TerraCycle - Eco-Capitalism At its Finest
If EVER there was a green business to utterly inspire me, Terracycle Inc. would definitely be it!
Aside from having a fascination with ‘Eco-Capitalism’ in general, I’m extremely passionate about vermicomposting (composting with worms).
Terracycle was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, two young students at Princeton (at the time). According to Szaky, the original inspiration for the project stems back to a visit with a friend - a friend who just happened to have an active worm composting bin.
Seeing the worms at work, and the incredibly healthy plants fed with worm compost, the two students knew they were onto something.
Initially, the only venture capital Terracycle was able to secure was the prize money won in various entrepreneurial contests. The fact that they won seven such contests in a row is a clear indication that their vision was on target, yet they were still unable to secure enough money to really take their enterprise to the next level.
Interestingly enough, in May 2003 they won the $1 million Carrot Capital Business Plan Contest - yet turned down the prize money when it became clear they’d be required to stray from their original vision.
It seems that this was the turning point for the company. With very little money left, the entrepreneurs planned a late night raid of Princeton recycling bins in order to collect bottles needed to hold their liquid fertilizer. The idea stuck, and they’ve continued to use recycled soda bottles to this day. In fact they make the claim that their product is made 100% from waste.
Their first major financial breakthrough came about in 2004, when Home Depot began selling the brand on their website. Since that time, the Terracycle line of products has been picked up by a number of large store chains.
Some interesting tidbits:
- product made from soaking worm compost in water (the liquid “tea” is then bottled)
- certified organic
- Terracycle pays schools 5 cents per bottle, to help promote recycling and raise funds
- Shipping boxes are misprinted ‘waste’ boxes from other companies
- Spray nozzles are ‘extras’ from other companies
- All bottles are recycled drink bottles
Be sure to watch the Terracycle Video, and stay tuned for more updates on this cool company!
Written by Bentley on August 10th, 2006 with
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