McLoughlin Elementary is starting a recycling program through a company called TerraCycle. With this program McLoughlin students can opt to recycle several different types of household materials with a goal of keeping these items out of the landfill and to raise money for the school.

Hudsonville Christian School released the detailed list of waste to be sent to TerraCycle.

TerraCycle's UpCycling (recycling) Program comes to Franklin County to benefit the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area. The United Way supports non-profit community programs and volunteer efforts across the region; TerraCycle offers a wonderful way to support this organization in its efforts. Are you tired of your trash piling up? Would you like to be able to recycle more products? TerraCycle's goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today must be sent to a landfill. They do this by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. TerraCycle then converts the collected waste into a wide variety of products and materials. With more than 20 million people collecting waste in over 20 countries TerraCycle has diverted billions of units of waste and used them to create over 1,500 different products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market.

TerraCycle takes recycling to a whole new level with their recycling brigades program. The company was originally founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, a then 20 year old Princeton University Freshman. TerraCycle started by producing organic fertilizer (worm poop) in used soda bottles.

My family has been loyal to the Guerrero <http://www.tortillasguerrero.com/en/>  brand for more than 20 years. For those of you who are not familiar (if your a follower of this blog how could you not be!) Guerrero is a brand of Tortilla and among others such as its sister brand, Mission or other private brands such as Diana’s,  it tends to be the leading brand for Hispanics. TerraCycle is truly something great that they are participating in which creates a greener environment and supports your favorite charity. This is how it works… 1. You collect the empty pouches of your tortillas or tostadas guerrero 2. Fit as many pouches as you can in a cardboard box 3. Print the pre-paid label, stick it on the box and take it to the nearest UPS center 4. Once they get your shipment they will transfer your credit to your account and send it to a non-profit organization of your choice in June or December of this year.

TerraCycle is an international upcycling company that takes difficult to recycle packaging and turns it into affordable, eco-friendly products.  Founded in 2001, they are the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over 30 major brands in the U.S. (and in a growing number of other countries) to collect used packaging and products (chip bags, candy wrappers, juice pouches, pens, toothbrushes, etc.) that would otherwise be destined for landfills. Here are a few of their programs if you are interested in learning more about how YOU can reduce your carbon footprint and upcycle your trash!

This year, Monterey Road Elementary School has stepped up efforts to teach students about recycling and get students more accustomed to recycling at school every day. The school has been using a service called Terracycle, which hauls recyclables for free and then pays schools two cents for every item collected. While it's great for fundraising, the kids are also getting a fresh perspective on the positive reasons to recycle.