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Rain Barrel Media Coverage

Chicago Tribune

Recycled oak barrels (September 5, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class.

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process.

The TerraCycle rain barrel captures roof runoff from a downspout for use in the garden.

Cost: $99.

Details: Sold at some Sam's Clubs and garden centers....

E! Magazine

OF WINE AND SOIL (September 3, 2008)

Without grapes, there’d be no wine, but without good soil, there’d be no grapes. Wine-maker Kendall-Jackson has teamed with TerraCycle, Inc. to promote healthy soil by “upcycling” its old wine barrels into rainwater and compost bins. The Rotary Composter and the Rain Barrel are made of American or French oak and bring a rustic décor to any backyard. The Rain Barrel holds 55 gallons of rainwater to use for garden and lawn watering. The Rotary Composter produces natural, mineral-rich fertilizer when filled with yard and kitchen waste. Sam’s Club and Home Depot sell both items for $99 each. —Kimberly Telker...

Sommelier Journal

Second Lives for Barrels (August 15, 2008)

TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that manufactures eco-friendly home products entirely from waste has partnered with Kendall-Jackson winery to transform the winery;s used 55 gallon oak barrels into its two latest products: the Rain Barrel and the Rotary Composter. "We identified the unsightly look of most plastic rain barrels and composters as a major issue for homeowners who are design-savvy."...

Hugg

Interview with Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle (August 14, 2008)

You asked Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, all your trashy questions (ha ha ha, I'm so funny). And he answered them!

In a nutshell, TerraCycle takes what others call trash, upcycles those materials, and turn them into brand-spanking new products. Who thought you could make a hot little tote bag from KoolAid containers or a sweet homework folder from Capri Sun juice packs?...

Wine & Dine Radio from winefairy.com

03 Albe Zakes, Director of Public Relations, TerraCycle specializing in unique eco-friendly home products. (August 14, 2008)

Host Lynn Chamberlain interviews Albe Zakes, Director of Public Relations, TerraCycle specializing in unique eco-friendly home products, Trenton, New Jersey, partnering with Kendall-Jackson, offering refurbished KJ wine oak barrels transformed into The Rotary Composter and Rain Barrel water storage containers available at Sam's Club and Home Depot nationwide, and the just launched Free Cork Collection Program saving corks from landfills, available to interested bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, wineries and wine events. Show 728b ...

Current

Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, lets you in on the secret of eco-capitalism (August 13, 2008)

TerraCycle is a brilliant little company (although they're not so little anymore). They started out by selling "plant food" made from waste products -- worm poop bottled in old soda bottles. Today, they make everything from tote bags made from Capri Sun packages to rain barrels made from old wine barrels.

In this interview, the founder and CEO Tom Szaky talks about how they got where they are, how they come up with product design, how they make money, and how they started working with big players like Kraft and Wal-Mart....

The EcoChic

TerraCycle Garden Collection (August 13, 2008)

In my last post (yes, I do realize I haven’t written in almost 2 weeks…VACATION!!!!) I wrote about joining a Terra Cycle Brigade. So what do they do with all of those items they collect? In todays post I’m going to specifically talk about their garden collection of products. Now my garden started out really strong this spring but with the intense Florida summer heat it’s all dead until fall. I did get lots of cherry tomatos and green onions but everything else pretty much died.

With my food garden dead I’ve only tried their Garden Fertilizer (thanks Terra Cycle!!) and my hibiscus is loving it. We had an older bush and a new bush and after using the fertilizer they are both about the same size and fullness. They actually make several variations of the fertilizer and...

Green Home Huddler

TerraCycle Rotary Composter (August 8, 2008)

A company in Trenton, N.J., called TerraCycle has started recyling beautiful, hand-crafted wine barrels into composters and rain barrels....

Home Notes

Finding new uses for wine barrels (July 26, 2008)

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling wine barrels from Kendall-Jackson into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, also speeding up the composting process....

St. Petersburg Times

From Wine To Water (July 24, 2008)

Where do old wine barrels go when they die? If you're lucky, they'll become rain barrels in your yard. TerraCycle, a New Jersey manufacturer of eco friendly home and garden products, is offering refurbished 55gallon oak barrels from Kendall- Jackson, the California winemaker, transformed into rain barrels and rotary composters. ...

Freep.com

Green garden products (July 14, 2008)

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor use, the winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the process....

LA Daily News

A way to recycle corks (July 13, 2008)

I admit, I'm not a wine drinker. But I do have a few friends who are definitely winos. You know who you are.

If you like a nice bottle of wine or two, I pose this question to you. What do you do with the corks? I'm going to assume you recycle the bottles, but what about those corks? How about joining a cork brigade? ...

The San Diego Union Tribune

OAK BARRELS RECYCLED FOR HOME (July 13, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class.

