http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR16t3e_FSE

When it comes to advertising that highlights green products, no one has gone as far as TerraCycle. TerraCycle is a company that provides free waste collection programs for hard to recycle materials. They then turn the waste into affordable green product in which then you can buy. TerraCycle offers green products for sale ranging in categories from home, office, school, and more. Their goal in mind is to eliminate the idea of waste. TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, at the time, a 20-year-old Princeton University freshman. TerraCycle began by producing organic fertilizer, packaging liquid worm poop in used soda bottles. Since then TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world. In the past couple years, you have seen the dramatic uprising of green advertising and products. At the time, it almost seemed like a movement and a trend of its own. In regarding to its selling ability, as of late I believe that it is successful. Nowadays, I believe more and more people are starting to become more environment conscious. Mass quantities of eco-friendly products are available for purchase such as hybrid cars, energy efficient light bulbs and others for example. Its being shelved everywhere, and this new fad appears to at least make you consider products that benefits the environment. It makes the buyer feel good about themselves. Why buy a product that is rather hurting or not even helping the environment? Even though I think the going green movement seems to specialize and cater to certain groups of people, I envision green products to continue to incline.

One Simple Ask is dedicated to exploring the theory and practice of ethical consumerism. Over the past few months, our team has come across some outstanding companies that are truly walking the “green” marketing talk that permeates our consumer culture. One such company is TerraCycle, a small business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, that specializes in producing products from pre- and post-consumer materials that people send to the company. Over the years, TerraCycle has produced over 1,500 different products available at major retailers, including Walmart and Whole Foods Market. Below is a discussion I had with Megan Yarnall, the Senior Publicist at TerraCycle. What inspired the creation of Terracycle? TerraCycle’s creation was inspired by a blooming plant fertilized by worm poop and a business contest. Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle, visited a friend from home during a college break and discovered how well his friend’s plant was growing after being fertilized with worm poop. Tom happened to be entering a business plan contest at that time, and he realized that if he could figure out a viable way to produce and package worm poop in a bottle, worm poop fertilizer could be the basis for his business.

Terracycle is one of my favorite companies of all times and Tom Szaky is another living proof that one person can make a huge impact in the world, Terracycle has deviated over 2 billion units of trash from going to landfills, it has donated over $2 million dollars to schools and it has over 23 million people collecting trash! Here's an inspiring interview with Tom, a popular blogger at Treehugger and the face of the National Geographic show Garbage Moguls. What did you want to be when you were a kid? I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. When I was 14, I started a web site design company called Flyte Design, and my interest in entrepreneurship continued to grow from there.

Have you ever wondered what upstream and downstream recycling means? If so, you’re not alone. I often get asked this question and I thought I would answer it. Upstream recycling can be summed up in one term- “design for environment” or DfE. An upstream product is manufactured with a keen eye on environmental sustainability. For instance, a manufacturer will create packaging that weighs less by using fewer materials for a product’s packaging. A DfE manufacturer will also consider using eco-friendly materials or a single material in the packaging & product design, coding and labeling when different materials are used, and allow ease of product material dis-assembly. DfE products may cost less to recycle and have a sustainable impact on our environment. A fantastic example of DfE is the Micro-USB charger. The Micro-USB will be the common charging interface for mobile phones. The Micro USB-based plug will enable all mobile phones to power up using the same charger regardless of make and model. For more information please see my recent blog “One-Charger Fits All Revolution”. For upstream recycling, the responsibility is on the manufacturer. Downstream recycling can be summed up in one term- “giving products a second life”. Downstream recycling or down-recycling is when a non-recyclable product is re-purposed into material for a new product of sometimes lesser quality. This can include varying grades of plastic, paper products, and other materials. An outstanding example of a company built upon down-cycling is TerraCycle. TerraCycle turns non-recyclable products into recycled products. Through their international waste collection programs, they turn the collected waste into new products, such as fertilizer, backpacks and park benches. For downstream recycling, the responsibility is on the consumer. Please share your comments and experiences with upstream and downstream recycling. We would love to hear your story.

Have you ever watched a movie that really inspired you? Well, for some reason, when i'm watching my daughter's cartoons, I always get inspired. Maybe it's because i'm still a big kid myself. The first time I watched Wall-E, I really sat down to think if the world was like that for our great grand kids. Would you want them to miss out on our traditions because the earth was so polluted that they couldn't live here anymore? So many people don't recycle and don't even care to and it's a scary thought for the world to be overrun by trash. You have to think, people have had trash since day one. And unless it's been burned, it's still here somewhere decomposed on this earth. If we don't start trying to recycle more, we are going to run out of space to put trash! And that's where Terracycle comes in. They take ordinary things like chip bags and turn them into reusable items like hanging planters! I was lucky enough to review one of their hanging planters and honestly, you couldn't even tell if was recycled! It was very sturdy and my Zinnias are loving it! So you're looking to help recycle items and save the earth, look no further than Terracycle!

Tom Szaky was just a Princeton freshman when he discovered a treasure in an unlikely place: behind the university dining hall. The short version of the story is that Szaky discovered that the organic waste produced in the dining hall could be naturally composted by worms and turned into fertilizer. When Szaky started packaging this fertilizer in used soda bottles, he began producing the first product made entirely from waste. As a result of this discovery, Szaky began a school program that teaches younger generations to change their habits and rethink the way they view waste. Instead of immediately throwing something aside – they should think, “What can I do with this? Can I make something out of this?” Forget about having reusable items sit in a landfill; you can get creative and sew juice pouches together to make a pencil case or iron shopping bags to make a tote.

With Fourth of July fast approaching San Franciscans are gearing up for BBQ’s, beach picnics, family, friends and festivities. Summer parties create great memories, but they can also create a lot of left over trash. While you try your best to separate, recycle and even compost, what can you do with all that difficult-to-recycle food packaging, like Frito-Lay chip bags, Kraft Singles cheese packaging, Capri Sun drink pouches, and plastic cups? This year, there is a better option for dealing with these tricky “non-recyclables.” You can send them, for free, to TerraCycle. TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing green comapanies in the world. It was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton freshman. He began by producing organic fertilizer, liquid worm poop, and packaging it for sale in used soda bottles. Today, TerraCycle’s expanded mission is to eliminate the idea of waste all together.

I am completely inspired by Tom Szaky’s approach to changing, and changing, and changing his business model to ultimately achieve his organization’s mission. Tom is the CEO of TerraCycle, a recycling company, who described in this New York Times boss blog how he kept adapting his business model until he got it right:

TerraCycle, a pioneering upcycling and recycling company, offers all types of gifts made from recycled and upcycled items that would have otherwise been thrown out and wasted. Many of their products, including tote bags, coolers, journals/notebooks, corkboards, and jewelry can be great gifts for moms. The tote bags are durable and colorful – perfect for anything from carrying groceries to taking the kids to the beach or park for the day. Coolers, journals and notebooks incorporate plastic packaging from products including Capri Sun and Frito Lay chips. Corkboards are made from wine corks, and could be used to hang up the kids’ schedule or phone messages. Their jewelry is made from recycled silver, which cuts the costs and environmental distress of extraction and processing of precious metals.