are not familiar with TerraCycle,
00:19tell us a little bit about what the company does and what problem you're really trying to solve.
00:23Absolutely. So TerraCycle has been around for 25 years,
00:25and what we focus on is recycling those objects that are not locally recyclable.
00:31So think, you know, in our local recycling bin, we put our cardboard boxes, our aluminum cans, soda bottles.
00:36But 95 percent of the objects that become waste from our toothbrushes to our cigarette butts are not locally recyclable.
00:42And that's what TerraCycle specializes in recycling.
00:45Yeah. And thinking about all of that and the kind of ways that you're able to innovate in this recycling
00:50world,
00:51tell us a little bit more about why traditional recycling infrastructure really falls short
00:56when it comes to so many of these everyday kind of consumer products.
01:00Absolutely. You know, the best way to think about that is to really understand why something is locally recyclable or
01:05not.
01:06And, you know, we many times project recycling as a public service like health care,
01:10when in reality it is always run by for-profit waste management companies.
01:14And so profitable garbage companies are only going to recycle what they can make money at.
01:18And that's what's really special about the things we put in our local recycling bin,
01:21like an aluminum can or cardboard box.
01:23The cost of collecting it and processing it is lower than the recovered value is worth.
01:27So there's profit to be made.
01:29But 95 percent of objects cost more to collect and process than the results are worth.
01:33Imagine collecting dirty diapers.
01:35The cost of collecting those and processing them is certainly going to be north of the recovered value.
01:40And that's the big white elephant in the room.
01:42Now, at TerraCycle, we solve that by getting certain stakeholders to fund the recycling of these waste streams.
01:48It could be Gillette, for example, funding razor blade recycling.
01:51It could be a retailer like a Walmart or a Staples funding recycling.
01:55But it could also be the end consumer or the businesses that use these products funding the recycling solution.
02:01Yeah, it really seems like those partnerships are so important.
02:04And it seems like that's such an important way to get them involved and get this done.
02:08How does TerraCycle really turn those materials that are typically considered non-recyclable into something that can actually be reused
02:15or repurposed?
02:16Absolutely.
02:17So in all cases, we have to collect the waste, sort it and process it.
02:20So in collection, it's not just getting it from you to me.
02:23You know, in certain waste streams, we may have to worry about health and safety protocols.
02:27You know, whether the waste stream like a razor blade might have, you know, bodily fluids or sharp or maybe
02:31it's somewhat regulated.
02:32So there's a lot of focus on our end first on how do we get it collected in a way
02:37that is safe.
02:38And it's also convenient and affordable.
02:40So people use it and do it at scale.
02:43Then from there, we sort the waste into processable categories.
02:46So if you're going to send us, let's say, your cosmetic waste, and we are the world's leading cosmetic waste
02:50recycler, as an example.
02:51There's going to be glass in there, metal packaging, perhaps plastic packaging, fiber.
02:56We have to separate that and sort it out.
02:58And then from there, we go to processing where we effectively shred and recover all the materials these objects are
03:04made from.
03:05And then those are sold to manufacturers who incorporate it back into their supply chain.
03:09And this can range from fully closed loop solutions.
03:11Like with ASIC shoes, we make the first shoe from shoes or with Pilot pens, the world's first pen from
03:17pens.
03:18But it could be all the way to chip bags turning into park benches and anything in between.
03:22Yeah, it really is a huge process.
03:24I mean, just thinking about the undertaking and what it really takes for you to do just each one of
03:28those steps, much less all of them.
03:30It really is a big undertaking.
03:31And, you know, again, talking about some of the things that you mentioned there, some of these makeup and other
03:36products that you are recycling.
03:37Another, you know, big couple of ones, vapes and batteries, two categories that get so much attention.
03:43How difficult are these products to recycle and what solutions are you developing for these?
03:47Absolutely.
03:48So we'll take vapes because, you know, they do have embedded batteries in them.
03:51And, you know, as background, TerraCycle invented cigarette butt recycling close to 15 years ago.
03:56We're very happy that we've now already collected and recycled close to a billion cigarette butts.
04:01And, of course, vapes, you know, have come out as the next sort of transition in the nicotine industry and
04:06also cannabis, of course, you know, moving from combustible to non-combustible delivery.
04:10The challenge with vaping devices is first the what is much more popular for consumers are disposable vapes.
04:16So instead of, you know, vapes where you can keep putting cartridges in, consumers tend to prefer the ones where
04:21you buy them and then throw them out after effectively one use.
04:23And what you're throwing out is a nicotine-containing electronic device with an embedded battery.
04:29The problem with that mouthful is that if that goes into a recycling center and gets shredded, which is one
04:34of the first steps in recycling, there's a very high chance of fire.
04:37And, in fact, nicotine vapes have been the leading causes of recycling center fires globally because of that, as well
04:44as other battery-containing objects like electronic toothbrushes and so on.
04:48So we first launched a vape recycling in New Zealand.
