Committed to building a
more sustainable future.
The Return Foundation is the community engagement arm of Return Technologies. We believe that responsible materials management is about more than compliance, it's about building circular systems that keep materials in use and out of landfill, while leaving communities and the environment better than we found them.
Our Mission
The Return Foundation exists to advance circularity in materials, support education in materials science and sustainable recovery, and invest in the communities where Return Technologies operates. We work alongside retailers, municipalities, and nonprofit partners to turn waste into reusable resources and enable closed-loop outcomes.
Through direct community programs, educational partnerships, and flagship initiatives like Trick or Trash™, we are proving that responsible end-of-life processing can create positive social impact at every stage.
Return Technologies and the circular economy.
Every unsellable, returned, or excess item that enters our network is an opportunity to close the loop. We recover value from materials that would otherwise end in landfill, diverting them back into manufacturing, energy recovery, or certified destruction when required. Our multi-stream approach means nothing leaves our facilities without a documented, compliant end destination.
Three pillars of impact.
Every initiative we support maps to one of three focus areas that align our expertise with community need.
Community Impact
We invest in the communities where we operate through local partnerships, job creation programs, and direct engagement initiatives. From hiring locally at processing facilities to partnering with community organizations on waste reduction, we believe infrastructure should benefit the people closest to it.
Education & Workforce Development
Through programs like Trick or Trash™, we teach the next generation about circular materials systems, recovery, and environmental responsibility. We also support workforce training programs in materials sorting, processing, and circular supply chain operations, helping build the talent needed to scale the circular economy.
Environmental Stewardship
We fund research into advanced materials recovery, recycling, and circular processing technologies, and support large-scale landfill diversion programs. Our goal is to maximize material recovery from unsellable inventory and reintroduce those materials back into production, reducing reliance on landfill and minimizing environmental impact across the reverse logistics chain.
Trick or Trash™
Our signature consumer engagement program transforms Halloween by turning candy wrapper waste into an educational opportunity. Through our mail-back box program, classrooms across America collect and return candy wrappers for recycling instead of sending them to landfill.
Trick or Trash demonstrates what's possible when you combine operational infrastructure with community engagement, turning everyday waste into feedstock for the circular recovery system instead of sending it to landfill.
Learn More About Trick or TrashPartner with the Return Foundation.
We work with retailers, municipalities, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations to expand our impact. If your organization shares our commitment to sustainable materials management, we'd like to hear from you.