New Jersey-based TerraCycle collects waste packaging from over 60,000 schools and community groups nationwide and “upcycles” them into new, useful products. Known for their “Brigades,” which has students and groups collecting everything from single use drink pouches to empty yogurt containers, Terracycle pays for shipping, prints the shipping labels the Brigades use, keeps track of how many items each Brigade has collected and even provides the shipping boxes. To make the Brigade program successful, TerraCycle has partnered with a number of well-known manufacturers like Kraft, PepsiCo and PaperMate to help turn the nonrecyclable into recyclable. Earlier in the year, TerraCycle partnered with Walmart to showcase and sell a wide variety of the repurposed products they’d created including tote bags made from Frito-Lay wrappers and purses and shoulder bags made from candy wrappers like M&M’s and Skittles. Terracycle has expanded its recycling program into eleven countries and, since its 2001 founding, has diverted billions of pieces of waste that were either upcycled or recycled into over 1,500 different products. They partnered with Toys R Us and Macy’s in New Jersey to collect in-store materials like used sneakers, shoes, used diaper packaging and used and broken toys. They’re discussing a possible regional program roll-out in the northeast. TerraCycle has also opened several retail stores featuring their innovative “new” products. They’ve also developed the TerraCycle Classroom Curriculum to teach students about the problems of and solutions to waste. TerraCycle is a company with both a vision and the ability to give trash a new, useful second life. You can find out more about them at www.Terracycle.net <http://www.Terracycle.net> .

Phoenix Public Library and the city of Phoenix Public Works Department kick off Recycle Write on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010. Visit any one of 16 library locations or nine OfficeMax retail stores in Phoenix to deposit used pens, pencils and markers of all types in designated collection containers. The collected writing instruments will be shipped to TerraCycle, a company specializing in making consumer products from post-consumer materials. Proceeds from the program benefit the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library. Founded in 1977, the Friends support library programs such as the children’s summer reading game, GED classes and other services.

Phoenix Public Library and the city of Phoenix Public Works Department kick off Recycle Write on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010. Visit any one of 16 library locations or nine OfficeMax retail stores in Phoenix to deposit used pens, pencils and markers of all types in designated collection containers. The collected writing instruments will be shipped to TerraCycle, a company specializing in making consumer products from post-consumer materials.

As part of the "How I Made My Millions" series, CNBC.com asked the founders and CEOs of these companies to share their experience on a variety of topics. What follows is advice for starting a business even in a tough economy from TerraCycle's Tom Szaky. Recession. Depression. Just plain tough. Whatever you call the economy today, the sane among us would have you believe it’s a lousy time to start a business. Except it isn’t. I’ve been operating TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> in a recession-smart way since the start, and have four ways you can, too:

Saintly Recyclers mail in their trash. Terracycle.net will recycle (usually postage is free) and donate to charity your candy wrappers, yogurt cups, drink pouches, cookie wrappers, Flavia Freshpacks, Frito-Lay chip bags, energy and granola bar wrappers, Bear Naked wrappers, Kashi packages, cell phones, Huggies and Scott tissue wrappers, Aveno tubes, Scotch tape dispensers, corks, cereal bags, Sharpies and Papermate writing instruments, Neosporin tubes, coffee bags, lunch kits (like Lunchables), Colgate tubes and packaging, Ziploc bags and containers, Inkjet cartridges, and Sprout and Revolutions food containers. Preserveproducts.com recycles your No. 5 plastics (same company that has the receptacles at Whole Foods) and water filters into toothbrushes and razors.

With kindergarten teacher Karen Dunlap as their leader, the Norristown school collects drink pouches, chip bags and cookie wrappers — hard-to-recycle waste — and sends them away to be upcycled into eco-friendly products. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials, and it’s what the Trenton, N.J.-based company TerraCycle does with candy wrappers, energy bar wrappers and other consumer products, while at the same time paying the schools and charitable organizations that collect the used packaging.

With kindergarten teacher Karen Dunlap as their leader, the Norristown school collects drink pouches, chip bags and cookie wrappers — hard-to-recycle waste — and sends them away to be upcycled into eco-friendly products. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials, and it’s what the Trenton, N.J.-based company TerraCycle does with candy wrappers, energy bar wrappers and other consumer products, while at the same time paying the schools and charitable organizations that collect the used packaging.

With kindergarten teacher Karen Dunlap as their leader, the Norristown school collects drink pouches, chip bags and cookie wrappers — hard-to-recycle waste — and sends them away to be upcycled into eco-friendly products. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials, and it’s what the Trenton, N.J.-based company TerraCycle does with candy wrappers, energy bar wrappers and other consumer products, while at the same time paying the schools and charitable organizations that collect the used packaging.

“Send us your trash – we’ll make it into cool products.” That's the simple premise and promise of New Jersey-based startup TerraCycle, a green recycler founded by two former Princeton University classmates who dreamed up the idea in 2001 for a business plan contest. Now full-time "eco-capitalists," they're making good business from trash by partnering with brands to create recycling campaigns for their products, and a halo effect for their affiliates.