04:52We've already collected and recycled close to a million vapes there, then expanded it to Australia.
04:56And most recently, this is just breaking news, we launched it in the United States after a lot of partnership
05:01with state and federal agencies so that we can legally move vapes to recycling instead of hazardous disposal.
05:08Simply speaking, we figured out a technology and created one where we can remove the batteries and take the vape
05:15apart, all without any risk of fire.
05:18And then from there, the plastics are recycled like normal plastics, the batteries with battery recycling and so on and
05:22so forth.
05:23Yeah, I mean, it's just incredible to think about those processes that you've developed.
05:27I mean, just thinking about taking that whole item of a vape and then breaking it down to all of
05:32those different components to be recycled.
05:34Again, just such a massive undertaking that you've embarked on.
05:37And, again, as you're saying, you also have all the regulations and everything else that you're needing to follow as
05:42well.
05:43I mean, thinking about consumers who are really just demanding more sustainable products, how much does that really change the
05:49way that brands are thinking about packaging and waste as well?
05:52Yeah, absolutely.
05:53I think, especially in the climate that we're living in today, the political climate, you know, there is a lot
05:58of interesting shifts in how we are looking at sustainability, right?
06:02What type of power we're interested in and just how we're investing in sustainability.
06:06And that is ebbing and flowing.
06:07With that said, what all people agree on, and we've seen this in consumer research, whether right wing or left
06:13wing, is that waste is bad and recycling is good.
06:16You know, dare I say it's the first sustainability lesson we learned as children, you know, to reduce, reuse, recycle.
06:20And it tends to be very apolitical.
06:23The brilliance of that is no matter what climate or economic environment we're living through, brands are really focused on
06:29making sure that their products are made from recycled content, can be recycled.
06:34They're investing quite a lot in that.
06:35And even today, there's new regulation in the U.S. coming, like extended producer responsibility regulation that is forcing the
06:41funding of that approach.
06:43So we're seeing, you know, continued strong interest from brands on leading here.
06:46And, of course, from there, the next step, you know, beyond recycling, which has been one of our biggest investments
06:51as an organization, is how do we move to reusable systems where nothing needs to be recycled and no waste
06:56is produced in the process.
06:58Yeah, it really seems like, again, there's so many of these moving parts coming together here to make that happen.
07:03Talk to us a little bit about the consumer participation piece of things here to get these programs really working.
07:08What needs to change to get more people involved?
07:10Absolutely. So consumers, luckily, at a baseline, do care about the environment.
07:16And recycling tends to be the very first step that they're willing to do.
07:20Well, well before they consider potentially shifting what type of protein they eat or what type of transportation they use.
07:26Recycling tends to be that very first step.
07:28And it expresses whether you're young or old, male or female, and no matter where on the educational political spectrum
07:34you're on.
07:35So that's really good for recycling overall.
07:37With that said, to get really high levels of participation, it has to be highly convenient.
07:42Consumers have to be made aware, so it has to be communicated.
07:45And then if any incentives can be added, that only helps push the needle along the way.
07:50So we focus quite a bit on how do we get the awareness out and as well, how do we
07:54make our programs as absolutely convenient as possible.
07:57And that's why if anyone who's listening to this is interested, we have a lot of free services that you
08:01can use from the TerraCycle website before you even peruse anything that you might have to pay for.
08:07Yeah, that's so interesting to think about different ways to actually get people to want to recycle.
08:12Because again, everyone wants to in theory, but then in actuality, it's again that convenience and really making it so
08:17that they actually do it after all of the work that you're doing for the products that they're giving to
08:23you.
08:23Looking ahead, what do you really think about for the future of recycling?
08:27What do you think it's going to look like and what role do you expect TerraCycle to play in really
08:31building this circular economy?
08:33You know, as there is more pressure on raw materials, whether it's pressure through tariffs, you know, with more tariffs
08:39coming, there is it's much easier to recover raw materials locally versus import them.
08:43But also in general, as there's more pressure on the environment, extraction, farming, mining gets more expensive, which means it's
08:50cheaper to recover materials from our waste stream.
08:53I think that is only going to be more expressed year over year.
08:55We see that in the rise of commodity prices.
08:58It doesn't matter what commodity we look at from gold to copper, aluminum, silver.
09:03All of these things are growing significantly faster than inflation.
09:06And that's a representation of exactly these pressures, which is really good for the recycling industry.
09:12Beyond that, I think it's a leapfrog step from moving from recycling, where we're only recovering the composition of an
09:18object, what an object is made from, you know, the materials that object is made from, to reuse, where we
09:24are just refurbishing, cleaning, resetting an object and effectively valorizing its composition, but also its form and its intention.
09:32And that's a much higher use for the waste management industry.
09:36Yeah, it really seems like it is.
09:37And we look forward to seeing what happens with all of this.
09:40And we appreciate you being here today, breaking it all down for us.
09:42Tom Zaki, founder and CEO of TerraCycle.
09:45Thank you so much.
09:46Thanks for having me.
Comments