Inside TerraCycle

 

Our History

Early Years

2004

TerraCycle steamed ahead with its first major sales to The Home Depot and Wal-Mart in the Canadian market. Although the initial order was modest, it got TerraCycle's foot in the door of big box retailers. Pretty soon, major retail meant major orders. TerraCycle needed staff, storage, machinery, and most importantly: a factory. Since the original office was based in Princeton and the Eco-Complex was located in Bordentown, it made logical sense to find somewhere in between the two.

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As a result, Trenton became our new headquarters! In the 1930's Trenton had over 400 businesses with 5 or more employees. You'd be lucky to find forty now. With that in mind we found a perfect facility on New York Ave. in West Trenton. The low cost of the property was a huge boon to a young startup such
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as TerraCycle, while the added benefit to the community dovetailed with Tom's personal ideals of social responsibility. Right off the bat TerraCycle became a second chance employer for ex-convicts, veterans and parolees. We posted a job listing for laborers and 300 people showed up to apply for 9 slots!

TerraCycle soon put the word out that we had an ugly and dilapidated factory that could use some art to lively up its brick walls. Before long, TerraCycle became a 'Mecca' of sorts for urban artists from all

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over. Most people think of Graffiti is akin to garbage; graffiti is perceived as something that defaces buildings and other structures. Moreover, they pay to have it removed like any piece of trash! For artists, this meant that society was out to destroy their means of expression. So when the factory was offered as a blank canvas, the response was astounding. Graffiti artists transformed the outside of the building to the living, breathing masterpiece it is today. Today, our building is now repainted every few months with brand new urban art!