Joining A Brigade

TerraCycle runs national programs called Brigades, each of which is for a specific waste stream (like the Drink Pouch Brigade, or the Cookie Wrapper Brigade).

Each Brigade has a certain number of open locations (anywhere from 500-30,000), and local collection teams can sign up to collect. Each location earns a 2¢ donation for every piece of waste collected (sometimes we measure this by weight), and the donations go to a school or charity of that team’s choice. If the team is a school or non-profit, it is able to keep all donations earned through this program.

A collection team can be a school, organization, an office, or even a neighborhood. To start collecting, a team leader must first register on the TerraCycle site, and then create a collection team for one of the open Brigades.

Here’s how it works:

1. The team leader signs up online at www.terracycle.net
2. The team leader creates a collection team
3. Begin collecting! The team leader is immediately able to access posters and shipping materials through their TerraCycle profiles.
4. Once you have collected the minimum pieces of waste (it varies by program), download a FREE UPS shipping label and use it to send the waste to TerraCycle via UPS.
5. You can track your collections and donations online by signing in to your TerraCycle account.

There are more than 30,000 Brigade collection teams and millions of people involved in our Brigades. Sign up today at

TerraCycle.net!

About The Company

TerraCycle is a company reducing waste by finding innovative uses for materials others deem garbage. They pay non-profits and schools to collect used drink pouches, yogurt cups, chip bags and more! TerraCycle also collects industrial waste. The materials are upcycled into affordable, high-quality products. With help from millions of people like you, TerraCycle prevents 1000’s of tons of waste from going to landfills. Visit TerraCycle to learn more or to sign up for waste collection programs.

Their site has a counter that previews the amount of people collecting trash (12,791,308) waste units collected (1,861,068,797) products from waste (186) and get this… the amount of money that has been donated to charities – by collecting trash (1,558,861.43).

There are also 186 current products that are made from all these items that you can purchase. The products can be viewed and purchased online at DwellSmart is the Official Online Retailer for TerraCycle.