Terracycle <http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html>  is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! They are always coming up with fun and cool ways to recycle, but they also have come up with a way (actually 6 ways) Moms can go green, reduce waste at home, AND raise money for their kids school and/or favourite charity.

A Far Northside school and two area churches earned money for their programs while keeping waste out of landfills. Students in Kathrynn Hodson's class at Spring Mill Elementary and groups at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on the Far Southside and St. John's Lutheran Church on the Southeastside collected non-recyclable packaging such as makeup tubes through a program called the Aveeno Beauty Brigade, said Sara Koncius, TerraCycle spokeswoman. TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company, takes the items like the tubes, chip bags or even bicycle chain and turns them into products such as backpacks, pictures frames and makeup pouches. The school and churches earned two cents for every tube collected. Any school group or nonprofit can sign up for the program, Koncius said. Both churches also are participating in other fundraising collections such as the Capri Sun Drink Pouch Brigade and the Frito-Lay Chip Bag Brigade.

Terracycle <http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html>  is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! I am happy and proud to announce Terracycle recently invited me to join their Blogger Club! Yay! AND they have offered to do a cool Back to School giveaway for My Atlanta Mommy readers, which I will let you know about very soon!

Terracycle <http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html>  is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! They are always coming up with fun and cool ways to recycle, but they also have come up with a way (actually 6 ways) Moms can go green, reduce waste at home, AND raise money for their kids school and/or favourite charity.

As part of an ongoing effort to be environmentally responsible citizens, the students at Central Elementary School in Simsbury joined Terracycle's Juice Pouch Brigade and have collected over 8,000 juice pouches since 2008. The pouches are sent to Terracycle and they make new products from them, since they can not be recycled, and they give Central two cents for each pouch. Central has just received a check from Terracycle for $117.02, and has donated it to the Audubon Nature Institute, who through the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program (LMMSTRP), are the primary responders for the state of Louisiana for the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine mammals and sea turtles impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A large-scale drive at C. Richard Applegate School will ensure that almost 6,000 drink pouches never hit a landfill, thanks to a band of fifth-graders who wanted to help their community. David Lundy, 11, and a group of classmates -- Jordan Cerio, 10; Kelly Preston, 11, and Ella Kemp, 11 -- recently organized a large drive in which students were encouraged to donate used Capri Sun, Kool-Aid and Honest Kids drink pouches.    The pouches would then be given to the "upcycling'' company Terra Cycle, which collects trash such as drink pouches, candy wrappers and even used writing instruments to make backpacks, laptop cases and other products. What's more, Terra Cycle pays for the waste material they take in -- for example, two cents for every drink pouch they receive.

For instance, if you head to the Terra Cycle you will see that they are always actively seeking to develop “brigades”. These are groups that commit to collecting very specific materials such as candy wrappers, drink pouches, or soda bottles. <http://www.gogreenitems.com/Recycled_Handbags_Eco_Friendly_Purses_at_Go_Green_Items_s/146.htm>  The group that collects and submits the materials will get paid for each item (usually around two cents each) and will even be able to enjoy free shipping on each package they submit.  This means that a classroom, school, or neighborhood might get together to “harvest” every juice pouch used by the kids. These are quickly rinsed, flattened and submitted to the upcycling group, and then a check  or contribution is made in return for their efforts. It is a win-win scenario and comes with plenty of rewards apart from the money.

“When you think of a really powerful group in the community, you have got to think about our middle school students,” Berryman said. “They’re a powerful group that makes a difference in our community and in the climate of our community and building.” Four of the eighth students –– Paige Bartkowiak, Sara Wortmann, Kourtney Koch and Amelia Sadler –– led their class with service hours. Bartkowiak clocked in with 150 hours to qualify for the Presidential Service Award and 175 total hours. Wortmann recorded 100 presidential service hours and 120 total hours. Koch had 100 presidential service hours and 119 total hours. Sadler recorded 150 presidential service hours and 167 total hours. Bartkowiak said the hours fill up quickly. “You don’t have to do huge projects,” she said. “You just do a little bit here and there.” Bartkowiak along with Wortmann and Koch helped organize a bottle recycling project and a partnership with TerraCycle at the middle school as part of their Girl Scout service to the community.

On Thursday, June 10, Robert Schucker, president of Midland Park-based R&S Landscaping, the region's premier environmentally responsible landscaping firm, visited Willard Elementary School to present a lesson on water conservation and the value of a rain barrel -- a system that provides homeowners with a consistent supply of free, fresh water for outdoor use by collecting and storing rainwater that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains and streams. Willard is ahead of the curve when it comes to teaching environmentally friendly practices. At Willard, students are learning about the importance of the environment, and have taken action through an on-site compost garden, a school-wide recycling initiative, and an ongoing partnership with TerraCycle, a company that reuses juice containers and wrappers.

As a fan of the cereal and helping the environment – I’m quite excited about this little tid-bit of news. Malt-O-Meal are those wonderful people that make Tootie Fruities and Marshmellow Matey cereals as well as a range of other flavors. Last week, Malt-O-Meal announced that it was teaming up with those green-friendly TerraCycle folks to help keep more cereal bags out of landfills. To do that – they are setting up ‘brigades’ in schools all over the US where students are able to get together and collect the bags to raise money for their school. Bags stay out of bins, TerraCycle recycles them into great new products (like backpacks) and Malt-O-Meal donates money to schools.