National Recycling Day for Pet Parents

Recycling is an invaluable part of global environmental sustainability particularly given our consumeristic society. Special days like National Recycling Day (also known as America Recycles Day) on November 15 help raise awareness about the value of recycling as well as how people can participate, which is why we at Wellness Pet Food want to share information about our partnership with TerraCycle® as well as how you can get involved and help make the world a better place for pets and their people.

What is TerraCycle, and How Does TerraCycle Work?

TerraCycle is an acclaimed and highly awarded global recycling and upcycling company. Currently located in 20 countries, TerraCycle collects and repurposes packages and products into new affordable products. The company’s belief is that everything can be recycled and collects multiple products ranging from Wellness Pet Food bags to Keurig cups to Hasbro toys. At Wellness, we’re passionate about sustainability and became the first pet food company based in the United States to partner with TerraCycle.

The way the program works is as follows:

1. Pet food owners register to the Recycle Your Wellness Packaging Program online at no charge.
2. Pet food owners ship their Wellness Pet Food packaging to TerraCycle free of charge. Note that only certain types of packages are currently accepted, which will be addressed in detail in the section on how you can participate.
3. Pet food owners earn rewards in the form of TerraCycle points. Each pound of waste earns 100 points, which can be redeemed for gifts or cash to your favorite school or nonprofit organization.

Globally, with contributions through all of its programs, TerraCycle has over 202 million global participants and has recycled 7.7 billion pounds of waste raising $44 million for charity.

TerraCycle’s Environmental Impact

To date, Wellness’s work with TerraCycle has allowed for over 305,000 bags of food to be recycled in the United States and for 7,348 bags to be recycled in Canada. There are presently 4,613 consumer program locations in the United States and are 348 locations in Canada.

Currently, there are over 230,000 people who have registered with the Recycle Your Wellness Packaging program. The program is growing every day with an increasingly substantial impact.

• In 2018, Wellness collected 59,674 bags
• In 2019, Wellness collected 88,552 bags
• As of September 2020, Wellness collected 95,100 bags

With more awareness and participation, Wellness hopes to collect over 100,000 bags by the end of 2020 for the most substantial environmental impact to date.

How You Can Participate in National Recycling Day

To get involved and to participate in National Recycling Day (America Recycles Day), you can do several things.

• Sign up for the Recycle Your Wellness Packaging Program. Again, it’s free to sign up and to participate. Importantly, bear in mind that only certain kinds of Wellness Pet Food packages are being accepted for the program. All Wellness Pet Food dry food bags, including Wellness Complete Health, Wellness CORE and Wellness CORE RawRev bags.
• Spread the word about the program to friends and family by posting this article on your social media platforms or including it in your e-mail newsletter. Follow the TerraCycle blog and share their content on your social media feed.
• Tell friends, pet stores, and media outlets in your community about the program as part of your contribution to National Recycling Day.

Make a social media post especially about the program for National Recycling Day with links to encourage participation.

The good being done by TerraCycle and participating companies is both profound and limitless if people get involved. Because it’s free, there’s no reason not to. After all, it makes sense to make the world a better place for everyone with two legs and with four legs.

Even though National Recycling Day is only one day, November 15, Wellness Pet Food believes in recycling and sustainability year-round, which is why the Wellness partnership with TerraCycle is so beneficial for the planet and for the pets and people in it.