These groups operate across most or all of the country. For state-run agencies and state-specific nonprofits, see State Resources.
Donation-funded job training and resale stores nationwide, accepting clothing, furniture, and household goods.
goodwill.orgNonprofit home-improvement resale outlets that accept and sell donated furniture, appliances, and building materials.
habitat.org/restoresThrift stores and free donation pickup (satruck.org) for clothing, furniture, and household items.
satruck.orgLocal conferences run thrift stores and donation programs that fund direct assistance to families in need.
svdpusa.orgLocal email/web groups for giving away — and finding — free items instead of throwing them out.
freecycle.orgHyper-local gifting groups built around a simple rule: give, ask, and share within your own neighborhood.
buynothingproject.orgDonation-box network benefiting charity partners, accepting clothing, shoes, and small household goods.
greendrop.comAccepts professional attire donations to help people re-entering the workforce.
dressforsuccess.orgCoordinates community coat drives so used coats stay warm instead of landfilled.
onewarmcoat.orgThe largest battery-collection program in North America, with drop-off sites at major retailers.
call2recycle.orgMail-in and drop-off recycling for hard-to-recycle items: snack wrappers, pens, cosmetics, and more.
terracycle.comSearchable directory that helps you find local recycling options for almost any material by zip code.
earth911.comNational nonprofit running community recycling, litter-prevention, and beautification programs.
kab.orgNational Association for PET Container Resources — supports PET plastic bottle recycling infrastructure.
napcor.comEco-friendly junk removal franchise that donates and recycles the majority of what it hauls; also runs free community e-waste events (see our Earth Day Award feature).
junkluggers.comFull-service junk removal that sorts loads for donation and recycling before disposal.
1800gotjunk.comFree at-home donation pickup service benefiting veterans' programs.
pickupplease.orgTechnology platform connecting businesses with recycling and waste-diversion haulers.
rubicon.comNational organics recycler handling both ends of the waste stream: food-waste depackaging/recycling into compost, animal feed, and biofuels, plus wastewater and biosolids services (DAF skimmings, dewatering, lagoon & digester cleaning, liquid destruction). Headquartered in Russellville, AR, with a Dallas-Fort Worth-area presence — including a food-waste recycling partnership with the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre that turns event food waste into compost for North Texas farms and gardens.
denalicorp.com →Kansas City-area grocer led by CEO, Chairman & President David Ball, the third-generation leader of the family business his grandparents Sidney and Mollie Ball founded as a single neighborhood store in 1923. Balls Food Stores now operates roughly 25 supermarkets across four banners — Hen House Market, Price Chopper, Sun Fresh Market, and Payless Discount Foods — employing around 4,000 people in the Kansas City metro. Hen House locations participate in food-waste recycling through Missouri Organic Recycling, and the company donates over $15,000 per week in food and product to Harvesters and local food pantries.
henhouse.com →Trade and professional association promoting composting infrastructure and organics diversion.
compostingcouncil.orgSupports deconstruction and reuse of building materials instead of demolition-to-landfill.
bmra.orgVolunteer-run repair events worldwide, with a growing number of US chapters, that fix items instead of discarding them.
repaircafe.orgSeattle-based natural dye supplier founded in 2010 by Kathy Hattori, a recognized authority on natural dyes since 2003. Sells organic, GOTS-certified, and food-waste-derived dyes — onion skins, pomegranate peel, walnut hulls, fruitwood, and other agricultural byproducts — to textile artisans and brands, supporting a network of U.S. regenerative farmers. Kathy Hattori has also consulted on Eileen Fisher's clothing take-back and re-dye program, which keeps used garments in circulation instead of the landfill.
botanicalcolors.com →Burlington, NC-based apparel maker led by CEO Eric Henry — the first NC-certified and first apparel B Corporation (since 2008). Their Cotton of the Carolinas line runs a trackable, roughly 750-mile "dirt to shirt" domestic supply chain (QR-coded back to the farmer), and their in-house garment-dye facility experiments with natural dyes made from local, otherwise-wasted plant material: Henry has turned fallen backyard walnuts into brown dye (cooked in partnership with Burlington Beer Works), and used hemp leaves, pomegranate rind, and madder root for other colors. Pre-consumer fabric scraps are recycled through their partner Material Return rather than landfilled.
tsdesigns.com →TS Designs' direct-to-consumer retail brand — small-batch, 100% USA-grown-and-made t-shirts used as Eric Henry's testing ground for new natural dyes and regional maker collaborations.
solidstate.clothing →Supports sustainable blue-economy work worldwide — ocean plastic cleanup and recycling, coral reef restoration, and marine conservation innovation hubs.
7seasfoundation.org →Loopway's current Project of the Month. A circular economy and environmental restoration initiative for Mexico and the U.S.–Mexico border region, partnered with RiverRecycle to intercept plastic before it reaches rivers and oceans.
alluviumproject.org →RiverRecycle (Finland) partners with governments, foundations, and manufacturers to intercept plastic waste directly from rivers before it reaches the ocean, then recycles it locally. As of 2026 they report 2.5 million kg/year of collection capacity, 2.0 million kg/year of installed recycling capacity, and a presence in 8 countries. A sample of their active projects:
With the ICTSI Foundation, Manila. Collecting up to 4,000 kg/day; 340,000 kg/year recycling capacity.
Project page →Canal cleanup in Kochi, India. Collecting up to 200 kg/day.
Project page →With BOI and the Coca-Cola Foundation, Bandung. Collecting up to 2,500 kg/day; 330,000 kg/year recycling capacity.
Project page →With Danida Market Development Partnerships, Faridpur. 250,000 kg/year recycling capacity.
Project page →With UK International Development and SMEP, Accra. Collecting up to 200 kg/day; 360,000 kg/year recycling capacity.
Project page →See all RiverRecycle projects → · RiverRecycle is a core partner of Loopway's current Project of the Month, The Alluvium Project.
The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group tracks and supports Rotary Club-led circular economy projects worldwide — repair cafés, zero-waste initiatives, e-waste and battery recycling toolkits, and reuse ventures like Finger Lakes ReUse.
esrag.org/circular-economy →The global service organization whose local clubs — including the Preston Hollow Rotary Club featured in our Earth Day Award — organize environmental and circular economy projects in their communities.
rotary.org →Global leader in circular-economy research, education, and business frameworks.
ellenmacarthurfoundation.orgInvestment firm and innovation center funding circular-economy infrastructure and startups.
closedlooppartners.comNational federation of grassroots zero-waste advocates and affiliated state/local chapters.
zerowasteusa.orgAdvocacy and education organization focused on overconsumption and waste-system reform.
storyofstuff.orgTrade association representing the scrap recycling industry across metals, paper, plastics, and electronics.
isri.orgWorks with states and manufacturers on extended producer responsibility and take-back policy.
productstewardship.usFederal program and data hub for reducing waste and promoting materials reuse nationally.
epa.gov/smm