[Episcopal News Service] Georgia Army National Guard Capt. Andrew Lane is a man on a mission. If it’s recyclable, “Captain PLaneT” aims to keep it out of the local landfill – and earn cash for his parish while he’s at it.   Lane launched a Tithing with Trash program at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia, when he returned home from a deployment in Afghanistan in 2010. Since then, the congregation has earned nearly $4,800 collecting hard-to-recycle items such as empty toothpaste tubes and Solo Cups and sending them to TerraCycle in Trenton, New Jersey, to earn 2 cents per item. TerraCycle, in turn, recycles or “upcycles” the trash – turning it into “green” products such as backpacks fashioned from Lay’s potato chip bags.   “They’re not just doing it to hug trees or sing ‘Kumbaya.’ They’re turning it into artwork or consumer products,” Lane said.   The nonprofit TerraCycle partners with some of the world’s largest companies, who sponsor collection programs for particular waste streams – say, spent writing utensils or empty tape dispensers, explained Lauren Taylor, U.S. public relations director. Some sponsor only collection of their brands’ trash, while others accept any related items. Kraft’s “dairy tub brigade,” for example, takes all manner of dairy-product tubs, lids, foil tops and other packaging.   Individuals such as Lane sign up to join a sponsored trash “brigade,” collecting and shipping specified items via United Parcel Service for free to TerraCycle and receiving “points” they turn into cash. “The money earned needs to go to a charity,” Taylor said. “Somebody can’t just decide this could be a great side job for them.” TerraCycle “upcycles” some trash into useable products such as this backpack created from Lay’s potato chip bags. Photo/TerraCycletoday   “The majority of the people who collect for us are schools,” she said. They set up lunchroom collection points – juice-drink pouches here, candy wrappers there – often after a parent or teacher realizes how much trash is being pitched and thinks, “We’re throwing money away.”   It’s hard to quantify, but churches also participate, and St. Gregory is one of a handful of Episcopal churches signed up to benefit from TerraCycle trash, Taylor said. “We definitely know Andrew because he is just so energetic and just loves our programs and really motivates people to collect. … He is definitely among the most highly motivated.”   Lane is a sustainability evangelist.   “It’s really powerful, because we’re the only creatures in existence that we know of that generate trash that we have to pay someone to haul off,” he said. Without addressing sustainability issues, he said, “for our grandkids it could be deep, deep, deep trouble.”   “We might actually trash this planet and poison its water or run out of water … without an epidemic or a war.”   Lane has given diocesan council presentations about TerraCycle and met Diocese of Atlanta Bishop-elect Robert Wright while separating food waste at the Mikell Camp and Conference Center. “He actually came and shook my hand. He said, ‘I see you’re not actually just speaking; you’re a man of action.’”   In Athens, Lane is lobbying a Kroger grocery store to let the church maintain a collection container for TerraCycle trash. At St. Gregory, parishioners place items in assorted labeled bins.   “I see people carrying in their containers and standing out there and sorting stuff out in Andrew’s elaborate bins,” said parishioner Lois Alworth, a member of the church’s Green Guild/Creation Keepers committee that Lane chairs. “There’s not a whole lot that the church itself uses that TerraCycle takes. What we get is what people bring from home.”   “We all laugh and say because we’re Episcopalians everybody has lots of wine corks,” she said. “TerraCycle takes really odd things, [like] toothpaste containers, when they’re empty, and old toothbrushes.” Every four to six weeks, committee members gather after church for a “box-up event” to package the TerraCycle items for shipping, she said.

Kindergarten will be collecting empty Capri Sun pouches and recycling through TerraCycle.  To help, please send in empty Capri Sun pouches with straws removed.  We will collect in our rooms and in the lunchroom throughout the year.  Proceeds will benefit Beartooth Elementary School students.  Thanks for your help!

What can you do with candy wrappers, worn out flip flops, or the box from your toothpaste? You can upcycle it! TerraCycle’s goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs and start sending them some of your waste on their list. Some of the waste that is collected includes things that a lot of use every day including: energy bar wrappers chip bag wrappers toothpaste boxes corks flip flops cleaner packaging cell phones candy wrappers drink boxes TerraCycle will then use your garbage to make a wide variety of products and materials which includes bags umbrellas, clipboards, plastic planters, and purses. The program has gotten lots of support, and over 20 million people collect waste in over 20 countries. With the programs, TerraCycle has collected billions of units of useful trash and used it to create over 1,500 different products which are available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods.

Reforma Verde TomSzaky 08.2012

While most of his peers were at the library, or the bar, college freshmen Tom Szaky was busy launching a business out of his dorm room. For his first product he turned worm-poop into fertilizer as a way to transform waste into something useful. Since then he’s turned that first product into a multi-million dollar business Terracycle, with clients including Walmart and Home Depot. Inspiyr spoke with Tom about the mission of Terracycle, his favorite type of trash, and some advice for budding entrepreneurs or anyone looking to achieve their dreams.

After a sensational summer, heading back to school may seem like a drag to some kids. Or perhaps your little one is excited to experience the monumental milestone of her first day of school this fall! You can help your children get revved up to hear the inaugural school bell ring by taking them shopping for fun, eco-friendly school supplies. By ‘going green,’ your kids will learn the vital lesson to preserve our planet for future generations of pupils. Additionally, opting for PVC free supplies will keep them safe from harmful toxins. Crack open your recycled paper notebook and jot down these great green must-haves for the school year! 9. Terra Cycle Recycled Waste Products What: Recycled materials made into pencil cases, backpacks, binders, folders, art supplies. Why: Using previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste, Terra Cycle transforms this waste into a variety of school products. Individuals can send in their waste free of charge and Terra Cycle recycles it into useful and eco-friendly products.

Back to school, means back to packing a lunch for lots of families around the Tennessee Valley. It also means lots of Capri Sun, granola bar, and chip bag wrappers that can't be recycled. Oops, uh, check that last statement. " Nexus Energy Center, we participate in a program through a company called Teracycle, based in New Jersey. What they do is take all sorts of random items that are typically un-recyclable, we're talking about granola bar wrappers, chip bags, pens, yogurt containers, things that we can't put in our blue recycle bins at home," said Daniel Tait, of the Nexus Energy Center in Huntsville. The items are shipped off to Teracycle and turned in to all kinds of cool things like backpacks, purses, toys and lawn furniture just to name a few.

Have you seen TerraCycle products? I had heard about the company and had even sent drink pouches in for recycling through a co-op we were in a few years ago, but I hadn't seen the products. I was excited to be able to check them out for this review.

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- We all know that recycling our paper, plastic, and glass is important for the enviornment. But what if I told you that you that recycling certain items could earn you some cold hard cash? Investopedia gives us three things that you can recycle for cash back or a tax deduction: 1. Gift Cards.  We all have received that gift card for a holiday gift or birthday present that we feel like we will never use. If you have one of these lying around the house, Gift Card Rescue is a service that will take your unused gift card and send you a check for it. If you have a gift card that you have used up or it's outdated gift card, Gift Card Recycler will take those and give you points for the number of cards you send in. 2. Cooking Oil.  It may seem odd, but there are several recycling centers, bio-diesel firms, and individuals that will pay you for your used cooking oil. Prices range from 33 cents to 66 cents a gallon. 3. Trash. TerraCycle is a company that will pay you for your garbage. A program that works best with schools of non-profit organizations, TerraCycle will donate money to your cause for every piece of trash you send the organization, and they will even pay for shipping. We're talking candy wrappers, juice boxes, ink jet containers, old cameras -- that kind of thing.