President Bill Clinton got into the topic of trash at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative recently. It is an important topic. We create tremendous amounts of waste these days, and much of it could be used in a constructive way, rather than polluting our planet. While some companies are trying to be greener and minimize their waste, other companies have made waste the source of their business. Using “waste” as a key input to the products they create, these companies are as green as green gets. TerraCycle is one such company.

President Bill Clinton got into the topic of trash at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative recently. It is an important topic. We create tremendous amounts of waste these days, and much of it could be used in a constructive way, rather than polluting our planet. While some companies are trying to be greener and minimize their waste, other companies have made waste the source of their business. Using “waste” as a key input to the products they create, these companies are as green as green gets. TerraCycle is one such company.

Bear Naked and TerraCycle are partnering up to offer free t-shirts for a limited time. Simply send in three or more empty bags or packages of Bear Naked products, $5 to cover shipping and handling and this Bear Naked T-Shirt form to receive your “Upcycler” t-shirt!

Do you remember our last post about TerraCycle called Making Trash Green? You should definitely check it out if you didn't already read it. Basically, schools, churches and groups of all kinds form a brigade and start collecting! There are brigades for drink pouches, Bear Naked, Huggies, and Ziploc bags- to name a few. You simply collect and send- then TerraCycle makes a donation to your non-profit or a charity of your choice. TerraCycle then takes the trash and makes it into something not-so-trashy.

I'm happy to announce that I am totally becoming a green Queen. Sure I still have my faults. I love to use plastic bags and paper plates but I do recycle them. On the other hand I have tried out eco-friendly recycled plates, bio-degradable bags and many other eco-friendly products! Yet, sometimes I run into some products that the recycle center won't pick up or that could be used somewhere else. That's where Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  comes in. I first heard about Terracycle through Bare Naked Granola. My husband and I love to eat BN Granola with our yogurt for breakfast. On the back I noticed an ad telling you that you could send in your empty BN bags and they could be upcyled into something new. How about something new and cool! I've seen everything from Backpacks to umbrellas! Here's a little bit more about Terracycle! This video explains it the best and I'm a visual person so I thought I would share. It really helped to clarify it all for me.

Admit it. You’ve done it before running. While cycling. After getting out of the pool. Thrown out an energy bar wrapper, that is. What else could you do? You probably stowed it away in your pocket, which is better than tossing it wherever you were. Unfortunately, not everybody is like you, and that leads to trails, tracks and streets littered with the up until recently non-recyclable packaging. Is there any other option? Yes. TerraCycle, one of the earliest innovators in upcycling (taking something and making a higher level use for it, if possible using it in its original form) come up with an alternative. First with Clif Bar, then with Kashi, Bear Naked, and Odwalla: Collect the used packaging and other hard to recycle materials and turn it into new products ranging from shower curtains to backpacks.

TerraCycle, CLIF BAR, Kashi, Bear Naked and Odwalla partner to turn granola bar wrappers and bags into eco-friendly products, while earning money for local charities. And because offices and schools produce a tremendous amount of waste, TerraCycle recently partnered with Papermate, Sharpie, 3M, Scotch Tape, Elmer's and more to launch a new program that helps clean up offices and schools nationwide.

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a range of different non-recyclble waste materials. TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world!

Recycling company TerraCycle is making it easy for Americans to start trash cleanup projects. Simply sign up at terracycle.net <http://www.terracycle.net/>  to have collection bags with prepaid return shipping labels mailed to your home or business. Fill them with chip bags, cookie <http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/terracycle_trash_recycle/green_living/191#>  wrappers, drink pouches, and other food-packaging waste and send them back to TerraCycle; the trash will then be “upcycled” into tote bags and pencil cases (you can buy these accessories at Target stores or target.com <http://www.target.com/> ). Thanks to partnerships with food <http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/terracycle_trash_recycle/green_living/191#>  giants like Frito-Lay, Mars, and Nabisco, plus well-known natural brands such as Kashi, Clif Bar, Honest Kids, and Bear Naked, TerraCycle will donate $.02 for every wrapper you collect to the charity of your choice. At the end of last year, volunteers had raised more than $100,000 for public school organizations and groups like the Arbor Day Foundation.

TerraCycle Makes Strides with Brigades Most outdoor enthusiasts enjoy energy bars, granola, or trail mix before, during and after they hit the trails, streams and lakes. They already stash the leftover wrappers in pockets and backpacks to properly discard the used packaging when they return home. Now some of the industry's most trusted names, CLIF BAR, Kashi, Bear Naked and Odwalla, are rewarding people's efforts by creating a program that turns those wrappers and bags into eco-friendly products, while earning money for local charities. The four leading brands sponsor TerraCycle "Brigades" or free collection programs that contribute two cents to a school or charity for every energy bar wrapper, granola bag, or Kashi packaging returned. In under a year, the programs have helped keep over a million and a half wrappers out of landfills -- TerraCycle collects the used packaging and other hard to recycle material and turns it into new products ranging from shower curtains to backpacks.