ReNual CEO Alicia Korten interviews Albe Zakes from Terracycle on how the company is turning garbage into gold

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.

There’s an old Yorkshire expression that says, “Where there’s muck, there’s brass.” Translated into 21st-century American, it means there’s money in garbage. Read how a young Canadian immigrant is making millions from “muck” and saving the environment at the same time.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  is launching a new campaign with Old Navy next week called the Flip Flop Replay just in time for Earth Day. From April 22 through May 21 you can drop off used flip flops at any Old Navy store in the U.S. Then TerraCycle will recycle the flip flops into four public playgrounds at different locations around the country, marking the first large-scale effort to collect and recycle flip flops. TerraCycle has led the recycling charge with several successful programs <http://www.inhabitots.com/terracycle-backpacks/>  in the past including recycling Stoneyfield yogurt containers into toothbrushes, razors and more. Beyond flip flop recycling, you can join in on one of TerraCycle’s other “Bridgades <http://www.terracycle.net/brigades?locale=en-US&show_all=true> ” by sending in wrappers, corks, containers, electronics and more.

Where other people see trash, Tom Szaky sees raw materials. An empty yogurt cup is a plant pot for a nursery. A juice pouch is fabric for a backpack. Disposable plastic cups? Park benches, naturally.

You know we have all seen the little garden starter kits. They have been around for years. Northrup King use to have one when I was a kid for tomato plants. Poke holes in a plastic tray, water, sit in a sunny window sill and you have a little green house of tomato plants. Well, Terra Cycle, on of my favorite companies, takes it to a new level, The sell growing kits for kids made from up-cycled Stony Fields yogurt containers, with a growing medium made from compost and their famous worm poop. They sell them in a Vegetable kit, Herb Kit and a Flower Kit

Old Navy and TerraCycle Inc. <http://www.terracycle.net>  have teamed up and will be launching a new campaign next week- just in time for Earth Day – called the Flip Flop Replay. When you drop your or your children’s used flip flops at any Old Navy store in the U.S. between April 22 through May 21, TerraCycle will recycle them into four public playgrounds across the country. This will mark the first large-scale effort to recycle and collect flip flops!

TerraCycle is launching a new campaign with Old Navy next week called the Flip Flop Replay just in time for Earth Day. From April 22 through May 21 you can drop off used flip flops at any Old Navy store in the U.S. Then TerraCycle will recycle the flip flops into four public playgrounds at different locations around the country, marking the first large-scale effort to collect and recycle flip flops. TerraCycle has led the recycling charge with several successful programs in the past including recycling Stoneyfield yogurt containers into toothbrushes, razors and more. Beyond flip flop recycling, you can join in on one of TerraCycle’s other “Bridgades” by sending in wrappers, corks, containers, electronics and more.

Today, I found TerraCycle Kid's Growing Kit and snapped them up! They consist of a three-pack of used Stonyfield Yogurt cups that have been filled with soil. The cardboard packaging that holds the containers is actually embedded with seeds for either tomatoes or basil, depending on which you pick. The best part? They only cost a $1 each. When I got home and started looking at TerraCycle's site, I found that they have a bunch of products that are made from “upcycled” products - a bike pouch made from energy bar wrappers, a bubble kit made from milk bottles, backpacks and totes made from drink pouches. What an innovative and fun company! Check it out to see if there's something you just can't live without. Of course, if you wanted to go one step further, you could save all your own yogurt containers and break a seed packet out among several cups so that the seeds are already planted and watered for the first time when you hand them out, but these were too convenient for me to pass up.

TerraCycle joue au Show du matin à V télé.