Parents are always looking for ways to get their kids on board with spring cleaning – especially when it comes to room-by-room recycling. It’s important for kids to have those simple lessons that will benefit the planet and make every day Earth Day.
With three billion toys purchased in 2014 alone, the challenge of what to do with broken dolls, cars without wheels or stuffed animals coming unraveled is greater than ever. But now, unusable toys that aren’t fit for donating can now find a new home other than a landfill. Natural personal care brand Tom’s of Maine and TerraCycle®, the world’s leader in recycling the non-recyclable, are teaming up during Earth Month to offer #StartYoungLiveGreen: the first program that empowers families across the country to share in a teachable moment and recycle broken toys into something useful like park benches.
“Parents are able to donate toys, but there hasn’t been a way to keep broken or incomplete toys and games out of the landfill until now,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “With the Toy Recycling Boxes, Tom’s of Maine and TerraCycle are tackling one of the last frontiers of recycling and giving environmentally-minded parents a solution they can feel good about.”
Here’s how it works: families can sign up for a Toy Recycling Box, available free of charge at www.TomsofMaine.com/toyrecycling while supplies last. The boxes come with a prepaid shipping label for an easy return process once full. Everything from dolls to board game pieces can be placed in the box and shipped to TerraCycle free of charge.
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The complete list of toys that can be recycled for the #StartYoungLiveGreen campaign includes:
- dolls
- discarded toys or toy pieces
- cards
- dice
- game boards
- packaging from board games
- books with sound
- handheld electronic games and players
- remote control vehicles
- electronic stuffed animals
- baby toys
- building sets
- stuffed animals
- puzzle pieces
- game pieces
- action figures
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“It’s not easy to throw away our kids’ favorite toys when they are beyond repair,” said Susan Dewhirst, goodness programs manager at Tom’s of Maine. “However, when they are worn out and can’t be donated, recycling or upcycling toys is a simple way to reshape the way kids think about waste. Thirty years ago, we would never have imagined that toy parts could be repurposed into a new picnic table. Imagine the possibilities ahead if we all work together.”
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For 45 years, Tom’s of Maine has been making natural personal care products with a focus on natural, sustainable and responsible. Today, Tom’s of Maine is focused on a goal of zero waste to landfills by 2020 at its manufacturing facility in Maine. As well, through its partnership with TerraCycle, the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade® enlists volunteers to collect personal care packaging from any brand for recycling, helping to keep 11,000 pounds of packaging out of landfills in 2014 alone.
Tom’s of Maine also gives 10% of profits back to helping communities and families across the nation. For more information on the #StartYoungLiveGreen campaign, visit TomsofMaine.com and Facebook.com/TomsofMaine.
Tom’s of Maine
