Torus has received the 2026 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Recycling Award in the Rising Star category, recognizing our student-led work to make food-scrap collection more accessible in New Jersey.
The award was presented on October 28 at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe during the Association of New Jersey Recyclers’ annual recycling symposium. Our co-founder and CFO, Anthony Woo, accepted it on behalf of the Torus team.
We’re proud of this recognition, and grateful to everyone whose work and support made it possible.
Recognizing Our Community’s Work in 2025
In its October 28 announcement, Sherrill Administration Honors Recycling Leaders for Commitment to Sustainability, NJDEP highlighted Torus’s free curbside food-waste collection program and its results in 2025: more than 1,000 households and businesses served across 19 municipalities, with over 150,000 pounds of food waste diverted from solid waste facilities.
These figures describe the 2025 work recognized by the award. Behind them are families separating their scraps, neighbors helping one another get started, and a team keeping the program running.
The NJDEP Recycling Awards recognize people and organizations improving recycling and reducing waste across New Jersey. We’re glad that food-scrap collection is part of that conversation.
From a Student Idea to Free Food-Scrap Collection
Torus was founded in West Windsor in late 2023 by Lawrenceville students Matthew Gao, Anthony Woo, David Chen, and Zikang Jiang. We wanted to help people keep food scraps out of the trash, even without the space or time to maintain a compost pile.
That remains our focus. Participating households separate their food scraps into a reusable collection bucket and set it out for pickup. An independent contractor collects the material and transports it for organics processing. Our job is to make participation practical enough to become part of everyday life.
Pickup is free, with a separate $10 refundable bucket deposit. Availability depends on location. Residents can learn how Torus works and check our current service areas before signing up.
Thank You to the People Behind Torus
Thank you to NJDEP and the Association of New Jersey Recyclers for recognizing our work. We’re especially grateful to Steven Rinaldi for coordinating the awards and guiding us through the process.
To our team and volunteers: thank you for the time you put into Torus, including the work that happens quietly between pickups and community events. This award recognizes that effort, too.
Our donors and community partners help us keep the service free. To the households and businesses that participate, thank you for trusting us and making food-scrap separation part of your routine.
Bowdoin College also supported Anthony’s travel to attend the full symposium. We appreciate the opportunity that support gave him to represent Torus and learn from others working in recycling and sustainability.
Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients. It was a privilege to be recognized alongside organizations doing this work across New Jersey.
Continuing the Work
We’re grateful for the chance to celebrate. We also want to keep improving the program and helping more communities separate their food scraps from the trash.
If you live in New Jersey and would like to participate, sign up to check availability. You can also meet the people behind Torus and learn how the program began.
