Trading toys

“Closets were filled, the garage was getting filled … [Toys were] just spilling out,” she said.

To make matters worse, the large majority of these toys were not recyclable, and were destined to end up in landfills or worse.

Many recycling programs don’t have the infrastructure or demand from manufacturers to recycle all the plastic they could, said Lance Klug, spokesperson for California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, via email.

Recology San Mateo is unable to recycle plastic toys, leaving Silva between a rock and a hard place: how can parents declutter their garages without dooming more plastic to landfills?

Silva’s new toy rental company, Tide Pool Play, is her answer to this question. Launched in September 2021, Tide Pool Play seeks to reduce plastic waste in landfills by using a circular business model in which toys are traded among families instead of thrown away. The result is a loaning system similar to a library’s.

“I figured, ‘OK, you can rent books. Let’s try to figure this out for toys,’” Silva said.

Participating families receive monthly boxes of toys, curated either for toddlers or children ages 2-5+. At the end of the month, these toys are mailed back and exchanged for new ones. The result is a constant rotation of toys between families, which allows toys to be reused at least six times, Silva said. The company takes inspiration from the “circular economy” model championed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in which materials are circulated repeatedly instead of being thrown away.

Tide Pool Play stocks toys chosen for longevity and sustainability, and boxes are curated for each child’s developmental stage, said Silva. The company is currently working with around a dozen brands, including sustainable companies like Hape and Green Toys. Subscriptions range between $30 to $40 per month.

How it started

Silva has been environmentally conscious since she was in college, and holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology. She says that her background in academia helps her to “read the facts” when it comes to understanding the science behind plastics and new technologies.

Fittingly, Tide Pool Play was born in an academic setting. Silva first presented her idea to her classmates during a pitch competition in her recent entrepreneurship class at Stanford. To her surprise, there was widespread interest among her peers.

“I think the problem was broad enough everywhere,” she said. “It clicked.”

Soon after, Silva began running trials for interested families. A year later, Tide Pool Play officially launched.

“It’s been a learning process,” said Silva.

Despite initial apprehension, she said children and parents are getting used to the rhythm of swapping toys every month.

New boxes of toys are delivered by Silva or her husband, or by another driver. Old toys are simply packed back into the box they arrived in and traded for the new ones.

When it comes to lost toys, Silva said, she isn’t that concerned. She will send a reminder to families that haven’t returned a toy, but understands that small children tend to lose things. If families find a lost toy, it can be returned with the next box.

“Our return rates have been pretty good,” she said.

Broad interest

Silva is not alone in her mission to combat plastic waste in her community: plastic management programs play a major part in county and state sustainability efforts as well. The County Office of Sustainability’s Foodware Aware program helps businesses cut back on single-use plastic foodware. They also operate the county branch of the California Green Business Network and educate the community about the “Four R’s:” reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot (compost).

“One of our main objectives is to really empower our community members,” said Eun-Soo Lim, a senior sustainability specialist working on waste reduction in the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability.

State-level waste reduction efforts include California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program and the Extended Producer Responsibility Programs, which promote recycling of plastic bottles, pharmaceutical waste, sharps, paint, carpets and more. New laws seek to improve labeling and create transparency around recyclable and compostable materials, said Klug.

Like Silva, CalRecycle is working with the circular economy in mind.

“Truth in labeling, the responsible management of recyclables, and encouraging the use of reusables are key policies to ensure that the packaging and products that are generated in California are part of a true circular economy,” said Klug.

Meanwhile, Tide Pool Play has recently expanded to serve San Francisco and now rents toys to families as far as San Jose. Looking forward, Silva hopes to expand far beyond the Bay Area, helping more brands develop back-end operations for a sustainable “return loop” on a larger scale.

“The consumer push is happening. It’s good,” said Silva. “It’s positive, but we have to run with it.”

In addition to taking strides towards sustainability, Silva has also gained a new relationship with her community through her business.

“It’s really nice to see that you’re actually creating a change [in parents’] lives …” she said. “I think we’ve given parents some sort of freedom.”

Subscriptions are available at tidepoolplay.com/plans-pricing. Tide Pool Play can be contacted at customercare@tidepoolplay.com, and found on Instagram at @tidepoolplay.