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The 55-gallon oak barrels were used to make chardonnay and are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the California winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process. ...

PostBulletin.com

Trim work (July 12, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class.

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process...

South Bend Tribune

Oak barrels recycled for home (July 11, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class.

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process. ...

Bergan County Record

Wine barrels recycled into composters, rain barrels (July 9, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class.

TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says.

The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process. The TerraCycle rain barrel captures roof runoff from a downspout for use in the garden.

Each product has a suggested retail price of $99 and is sold at Sam's Clubs and some garden centers....

The Modesto Bee

Roll out the barrels (July 4, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class. TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says.
The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process. ...

St. Petersburg Times

Wine barrels transformed into rain barrels (June 28, 2008)

Where do old wine barrels go when they die? If you're lucky, they'll become rain barrels in your yard. TerraCycle, a New Jersey manufacturer of eco-friendly home and garden products, is offering refurbished 55-gallon oak barrels from Kendall-Jackson, the California winemaker, transformed into rain barrels and rotary composters. The rain barrels are hooked up to a downspout to store rainwater, which homeowners tap with a hose to water lawns, gardens or houseplants....

Akron Beacon Journal

Oak barrels recycled for home (June 28, 2008)

This is sustainable gardening with class. TerraCycle Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use, the winemaker says. The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting process. The TerraCycle rain barrel captures roof runoff from a downspout for use in the garden. Each product has a suggested retail price of $99. They're sold at the Sam's Club in Fairlawn and some garden centers....

Plenty Magazine

From cask to composter (June 11, 2008)

Wine barrels aren't cheap. Brand new, they can cost anywhere from $300 to $800 and up, so it seems a shame not to use them after they've finished holding all that wine.

Although they've been reused in furniture making and as garden planters, I've never been impressed with the results. But there are a couple of novel ways they're being reused that I can get behind....

Rethink and Reuse

From TerraCycle: Reincarnating Wine Barrels (June 6, 2008)

My uncle sent me something interesting not too long ago: an article about reincarnating wine barrels.

A company in Trenton, N.J., called TerraCycle has started recyling beautiful, hand-crafted wine barrels into composters and rain barrels....

Life Made Easier

TerraCycle Expands.... (June 4, 2008)

Last year, I purchased a bottle of TerraCycle All Natural Liquid Fertilizer made from worm poop for the summer garden. Created from recycled material, Terracycle's products are beyond eco-friendly. They are down right genius in my opinion. Warning: I also think silly putty and the Magic Eight Ball are genius so you might not want to put too much stock in the next few lines.

Seriously though, as an individual I have made a personal commitment in recent years to reduce the amount of waste I produce. I heart nature: hiking, gardening, picnicking, swimming, fishing etc. I have never been one to take such things for granted and have no plans to start doing so anytime soon which is why I love companies like TerraCycle....

Wine Spectator

Unfiltered: Sex and the City Characters Drink Wine From the Country (June 4, 2008)

Speaking of environmental initiatives … California wine giant Kendall-Jackson goes through more than its share of oak barrels to produce their signature Chardonnays. In an attempt to dispose of retired barrels in an eco-friendly manner, they've teamed up with TerraCycle, a company that turns trash into treasure.

The company is now repurposing the barrels into spinning compost barrels and rain collection drums, available in a handful of houseware retail chains for around $100 apiece. In addition, TerraCycle recently launched a wine cork program, in which bars' and restaurants' expelled wine corks are collected, sanitized and used to make cork boards for use in schools, homes and offices....

San Francisco Chronicle

Kendall-Jackson barrels get new, green identity (May 27, 2008)

Old wine barrels from the Kendall-Jackson winery in Sonoma County will be taking on an environmentally friendly second life - as rainwater containers and backyard composters. ...

Ottawa Citizen

Drip by drip (May 24, 2008)

The water slowly drips off the eaves of the house in the silvery-grey light of a storm just passed. Glancing out the window, it would be easy to assume that the roof had shed little more than the few fat drops I see falling. But I'd be wrong. An estimated 4,700 litres of water can pour off my 2,000-square-foot home during a 2.5-centimetre rainfall. ...

California Farmer

KJ Wine Barrels Find New Life (May 23, 2008)

Water conservation is a major concern across the country, and now homeowners can capture roof runoff by redirecting rainwater from any downspout into a clean used wine barrel, ready for garden use at a later time. The oak Rain Barrel is a more natural alternative to the typical plastic rainwater storage systems currently on the market. The Rotary Composter is a simple method of turning grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste into garden fertilizer. The Rotary Composter is situated on a roller system, making it easy to load and rotate, thereby speeding up the natural process. ...

