Welcome to the Cnoc Outdoors Recycling Program!

Thanks for taking the time to recycle your Cnoc product! TPU - the material the Vecto, the Vesica, and our other collapsible products are made out of - is not curbside recyclable, but it is recyclable. While you may not be able to toss your end of life Vecto in the recycling bin, we’ve always had the ability to recycle warrantied products in house. We’ve started our own recycling program with the hope of extending that ability to our users as well! 

Interested in recycling a Cnoc product at the end of its life? Here’s how it works:

Step 1: At this time, we can only accept products shipped from Oregon and Washington. If you live in one of these states (or can ship from there as you hike through, etc), please head to our support portal and submit a ticket by selecting “Recycling Request”

Step 2: If eligible, our customer support will send back a prepaid return label you can use to ship your item back to us. If you live in Portland, you can also drop your item off at our warehouse! 

Step 3: Once we receive your item, we’ll process it for downcycling and send you a 20% discount code to be used on a replacement product from Cnoc Outdoors. 

Thank you for taking the time to keep your end of life product out of a landfill!

FAQ:

Which products are eligible for this program?

All of our TPU products are eligible, including the Vecto, VectoX, VectoPlus, Vesica, Hydriam, HydriamX, Curn, and Buc.

Can I send in a product that’s still perfectly good for a discount on a new one?

We strongly encourage folks to use this program as intended, replacing only unusable products at the end of their life vs products that are still being meaningfully used. We track our emissions carefully and can only justify this program if we can be sure it’s creating less emissions than it’s saving. 

What does "end of life" mean for a TPU product?

"End of life" refers to the point at which a product is no longer functional, safe, or effective for its intended use. For a TPU product, this means unpatchable pinholes, rips/tears, or delaminations. We will also accept returns of gear reaching the end of its useful life but not there yet for hikers that have an extended trip - like a thru-hike - planned. 

What if I live outside Oregon and Washington?

Unfortunately, the carbon used to ship one of our products to us from outside Oregon and Washington is not offset by downcycling and we cannot accept items from outside these states at this time. We hope to expand this program to include our retailers some day. If you’d like your local retailer to participate in the program, please let them know! 

What about products not made of TPU, like the ThruBottle and your accessories? 

The ThruBottle is curbside recyclable and we encourage you to recycle from your home - we do not accept returns of the ThruBottle. Our accessories vary based on materials - we cannot accept them as part of this program and encourage you to check your local regulations for how best to recycle them. 

Is the amount of carbon used to ship my product back offset by the carbon saved from downcycling? 

Yes! We did our research. This information reflects the average return distance of high population locations in Oregon and Washington. 

  • Recycling a 2L Vecto saves 108.2 grams of CO2  

  • Recycling a 3L VectoX saves 135.8 grams of CO2 

  • Recycling a Vesica saves 78.5 grams of CO2 

  • Recycling a Buc saves 64.7 grams of CO2 

  • Recycling Curn cups saves 30.5 grams of CO2