Shipping Materials - Zero Waste Box™

For the Zero Waste Box system to work effectively and safely, please follow these simple shipping guidelines on how and what you can ship back to TerraCycle:

1. When will my order arrive? Orders are typically shipped out 2-3 business days after the order is placed. All orders ship via UPS and can take 1-6 business days to arrive. Please note, during a sale period, these times may vary; expect possible delays with your order being fulfilled. After your order leaves our facility, you can sign up for UPS My Choice to schedule your delivery or update your delivery instructions.
2. Only send in items this system accepts. Sending in items that fall outside the selected category causes contamination and the need for added separation, which increases costs. For a more technical description of what is accepted, please click here.
3. Do not send in household items that may be considered hazardous waste. These include items such as lithium-ion batteries, pressurized canisters, pesticides, oil-based paint or medical sharps, organics, broken glass, biomedical waste, soiled diapers, or expired medication. Do not send in anything sharp, flammable, reactive, corrosive, ignitable, radioactive, toxic, infectious, or pathogenic. For a more technical description of what is accepted and not accepted, please click here.
4. Do not ship dripping packages. Please make sure all excess product has been removed before putting it in your Zero Waste Box, Pouch, or Pallet. If you choose to rinse your items, please note that the system must be completely dry prior to shipping.

Shipments of waste are sent to one of our local TerraCycle Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). When a shipment from a collector arrives at one of our MRFs, we scan it to record the shipment information, date, weight, and what material it contained. 

We then sort materials based on material characteristics and composition, using a wide variety of sorting technologies. Once sorted by category, the different material types are cleaned and then sent to third-party partners to process the materials into usable forms. 

After we recycle the waste into raw material, it’s sold to manufacturing companies who produce the end product and complete the recycling journey. Learn more about TerraCycle’s recycling process.