Help Center

The basics

Common questions about Replenysh

What is Replenysh and how does it work?

Replenysh is a digital platform that connects global brands with local communities to recover materials and eliminate the concept of waste.

What We Do
We transform the way materials are sourced, by working directly with brands who want to make an authentic connection with their customer and help keep materials out of the landfill. At a local level, we provide communities the tools they need to make every home and business a material supplier and help foster relationships with brands they love.

How We Do It
The only way we can solve this problem is by providing tools that work at a global scale, autonomously in each community.

Brands - Brands create a campaign to recover specific products or materials
Hosts - Anyone can become a host and monetize materials from their community
Members - Members of the community bring materials to hosts

Thrive Together - Brands get materials to make new products, members feel part of the solution, community impact is measurable

Why Replenysh?

Impact — We built Replenysh because there wasn't a good way for us to give our products back to the brands we loved. Brands want to reuse materials in their products, but don't have a good way to get the materials they need back from customers. We started our journey by asking ourselves: "What if the brand's customer became the supplier?"

We believe people want to do the right thing, they just don’t have the right tools, so we’ve set out to build a platform dedicated to empowering real impact and solving one of the biggest problems humanity faces — waste and pollution.

Community — Waste is a human-created concept, and one that can be fixed with current technology. By building communities around the globe, and showing people the true value of everyday materials, we can incentivize every human to do the right thing.

Transparency — Traditional material recovery and recycling efforts are broken. The entire process was a black box and lacked trust, so we've reimagined the entire system from the ground up. This means telling people where the materials go, what they're made into and which brands are actually reusing materials in their products. Transparency builds trust which increases participation on a global level.

Experience-first — This cannot be done with yesterday’s tools and technology. We’re leveraging thoughtful design powered by best-in-class technology to create flexible tools for leading brands and inspired citizens.

You can learn more about our approach in this blog post: An Opportunity to Evolve.

How is Replenysh different from traditional recycling?

Replenysh was built from the ground-up with the consumer experience in mind. We knew the infrastructure to help brands recover their materials from customers didn’t exist, so we set out to build it using the latest technologies, tools and talent.  

Traditional recycling is collected mixed (i.e. single stream) and then requires sorting by humans and machines at a recycling center — resulting in contamination, added costs and the majority of material ending up in a landfill. This means your favorite brands can’t reuse these materials and we have to keep mining materials from this planet we call home.

When you use Replenysh, materials stay separate through the entire process, which means they can be reused by the brands again and again. We call this a circular economy and it’s the future we should all be excited about. This allows brands to reward Replenysh members to do the right thing and help communities monetize their materials so they can thrive.

We’re in this together 💪🌎

What items are accepted?

Hosts on Replenysh choose which materials they want to accept at their listing(s), so it depends. Use the Replenysh app to find a nearby listing and see which materials they accept. In general, the following materials are supported by Replenysh:

- Plastic PET #1 containers
- Plastic PET #1 thermoforms
- Plastic HDPE #2 Natural
- Plastic HDPE #2 Colored
- Aluminum Cans
- Steel Cans
- Cardboard

If you’re unsure of how to identify a specific material, check out the videos on Replenysh Academy to become an expert in just a few minutes.

I need help identifying an item, can you help?

Yes! Simply text a photo of the item to (949) 335-7379 and we’ll let you know if it is accepted at any nearby host locations.

For Hosts

Get answers to common questions about hosting on Replenysh

What is hosting?

What is a host?
Hosts are organizations, businesses, or individuals who accept source-separated materials and look to monetize those materials. To be a host, you need to have space available to store materials and be willing to accept those materials from community members.

Why be a host?
- Provide your community with a convenient, free and delightful experience to keep their materials out of the landfill
- Earn money for you or your organization
- Drive foot traffic to your business

Some hosts use their Replenysh earnings to amplify their organization's mission. Others use it to donate to a local charity or help pay for community improvements. Whatever your goals, hosting on Replenysh can be a great way to earn some extra income or simply drive foot traffic to your business.

How does it work?
Become a host — Sign up to be a Replenysh Host and customize your listing
Collect materials — Members use the Replenysh app to find your listing and bring you materials to store in super sacks
Earn — We’ll collect super sacks when full and pay you the material value, plus reports to track your impact

More material, more earnings
By hosting on Replenysh, you can promote your listing to community members and provide them with a convenient, free and delightful experience to keep materials out of the landfill. We'll handle everything from sign up pages to transportation to payouts. The more people who show up to your listing, the more material is collected and the more earnings for you or your organization.  

Getting paid
When material is collected from your listing, it will be sold to a nearby facility and Replenysh will pay via direct deposit into your bank account. It's totally up to you how to spend the earnings.

Do you have a hosting guide?

We're glad you asked. We answer most common questions in our complete Getting Started Guide for hosts.

View the Complete Hosting Guide

Do you have material signs I can print?

Yep! There's two types we provide that community members will find helpful.

The 1-page guide is best used as a handout to people in your area (people like to hang this on their refrigerator
Download 1-Page Guide ->
The material signs are best displayed near the corresponding super sack at your location. We recommend laminating or printing onto metal signs for durability if placed outside.
Download all material signs ->

How should I promote my host location?

There are tons of ways to drive more material to your listing and we encourage you to get creative!

Here’s some recommendations to get started:
The number one most effective way to promote your listing is to simply tell people!

- Word-of-mouth is powerful in every community.If you belong to a group (book club, mother’s group, runner’s club, church, etc.), tell everyone you are now accepting materials and can help anyone make an immediate impact by keeping things out of the landfill.

- Social media platforms are a major opportunity to expand your business. If you don't have one already, create a Facebook page and invite all of your friends. Post regularly with a call to action on every post (e.g. Download the app, bring us materials, etc) to keep your listing top of mind.Post on Facebook. Tell people what materials you're accepting and when they can dropoff.

- Post to the neighborhood app “Nextdoor” and tell the community there's a new place in town that's helping them make an impact.

- Talk about your listing to family members and friends. Even if they wouldn’t participate personally, they may know someone that needs it or would want to use it. Referrals are your best friend.

What if someone brings items mixed together?

Members are responsible for separating their materials before bringing to your listing. We recommend you encourage the member to sort their material (if an area is provided) while on-site, or to come back after they have sorted. You can also direct the member to Replenysh Academy which will educate them on the importance of sorting and how to identify various material types.

Do you have templates I can use to share on social?

Yes! Here's various templates for you to copy and paste, then share onto your favorite social media platform:

View Templates ->