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TerraCycle
The business of recycling anything
B Roll plastic bottles, straws and containers
Dr. Anna Barford:
We're totally addicted to plastic as a global economy.
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Since 1950, 1.8 quintillion pounds of plastic have been produced
Dr. Anna Barford:
Plastic is all around us in so many different forms.
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Which is roughly the same weigh as 6 Mt. Everests
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Dr. Anna Barford
Prince Of Wales Fellow In Pathways To A Circular Economy
Dr. Anna Barford:
When there are so many forms of it, it’s quite hard to sort it and deal with it and recycle it properly.
B Roll recyclables on a palette, a bag being tossed into a trashcan, a forklift with recyclables, trash on a beach, a bottle being recycled
Tom Szaky:
The human species is about 100 times more wasteful than it was just 70 years ago.
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Only 8.7% of plastic is recycled annually in the U.S.
Tom Szaky:
So we're producing a lot.
Then if you think about how the solutions to garbage work, what tends to be recycled is not what can be recycled - this is a huge misconception.
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Tom Szaky
Founder & CEO, TerraCycle and Loop
Instead, what is recycled is what can be recycled profitably by garbage companies.
B Roll man wrapping palette, empty bottles being tossed, Terracycle exteriors
Tom Szaky:
My name is Tom Szaky and I'm the founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop. TerraCycle is a global waste management company, we’re headquartered here in New Jersey, but operate nationally in 22 countries.
B roll TerraCycle website, recycling medical gloves, new consumer product packaging and products, Loop box
Tom Szaky:
Our mission is not just to manage waste, but to eliminate the idea of waste and we do that by recycling hard to recycle things, then integrating recycled waste back into consumer products. And then, finally through Loop, elevating supply chains from being disposable to fully reusable.
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Ernie Simpson
Global Vice President & Chief Scientist, Terracycle R&D and Technical Innovation
Ernie Simpson:
Tom had the real foresight to take a look at an area that no one was actually doing, and that's the recycling of No. 7 plastic.
B Roll number 7 symbol, scientists in the lab, landfill
Ernie Simpson:
Prior to TerraCycle, all multilayer constructed materials were put in the landfill. Many people thought you could not recycle No. 7 plastics because they wouldn't be of any use.
B Roll Ernie Simpson exterior TerraCycle, recycled pipes, building materials and cleaning materials
Ernie Simpson:
We were successful in showing the rest of the world what could be done with some of the materials that they considered non-recyclable.
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Brian Juleskeusky
Senior Relationship Manager, Bank of America
Brian Juleskeusky:
When you're looking to extend credit to a customer, I think one of the first questions you're asked is who are their competitors and what is their competitive advantage? And I don't think ever in my career, have I ever answered that question by saying straightfaced, there are no competitors. And that's really the case of Terracycle.
B Roll masks tossed into trash, styrofoam, discarded clothing, yogurt packaging, diapers, cigarette butts, toothbrushes, lipstick
Tom Szaky:
TerraCycle focuses on the things you can't put in your recycling bin. I think technically it's in the thousands of different waste streams. So everything from dirty diapers to cigarette butts, from toothbrushes to cosmetic packaging, and it goes on and on and on.
B Roll picnic tables and chairs, juice pouches being recycled, plastic granules, chairs and tables
Ernie Simpson:
All of these chairs and tables were made from juice pouch material. We shredded the materials, melted it, made it into granules, and then the granules were actually formed into lumber to make these chairs and tables.
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TerraCycle has recycled more than 7.7 billion items since its founding in 2001
Tom Szaky:
Everything can be recycled in the end.
B Roll empty bottles being scooped up, plastic bags put into a pile, a hopper of plastic granules
Tom Szaky:
The fundamental issue of recycling is one of economics. We're dependent on finding stakeholders who really want to invest and do the right thing. So, you can go out there and recycle things you could never recycle before, absolutely for free.
Brian Juleskeusky:
I think what I've learned in working with Terracycle is you can do the right thing and get benefit from that.
B Roll Tom Szaky chats with his TerraCycle team
Brian Juleskeusky:
And I think people are really focused on companies who take their carbon footprint seriously. And Terracycle is, is a company that enables these other companies to reach those goals.
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202 million people have participated in TerraCycle recycling programs
Dr. Anna Barford:
Everyone has their role to play.
B Roll consumers shopping and examining products
Dr. Anna Barford:
I think there's great potential for consumers to have an impact.
I think as individuals, we don't always know how to have that impact.
B Roll climate protest
Dr. Anna Barford:
The level of environmental consciousness amongst young people now is really high, but it's not just a consciousness, they’re actually on the streets being vocal about this, which is really an exciting change actually.
B Roll shoppers and shoppers examining products
Tom Szaky:
For us as individuals, the short-term stuff is to vote with our money for the future we want with what we buy. People are waking up more than ever.
B Roll exterior TerraCycle, Tom Szaky in front of logo on building
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Bank of America
www.bankofamerica.com/environment
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC © 2021 Bank of America Corporation.