The New York Times

The Goal Is to Do the Right Thing (May 21, 2008)

TERRACYCLE’S fertilizer is priced the same as its competitors’. It is on the same store shelves, from Home Depot to Wal-Mart. But comparisons stop there. The company prides itself on making a product that its co-founder, Tom Szaky, calls “green to the extreme”: its base ingredient is made by feeding trash to worms and collecting their nutrient-rich wastes, a process that he perfected using dining-hall refuse as a student at Princeton University. The product is packaged in used soda bottles, which instead of being recycled — requiring melting the plastic — are cleaned and relabeled. TerraCycle’s other products are likewise “upcycled” — a compost from an old wine barrel, a handbag from drink pouches and a bird feeder that is an upside-down two-liter soda bottle. This month,...

PR NEWSWIRE

Kendall-Jackson Wine Barrels Find New Life as Rotary Composters and Rainwater Storage (May 19, 2008)

TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company known for its unique eco-friendly home products, is now offering refurbished Kendall-Jackson wine oak barrels, transforming them into The Rotary Composter(TM) and Rain Barrel(TM) water storage containers. The wine barrels turned garden tools are made from French or American oak and are completely clean, safe and perfect for outdoor household use....

Wine & Vines

Wine Barrels Reincarnated at New Jersey Firm (May 19, 2008)

As an investor in a French stave mill, Sonoma County-based winemaker Kendall-Jackson is dedicated to selecting high-quality white oak, seasoning the staves and toasting the barrels to create high-quality vehicles for aging its popular wines. At many wineries, once these meticulously crafted casks serve their purpose, the barrels are ripped apart, sold as planters or sometimes even ground into sawdust....

Yahoo Finance

Digital 50

Low Impact Living

The Straight Poop: TerraCycle Plant Foods (April 23, 2008)

I love to tinker in my garden, and I’m an especially big fan of this company TerraCycle and their gardening products. The reason for the title of this blog is that TerraCycle fertilizers are made from worm poop! The company also has some very interesting recycled packaging. I had the good fortune to interview TerraCycle’s CEO, Tom Szaky, about chemical-free gardening and the TerraCycle story....

The Star

Making every drop count (April 19, 2008)

Home Depot has a new oak rain barrel made by TerraCycle, the clever little company that makes organic gardening products from worm waste, and uses recycled waste material for its packaging (terracycle.net). The barrels are made from oak casks used in the wine industry, the lifespan of which is confined to two or three agings. The TerraCycle barrel should be in select Home Depot stores across the GTA within the next month – in stores that don't carry the product, they'll be available by special order. Cost is $149.99....

Rutland Herald

TerraCycle's recycling brigades raise money and eco awareness (April 13, 2008)

Reduce, reuse, recycle. It's a mantra of the 21st century. Separating our newspapers and cardboard, junk mail and office paper, magazines and catalogs, bottles and cans, and plastic bottles from the rest of our garbage has become part of our daily routines....

Fox Business

Young Guns: Go Behind the Scenes With America's Young Entrepreneurs (April 9, 2008)

Meet Tom Szaky, the 26-year-old founder of Terracycle, whose company's products and packaging are made entirely from waste. From turning down $1 million in seed capital to getting sued by MiracleGro, this fledgling fertilizer firm, which started in 2001, is already making its mark in the business world....

Canadian Gardening

On Tap (April 1, 2008)

Made entirely from waste material - discarded oak wine barrels that would otherwise end up in a landfill - the new TerraCycle rain barrel holds 208 litres of rainwater....

Calgary Herald

Gear up for a green spring (March 29, 2008)

Capture the rain with TerraCycle's Premium Oak Rain Barrel under your downspout. Available for $149.99 in select stores or by special order....

NJ My Way

Here’s the Poop (March 25, 2008)

We predict in a few months you or your kids will want a handbag made out of Capri Sun juice bags. How do we know this? Because we saw hundreds of them being assembled at TerraCycle (www.terracycle.net), the upstart Trenton company that finds creative uses for the things we know as garbage. ...

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Company goes mainstream with green ethic (March 22, 2008)

Tom Szaky had an idea five years ago to start a company that is different than most. "The fundamental basis is that we make products out of waste, and our products need to revolve around three very basic criteria: better, cheaper and greener," said Szaky, the CEO and founder of TerraCycle, a company on an environmental crusade that made its first sale in 2004. The philosophy and other strategies have paid off....

Stanford Social Innovation Review

Garden-Variety Revolution: TerraCycle turns what others leave behind into fertilizers and fashion. (March 15, 2008)

Of earthworms Charles Darwin wrote, “It may be doubted if there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organized creatures.” With the help of a talented social entrepreneur, hard work, and good luck, earth-worms are making history again at TerraCycle Inc. in Trenton, N.J. The eco-friendly gardening supply com- pany, which turns worm castings into organic liquid plant fertilizer, is growing faster than a wonga wonga vine (Pandorea pandorana) in spring- time. It’s also affirming the green movement’s place in mainstream business. TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky runs a lean operation, using earthworms, recycled packaging, and low-rent facilities in Trenton, N.J., to make organic garden products. ...

