Picnic Tables Made Of Sauce Packets Unveiled In Mercer County

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Four picnic tables made of recycled sauce packets were recently unveiled In Mercer County. Two picnic tables were installed at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark and one each at Tantum Park in Robbinsville and Bromley Park in Hamilton Township.

The tables are the product of an initiative by Taco Bell and TerraCycle. Earlier this year, select Taco Bell locations across Mercer County invited customers to rid their homes of sauce packets and keep them away from landfills by recycling and reusing them.

The empty and used sauce packets were dropped off at various Taco Bell locations. From there they were sent to TerraCycle to be cleaned, melted into hard plastic and remolded into picnic tables.

The picnic tables at Trenton Thunder Ballpark were unveiled last week in a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Reed Gusciora, Mayor of Trenton, and Leslie Floyd, County Planning Director of Mercer County.

"The Trenton Thunder are proud to partner with TerraCycle, Mercer County, and Taco Bell on this wonderful initiative that benefits Mercer County and the surrounding areas," Thunder President and General Manager Jeff Hurley said. "This wouldn't be possible without our community's support and commitment to keeping the region green and eco-friendly."

Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said plastic waste has long been a problem, but TerraCycle found an ingenious way to reuse and recycle them. "Countless sauce and condiment packets that could have ended up in landfills have instead been transformed into picnic tables where Trenton Thunder fans will sit and enjoy a baseball game. Thank you to TerraCycle, the Trenton Thunder and our Mercer County Park Commission for advancing sustainable practices for Mercer County," Hughes said in a statement.

Consumers across the country can continue participating in the program by mailing in their used Taco Bell hot sauce packets via the Taco Bell® Sauce Packet Free Recycling Program. The packets will be recycled into new products, like the Mercer County picnic tables.

To learn more about the program, please visit http://www.terracycle.com.

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