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The first collaboration between Taco Bell and TerraCycle in 2021 marked a turning point for the quick-service industry. The pairing initially sought to recycle single-use condiment packets – in this case, the QSR’s well-known and quotable sauce packets. Now, the partners are expanding that work.

This Earth Day, April 22, Trenton-based waste management system and all-around recycling and reuse innovator TerraCycle announced the newly renamed Taco Bell Sauce Container US Recycling Program will support the collection and processing of any brand dipping sauce cup, soufflé cups, or lids and coffee creamer pods.

That takes care of the sauce packets, as well as the cup your barbecue sauce might come in, the creamer you dropped in your coffee, and the tiny paper cup you use for ketchup. Under the program’s conditions, consumers can find a public drop-off point to make their waste deposit, or collect the refuse and ship it in from anywhere.

“Taco Bell’s category-wide recycling program, along with the added waste streams, allows fans to enjoy the convenience of their favorite on-the-go food, minus the waste,” TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Szaky said in a statement. “By continuing to encourage consumers to rethink what is considered waste, Taco Bell is spreading awareness that solutions do exist for items that may not currently be recyclable–even if those items weren’t part of their meal at Taco Bell.”

Taco Bell expanded its program to include sauce packets other than its own in 2022.

Good work

That buy-in conceptually, along with covering waste that may not have come from one of its own restaurants, is part of TerraCycle’s overarching work. The company aims to keep corporate partners engaged in order to help raise awareness as well as make progress.

“It’s not just platitudes,” Szaky told NJBIZ during a recent interview at the company’s headquarters, “Those don’t do much. … It’s also one thing to launch and you get some nice PR. But, what about year three, year five, year 10” to ensure that impact persists?

According to Szaky, part of TerraCycle’s work helps to “bridge the gap between those two points.”

The company’s efforts with Taco Bell also highlight the totality of the overall mission.

In 2022, TerraCycle revealed what good work can result in, unveiling picnic tables made from recycled sauce packets at Trenton Thunder Ball park in the state’s capital as well as other parks in Mercer County.

“Expanding our TerraCycle partnership to recycle more than just sauce packets is the logical next step in reducing our waste,” Missy Schaaphok, director of global nutrition & sustainability, Taco Bell, said in a statement. “Now our fans can enjoy products like our Nacho Fries and know that their sauce cups can be diverted from landfills.”

It’s in the mail

Recycling as part of the expanded program is not only easy (by design), it offers incentives to participants.

To take part:

• Consumers can sign up to send in their refuse on TerraCycle.com here;
• Once the collection box reaches capacity, users print a pre-paid shipping label from their TerraCycle account;
• Then, affix and ship.

The program also awards TerraCycle Recycling Rewards points consumers can convert to cash and donate to the nonprofit, school or charitable organization of their choice.

During May, Taco Bell Rewards Members who ship with the same email address can also earn 80 Bonus Rewards, according to TerraCycle.

As we close out Earth Month, stay tuned for a closer look inside TerraCycle coming soon to NJBIZ.