Suez Buys 30% Stake in TerraCycle, Targets Tough-to-Recycle Waste Streams

French environmental management giant Suez has bought 30 percent of TerraCycle’s operations in Europe. The acquisition will allow Suez to expand its recycling services for challenging materials in Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden.

Earlier reports value a 30 percent stake in TerraCycle at about $30 million, the Telegraph reports.

TerraCycles develops recycling collection systems for more than 100 hard-to-recycle waste streams. This includes disposable items, flexible packaging, office supplies, beauty products, toothpaste tubes, used coffee capsules and cigarette butts.

The New Jersey-based firm partners with companies, brands and municipalities in more than 20 countries to implement recycling programs tailored to these post-consumer products and their packaging. For example, Staples sells TerraCycle’s “zero waste boxes,” which allow offices, factories and households to collect a range of items — candy and snack wrappers, cleaning supplies and accessories, writing utensils, e-waste and mailing, shipping and packaging supplies — and mail it back to TerraCycle to be recycled.

TerraCycle says it currently works with about 60 million collectors.

Suez, which focuses on waste management and water treatment around the globe, says the partnership will divert waste from landfills by reusing or recycling “even the most complex” waste.