mission and vision

TCE Fund is a Texas non-profit research and public education organization established in 1997. TCE Fund's primary mission is to empower people to protect the public health through a cleaner environment, and promote increased access to the governmental policy-making process so that people and community groups can help shape the decisions that affect their lives.

TCE Fund is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization, Tax ID number 74-2808805; all contributions to TCE Fund are 100% tax-deductible. TCE Fund is also a participating organization in Earth Share of Texas, which represents leading environmental and conservation groups in payroll contribution plans across the state.

Our current focus is on solid waste and recycling solutions for the 21st century. Today, our production and disposal system for products is clearly unsustainable both in terms of the resources consumed, including energy, and the wastes created at every stage in the process.

One key way to conserve resources and limit waste during mining for the virgin materials, production and the end of life is to recycle. However, much of the recyclability of a product is determined in the design phase. Currently, the producers who design products have no role in the recycling and end of life of their product which is left up to local governments and creative individuals who try to recycle an item that was usually not designed with recycling in mind.

Our goal is to create a system in which products are designed to be recycled by having producers responsible for the end of life of their goods. With producer takeback, manufacturers are competing on the basis of how efficiently their products can be recycled, not just how efficiently they can be produced and marketed. These products should be designed so they are infinitely recyclable or compostable. This approach is often called "Cradle to Cradle," in contrast to the typical solid waste management approach of "Cradle to Grave."