HOULTON — The Houlton Humane Society was a top state collector of hair care, skin care, and cosmetic product packaging for the Personal Care and Beauty Brigade, a free, national recycling program created by Garnier and TerraCycle. By collecting used personal care and beauty packaging, this organization has helped to divert nearly 11,000 units of waste from landfills.
Unfortunately, the Houlton Humane Society had to stop this program about eight months ago, said Heather Miller, director of the Houlton Humane Society.
“It was a lot of work for one person,” she said. “A lot of people were taking advantage of it and not following the rules of what we took.”
The Houlton Humane Society staff was coming to work to find “bags and bags of garbage,” Miller said. “It was costing us a lot of money as we have to pay per pound for a dumpster.”.
The program is beneficial, but could not be continued in Houlton.
“When it started it was great,” Miller said. “But sadly, people took advantage and it hurt the program, which is sad for us, as the money helped buy litter and cleaning supplies.”
As charitable groups join the recycling Brigade, organizations earn points for every unit of waste they collect and send to TerraCycle. The points can be redeemed for charitable gifts or a cash donation to the non-profit of the collector’s choice. TerraCycle will turn the collected packaging materials into new plastic products such as park benches and recycling bins.
“Thank you to everyone who makes this Brigade successful,” said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. “The Personal Care and Beauty Brigade has become one of our top collection programs and I am excited for it to keep growing.”
Brigade participants have collected more than 5.3 million units of personal care and beauty items and earned over $105,000 for charity.
Any school, individual, families or organizations interested in recycling with TerraCycle can learn more about the Brigade programs and sign up for free at www.terracycle.com.
