The France-based waste, recycling and water treatment giant bought 30 percent of the shares of New Jersey-based TerraCycle in Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. Suez is publicly traded.
Under the partnership, TerraCycle will continue to run its existing facilities in the same manner but will leverage Suez’s vast network of transportation, facilities and recycling capabilities, said Lauren Taylor, global director of communications for TerraCycle.
She added that not all details haven’t been worked out yet.
“We both hope to approach potential clients and customers to offer an enhanced network of services,” she said.
Founded in 2001, TerraCycle specializes in tackling a diverse array of difficult-to-recycle materials, including pouches, cigarette butts, protective gear, pouches, auto parts, writing instruments and more. In some cases, product manufacturers subsidize the recycling so it’s free to consumers. In others, consumers purchase shipping boxes to help fund the recycling. TerraCycle licenses all product manufacturing to outside companies. The company is currently active in 20 countries.
With operations on five continents, international utilities company Suez collects waste and recycling from about 34 million people and recovers about 16 million metric tons each year.
“Through this partnership, Suez is expanding its range of services in Europe with innovative voluntary collection methods and additional recycling channels for all its customers, particularly for products that need complex packaging and therefore require very specific collection and sorting solutions,” according to a press release.
No dollar amount was connected to the purchase of shares from TerraCycle, a private company. The Telegraph reported a potential sale last year valued a 30 percent stake at around $30 million.
