Check out Terracycle and join a Brigade.  

Farr launched Millicoma's chapter of the TerraCycle program three years ago, a recycling company that advocates for environmental awareness.

TerraCycle is on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. [They] do this by creating waste collection programs (each one is called a “Brigade”) for previously non-recyclable, or difficult-to-recycle, waste. The collected waste is then converted into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks.

Le Moyne students and clubs have a chance to earn money for a charity, or for Le Moyne, by recycling through the TerraCycle company. TerraCycle is a company that recycles and upcycles, which is recycling unusual products into something inexpensive and useful. Tom Szaky initiated TerraCycle in 2001 when he was just 20 years old.

If your family recycles like mine does, then anything resembling paper, plastic or metal goes into the appropriate recycling bin. However did you know you may be depositing products that cannot be recycled through typical processes? I am guilty of this — I had been mixing in kid food pouches with my regular plastics. Oops! A solution exists thanks to TerraCycle. It offers national programs (a.k.a Brigades®) to collect previously non-recyclable or hard to recycle waste like drink pouches, chip bags, and water filters. The waste is then made into new products ranging from recycled park benches to backpacks.

It’s June, and that means the end of the school year is near. I am dedicating this month’s column to one of our local schools for going above and beyond with recycling and sustainable practices. It is my hope that the Gray’s Woods Elementary School can serve as a model for other schools in Centre County. When the Gray’s Woods Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) met last fall, it was evident that they wanted to ramp up the school’s recycling program. Gray’s Woods had already been recycling paper, metal cans, plastic bottles and cardboard. The school was also collecting soda tabs that are donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Danville. However, they wanted to do more. I volunteered to be chairwoman of the recycling committee, and we started full speed ahead. One of the first new initiatives was to integrate the “TerraCycle Brigades” program. We set up recycling collection bins for the following “hard to recycle” items: paired shoes & flip flops, empty glue sticks, old writing instruments and empty tape dispensers. Once we collected enough of each item, they were mailed to TerraCycle (free of charge) to be recycled. TerraCycle offers reward points for each item. The points can be donated as cash to a charity of the school’s choice. Many local schools and churches participate in TerraCycle Brigades. More information can be found at www.terracycle.com. In addition to the TerraCycle program, recycling bins were set up to collect miscellaneous plastics, lids/caps and plastic bags. When the bins were full, I took the items to work to be incorporated into the county’s recycling program. One great thing about the Gray’s Woods Elementary recycling program is that it’s open to Gray’s Woods families. Parents can send recyclables to school with their child to add to the school’s items. If your school would like to learn about incorporating more recycling into the mix, please contact me at amyschirf@uplink.net, and we can work on it.

Join our collaborative community effort to clean up the May River, connect with each other, celebrate the natural environment, and learn how to care for it and each other with green resources!  This family friendly event promotes people and planet connections to build sustainable communities with fun learning experiences for all ages to raise awareness about full loop connectivity of ecological, social and economic systems and how to support them sustainably.

I recently visited "Away"--that place things go when you put them out with the trash, otherwise known as the landfill. It was a really eye-opening experience, and I highly recommend it. Really. It's not at all what you think it will be, and it makes you rethink what happens to all that stuff you throw out (although I do recommend visiting before summer heat hits).

We’ve all heard it – “save the planet”, “go green”, “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  Here’s an easy way to do just that and potentially earn money for your group or charity through TerraCycle.

Set up your recycling station and let the kids manage it. TerraCycle has several Brigade programs that accept all brands and items in a category. For instance, send in personal care/beauty packaging and household cleaner packaging regardless of brand. You earn money for each item, which can be donated to a favorite charity.