Simple Recycling
Simple Recycling is a US-based, for-profit recycler that provides free home pickup of clothing, shoes, and small home goods from residential customers, municipalities, schools, churches, and consignment stores, monetizing collected materials through resale to thrift outlets, exporters, and raw-material processors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersBroadview Heights, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Simple Recycling does
Simple Recycling is a US-based, for-profit textile and small-housewares recycler that provides free home pickup of clothing, shoes, and small home goods to residential customers across multiple states. The company operates a curbside collection model in which residents schedule pickups via the company website by entering their zip code, place items outside their front door by 7:30am on the scheduled day, and have them collected by Simple Recycling's own trucks (segregated from municipal trash routes). Pickup is offered at zero cost to the resident, and the company bears full responsibility for collection, education, outreach, sorting, and downstream disposition. Headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio, the company employs between 11 and 50 people and has operated since 2014.
The underlying operating model is a logistics and grading platform: collected textiles and small household goods are sorted and graded locally and/or regionally by condition and quality, then channeled into three downstream markets — top-quality items resold to local thrift outlets, mid-grade materials exported to international buyers, and unusable goods processed into raw materials. Beyond the consumer channel, the company runs a sales-led B2B motion targeting municipalities (curbside programs with per-pound compensation to the city and reduced landfill tipping fees), K-12 schools and churches (donation-bin fundraising with monthly checks), consignment stores (scheduled pickups of overflow and non-sellable inventory), and charities and universities. Auxiliary channels include a network of physical drop-off locations searchable by zip code and a self-serve 'My Account' portal.
Simple Recycling monetizes entirely through material resale rather than user fees, generating two principal revenue streams: (1) sales of graded textiles and housewares to thrift, export, and raw-material buyers, and (2) transaction economics on partner municipal programs. The service is positioned around textile-waste diversion (citing that 85% of clothing is landfilled absent a collection program, 68 lbs thrown away per person annually, and fast fashion's water footprint) and is reinforced by an Earth Day 2024 partnership with One Tree Planted. The company is privately held with no disclosed venture or institutional funding.
Simple Recycling firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Simple Recycling
- Website
- https://simplerecycling.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Simple Recycling is a US-based, for-profit recycler that provides free home pickup of clothing, shoes, and small home goods from residential customers, municipalities, schools, churches, and consignment stores, monetizing collected materials through resale to thrift outlets, exporters, and raw-material processors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Simple Recycling industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Textile Recycling Services
- NAICS
- Waste Collection (56211), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (42393)
- SIC
- Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Textile & Apparel Recycling and Sorting (Non-E-waste) (BPALADAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Recycling & E-Waste Collection/Hauling (HSAKALAJ), On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB), Eco-Friendly Disposal, Recycling & Donation Hauling (HSAIAOAJ)
Keywords
Where Simple Recycling is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Broadview Heights
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Simple Recycling business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Material Sales: Simple Recycling operates as a for-profit recycler. Collected textiles and housewares are graded, sorted, and sold. High-quality items go to thrift outlets, mid-grade items are exported internationally, and unusable items are processed for raw materials. Revenue is generated from the sale of these collected materials.
- Municipal Partnership Fees: Municipalities receive compensation on a per-pound basis for materials collected through Simple Recycling programs. Additionally, municipalities save money through reduced tipping fees at landfills as materials are diverted from the waste stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free service for all participants |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels3 records
Simple Recycling product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Simple Recycling provides free curbside home pickup of clothing, shoes, accessories, and small household goods for residents, plus turn-key textile collection programs for municipalities, schools, churches, consignment stores, and charities. The company grades and sorts collected materials locally and regionally, reselling top-quality items to thrift outlets, exporting mid-grade items internationally, and processing unusable items for raw materials to generate revenue.
