While it’s great that so many people want to recycle, it’s not good news for you when you come up against a notification that the program you would like to join is waitlisted.
This happens because most programs have a limit on number of participants or the amount of waste accepted. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to estimate how long you’ll have to wait before being added to a program because the decision ultimately lies with the brand partner who sponsors the program; we ask that you remain patient while we work with the brand to make more spots available.
But all is not lost! Here’s a list of additional ways you can recycle your items through TerraCycle:
Visit a Community Collection Hub
Please use our network of Community Collection Hubs and see if there’s a location nearby who accepts the waste stream you wish to recycle. Simply type in your suburb or postcode and select the maximum search area you’re willing to travel to. Don’t forget to also select the specific waste stream you want to recycle. Some locations accept several waste streams so be sure to check. We also recommend calling the Hub first to find out the best time to drop off waste and if any of their details have changed.
Become a Community Collection Hub
Some of the programs that are waitlisted allow collectors who sign up as a Community Collection Hub and accept public donations of waste from people in their area to be fast tracked into the program. Read our blog post about Community Collection Hubs here.
Go to an Officeworks store
TerraCycle and BiC have partnered with Officeworks to make it easy to recycle all your used writing equipment across Australia. To find out which items your local Officeworks store accepts for e-waste recycling, printer cartridge recycling, battery recycling, pen recycling and more, head to the store locator on their website.
Use instore collections
Some of our free recycling programs, in particular our beauty product recycling programs, allow you to return your empties instore. In Australia, you’re able to return innisfree, Kiehl’s, L’Occitane, and The Body Shop products to their stores located all across the country. For more information on how each program works, check out their program pages on our website.
Buy a Zero Waste Box
TerraCycle’s paid recycling solution offers you near endless ways to recycle all those tricky items that can’t be recycled through normal kerbside collections. You can order your boxes from our website and they will be posted out to you. The boxes come with a return shipping label attached so when they are full you will just need to seal the boxes and drop them off at your closest post office. The price of the box covers the box itself, shipping to you/back to us once full, and the cost of recycling the contents. Through our Zero Waste Box solution, you can recycle practically everything! From used facemasks and gloves to sporting equipment, party supplies, shipping materials and more! Be sure to take our quiz to find the right box for you and your recycling needs.
Try Nourished Life or Flora & Fauna
Another way to recycle beauty products through our Zero Waste Box solution is to send in your empties to Nourished Life who will provide you with a free return label. For more info check out how they’re helping reduce waste in the beauty industry in Australia.
Flora & Fauna will also accept all your empty beauty products for recycling with TerraCycle and will even reward you with a $10 store credit for every shipment you send them. For all the details head here.