City Line

TerraCycle Rain Barrel and Composter (February 10, 2008)

This is one of the most innovative new products we've seen at the show so far...

National Post

RAIN, RAIN, DON'T GO AWAY (February 7, 2008)

TerraCycle is a very cool company -- not only do they re-use milk jugs and pop bottles to package their Worm Poop plant food, they also turn old wine barrels into compost bins and rainwater collecting systems....

Green As Thistle

Rain, rain, don’t go away (Day 341)… (February 6, 2008)

TerraCycle is a very cool company — not only do they reuse milk jugs and pop bottles to package their Worm Poop plant food, they also turn old wine barrels into compost bins and rainwater collecting systems....

Green Man Radio

Tom Szaky on Greenman (January 27, 2008)

Things are pretty slow gardening wise this time of year. So I thought this would be the perfect time to let you share my latest interview with Tom Szaky. Tom, as you may remember, is the painfully young CEO of Terra Cycle. ...

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

TRYOUT: Company plants recycling seed. (January 26, 2008)

Tom Szaky had an idea five years ago to start a company that is different than most. "The fundamental basis is that we make products out of waste, and our products need to revolve around three very basic criteria: better, cheaper and greener," said Szaky, the CEO and founder of TerraCycle, a company on an environmental crusade that made its first sale in 2004. The philosophy and other strategies have paid off....

National Post

From worm poop to reused oak barrels, this company is the Earth's best buddy (January 19, 2008)

You may recall TerraCycle from its worm poop. Last year, it seemed every gardener -- every downtown gardener, at least -- was spritzing detritus from the creepy crawler on to shrubbery, hoping the organic plant food would encourage long life for the tomato bush or roses in question. Packaged in recycled soda bottles, the homespun product looked cool, too. Now the company is back with another eco-invention for the green gardener: a rain barrel and a rotary composter, pictured, made out of reused oak wine barrels. They're so much prettier and organic-looking than unsightly plastic composters. See the woodsy numbers -- and talk to the people behind the barrels and the poop (terracycle. net) -- at the Metro Home Show, on today and tomorrow at the Metro Convention Centre. Psst: They'll be in the...

Seattle Magazine

Pop Art (January 1, 2008)

With empty plastic bottles littering hte land and sea, one company has figured out how to keep them out of the landfill. Since 2001, NJ based TerraCycle has produced organic plant food from waste in waste. ...

The Monterey Herald

Entrepreneur uses compost-producing red wigglers to break down garbage — and his idea has caught fire (December 1, 2007)

Has a brilliant idea ever had such a birth? It was 2001. Tom Szaky took some freshman buddies from Princeton University to visit a friend in Montreal. While there, he discovered his pal's gonzo marijuana plants. How'd you do that? Szaky asked. Easy. Worms eating table scraps in a makeshift compost bin were producing mineral- and nutrient-rich feces, which in turn became cheap fertilizer for the pot plants. ...

The Phillidephia Inquirer

A business built on worm power (November 23, 2007)

Has a brilliant idea ever had such a birth? It was 2001. Tom Szaky took some freshman buddies from Princeton University to visit a friend in Montreal. While there, he discovered his pal's gonzo marijuana plants. How'd you do that? Szaky asked. Easy. Worms eating table scraps in a makeshift compost bin were producing mineral- and nutrient-rich feces, which in turn became cheap fertilizer for the pot plants. "I'd never thought of garbage before," says Szaky, who instantly saw dollar signs. In 2002, he dropped out of Princeton to turn liquefied "worm poop" into the centerpiece of a new organic-fertilizer business....

The Times Leader

Up and coming business starts with worms (November 18, 2007)

What started as a business plan contest at Princeton University for two students, Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, has developed into a thriving business....

"We used TerraCycle Plant Food on our zucchini plants and were amazed to find that they grew about four times the size of store-bought zucchini. They lasted longer, and tasted better. Our lemon tree bore twice as much fruit and more repeatedly than prior to our using TerraCycle."

- Antonio

"My plants, by the way, are skyrocketing, literally. I can barely see outside my place. Thank you TerraCycle!"

- Jen Brea

"I have an indoor calamondin orange tree that is about 2.5 feet tall. Before using TerraCycle, I had 1-2 blooms on the tree in all. Now, after applying TerraCycle for a few weeks, I have 10 blossoms and over 170 buds that just started popping up all over the place in the last week! This stuff works! Liquefied worm poop really does the job."

- Dave Kurz