AZEK to collect thredUP’s post-consumer plastic Clean Out Bags, process and turn them into new long-lived TimberTech® composite decking, advancing both companies’ ESG and recycling goals

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE: AZEK), the industry-leading manufacturer of low-maintenance and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products, including TimberTech^® decking, Versatex^® and AZEK^® Trim, and StruXure™ pergolas, and thredUP (NASDAQ: TDUP), one of the largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories, are proud to announce a new recycling partnership to responsibly transform plastic waste into long-lasting, low-maintenance outdoor living products.

Through this recycling partnership, AZEK will collect thredUP’s polyethylene plastic Clean Out Bags after the contents have been processed by thredUP, as well as thredUP’s post-industrial plastic film waste, and transport them to AZEK’s vertically integrated polyethylene recycling facility in Wilmington, Ohio. The materials will be processed and incorporated into new TimberTech decking, AZEK’s premium composite decking line that offers the natural beauty of wood, is made from approximately 85% recycled material and engineered to last a lifetime.

“It is unique collaborations with innovative and like-minded companies such as thredUP that will help us meet our goal of recycling one billion pounds of material annually by the end of 2026,” said Jesse Singh, CEO of The AZEK Company. “We are two companies revolutionizing two industries – fashion and building products – to create a more sustainable future, each of us with a full circle commitment to have an outsized impact on the world, while growing a sustainable business.”

See related articles: The AZEK Company Announces Large-Scale Construction & Demolition (C&D) Recycling Alliance With Largest Regional C&D Recycler in Pacific Northwest, thredUP Appoints First Head of Public Policy And Sustainability, WM and Dow Rollout First Major Residential Plastic Film Recycling Program in the U.S

Since 2019, AZEK has recycled nearly 1.7 billion pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial waste and scrap material, repurposing it into products across its outdoor living and building products portfolio. In addition to its polyethylene plastic film recycling capabilities, AZEK is the largest vertically-integrated recycler of PVC in the United States.

“While thredUP’s mission is rooted in circularity, we are also focused on ways to ensure our own operations are as sustainable as possible,” said Alon Rotem, Chief Legal Officer of thredUP. “We are proud to partner with AZEK and support their ambitious goal to recycle one billion pounds of material annually. This partnership is an exciting opportunity to level up our previous bag recycling program and create long-lasting premium products that people can enjoy and feel good about.”

Under this partnership, one-hundred percent of the Clean Out bags thredUP receives will be sent to AZEK as post-consumer material and repurposed into outdoor living products. These products can last for decades and are also recyclable at the end of their useful life. With a mission of inspiring a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first, thredUP has processed more than 137 million unique secondhand items and displaced more than 637 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. In September, thredUP released its first Impact Report which outlines the company’s business and brand-aligned environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy and details the progress the company made across ESG initiatives in 2021.

“At AZEK, our purpose-driven strategy is centered on creating shared value that positively impacts all of our stakeholders – products, people and the planet. We are proud to have thredUP join us as a partner. Together, we are saving trash and saving carbon,” continued Singh.

Source: The AZEK Company thredUP