Product overview
Simple Recycling operates a single unified platform offering free home pickup services for clothing, shoes, and small household goods. The core product is the Free Home Pickup Service, which enables residents to schedule curbside collection at no cost. Surrounding this core offering are multiple fundraising program modules designed for specific customer segments: School Sustainability Program, Consignment Store Program, Church Program, City and Municipalities Program, and Charity/University Fundraising. The company also provides Drop-Off Locations and a My Account Portal for customer management. All programs are offered at zero cost to users and the company generates revenue by sorting, grading, and reselling collected materials to thrift outlets and exporting mid-grade items to international markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Free Home Pickup Service
Quantifiable outcome
- 85% of clothing currently gets trashed without a collection program
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Simple Recycling
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Simple Recycling technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Simple Recycling partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- One Tree PlantedminorEarth Day partnership with onetreeplanted.org. For every pickup of gently used clothing and shoes, Simple Recycling plants a tree through the One Tree Planted organization. This environmental initiative reinforces Simple Recycling's sustainability mission and provides marketing differentiation for environmentally-conscious consumers.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Simple Recycling competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- USAgain: USAgain operates a for-profit textile recycling and reuse business with curbside collection programs across the U.S. Closely comparable to Simple Recycling in business model (sorting, resale, export) and customer base (municipalities, residents).
- American Textile Recycling Service (ATRS): ATRS operates textile donation bins and route-based collection across the southern U.S., partnering with municipalities and schools. Directly comparable in municipal partnerships and textile sorting/resale economics.
- ThredUp: ThredUp operates a large online resale platform for secondhand apparel, sourcing inventory from consumers and brands. Comparable end-market for used textiles, though distribution is consumer-shipped rather than curbside.
- Planet Aid: Planet Aid collects used clothing and shoes via yellow bins nationwide and resells to fund international development. Comparable to Simple Recycling in collection model (bins + programs), material streams (textiles/footwear), and resale-driven revenue.
- GreenDrop: GreenDrop runs scheduled home pickup of donated clothing and household goods on behalf of nonprofit partners. Directly comparable to Simple Recycling's free home pickup service and municipal/school partnerships.
- ClothingDonations.org: ClothingDonations.org offers free home pickup of clothing and household goods for charitable reuse, with a model nearly identical to Simple Recycling's direct-to-consumer service.
Others
- Bye Bye Mattress / MRC (Mattress Recycling Council): MRC operates state-funded mattress recycling programs with curbside and drop-off collection, similar structurally to a textile EPR-style program. Comparable as an adjacent commodity-specific recycling collection operator.
Broad incumbents
- TerraCycle: TerraCycle specializes in hard-to-recycle waste streams with brand-funded collection programs. Comparable as a recycling operator monetizing collection through downstream resale and partnerships, though focused on different material streams.
- Goodwill Industries: Goodwill operates donation drop-offs, retail resale, and municipal collection programs across the U.S. Overlaps with Simple Recycling in textile collection and resale but serves a broader mission-driven portfolio of services.
- Salvation Army: Salvation Army runs donation pickups, drop-offs, and thrift resale nationwide. Comparable in donated-goods collection and resale, with significantly broader social-service footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Simple Recycling social profiles
Digital presenceSimple Recycling financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Simple Recycling leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Simple Recycling funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Simple Recycling M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Simple Recycling
What does Simple Recycling do?
Simple Recycling provides free curbside home pickup of clothing, shoes, accessories, and small household goods for residents, plus turn-key textile collection programs for municipalities, schools, churches, consignment stores, and charities. The company grades and sorts collected materials locally and regionally, reselling top-quality items to thrift outlets, exporting mid-grade items internationally, and processing unusable items for raw materials to generate revenue.
Is Simple Recycling a public or private company?
Simple Recycling is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Simple Recycling founded?
Simple Recycling was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Simple Recycling based?
Simple Recycling is headquartered in Broadview Heights, United States, in the North America region.
How does Simple Recycling make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Material Sales are the primary driver. The others are municipal Partnership Fees.
Who are Simple Recycling's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are USAgain, American Textile Recycling Service (ATRS), ThredUp, Planet Aid, GreenDrop and ClothingDonations.org. Bye Bye Mattress / MRC (Mattress Recycling Council) is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are TerraCycle, Goodwill Industries and Salvation Army.
Does Simple Recycling have an API?
No public API is recorded for Simple Recycling.
What industry is Simple Recycling in?
Simple Recycling's product category is Textile Recycling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPALADAL, Textile & Apparel Recycling and Sorting (Non-E-waste), with a secondary code of HSAKALAJ, Recycling & E-Waste Collection/Hauling. Its NAICS code is 56211 and its SIC code is 4953.