Grounds for recycling
TERRACYCLE NEWS
ELIMINATING THE IDEA OF WASTE®
2012 MNN holiday gift guide: The festive 15
For Pam, your notoriously hard-to-shop-for sister-in-law: For impossible-to-shop-for gift recipients, sometimes a gift certificate is the safest — and most practical — option. Launched with the aid of erstwhile “Lazy Environmentalist” and former MNN columnist Josh Dorfman, Vine.com is a new, one-stop shopping destination featuring a wide — yet carefully vetted — selection of planet-friendly products across a range of categories including Pets, Beauty, Grocery, Household and Babies & Kids. That said, there are so many green goodies ripe for picking on Vine.com, we think a gift certificate is the best way to go. Our ideal Vine.com shopping basket? Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Oil Castile Liquid Soap, Terracycle’s picture frame made from upcycled circuit boards, and a big ol’ bag of Fair Tradecoffee. Available in denominations up to $1,500 at Vine.com.
Recycle 'em if you got 'em: TerraCycle launches cigarette waste collection program
From glue sticks to flip-flops, TerraCycle embraces hard-to-recycle waste with open arms. And with a new collection scheme, the company is taking on the country's most pervasive type of litter: Cigarette butts.
If you’re at all familiar with “waste solution development” firm TerraCycle, you’re probably well aware that the New Jersey-headquartered company largely, but not exclusively, collects difficult-to-recycle trashof the PG-rated, lunchbox-friendly variety: Plastic Lunchables trays and lids, Capri Sun drink pouches, M&M wrappers, plastic yogurt cups, string cheese packaging, and the like.You’re also probably aware that a heft of the upcycled products designed and sold by the company — backpacks pencil cases, spiral bound notebooks, etc. — are kid- and classroom-friendly. This all makes perfect sense given that TerraCycle’s popular Brigades trash collection programs are often instituted as fundraisers at schools across the country.
That said, the steady flow of trash entering TerraCycle’s main collection warehouse in Trenton and other warehouses across the country is decidedly not of the adults-only variety (save for the Wine Pouch Brigade). And unless you count candy bar wrappers, there hasn’t been a whole lot of vice-centric or eyebrow-raising recycling going on within the wonderful world of TerraCycle — no empty whisky bottles, old issues of Penthouse, sex toys, glass bongs, beer cans.
Until now.
Following the launch of a similar program in Canada earlier this year, TerraCycle has kicked off its first Brigade trash collection scheme in the U.S., a scheme that focuses on both litter removal and landfill avoidance, in which potential recyclers must be 21 and over to participate (and to even access the Brigade homepage).
The form of waste involved that warrants an age restriction?
Cigarette butts and other forms of tobacco-related waste.
Launched with the sponsorship of tobacco manufacturer the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, the Cigarette Brigade allows participants to recycle butts, filters, half-smoked cigarettes, rolling papers, loose tobacco pouches, and the plastic outer wrap and inner foil found in cigarette boxes. Cigarette ash, yes, ash, is accepted as well. Cardboard cigarette boxes and cartons are not accepted, however, as those can be recycled on a local level.
The Cigarette Brigade, a program open to tobacco-using individuals, bar and restaurant owners, building managers, and litter clean-up groups, works much like other TerraCycle Brigade programs: Once a sizable amount of waste is collected by a participant, it is emptied into a plastic bag (True, cigarette butts aren't exactly most of us would want to hoard in a bunch of plastic baggies for a length of time). Participants then place the bag (s), which is later recycled by TerraCycle, in a box before shipping it to the company using a free prepaid UPS shipping label accessed through an online TerraCycle account. Unlike the Canadian Cigarette Brigade that offers 100 TerraCycle points per pound of waste collected, there is currently not a charitable point-incentive program attached to its U.S. counterpart.
Obviously, TerraCycle doesn’t plan on making pencil cases or tote bags out of several ashtrays-full of cigarette butts (although I did spot a cigarette butt picture frame during my tour of TerraCycle HQ last month) and selling them to consumers. Instead, the waste will be used to create industrial products such as plastic pallets while any remaining tobacco will be used in tobacco composting efforts.
In case you were curious, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a division of Reynolds American, is the manufacturer of Natural American Spirit brand cigarettes. Obviously, American Spirits aren’t healthier or any less damaging than a pack of Pall Malls or what have you. They still do a body not-very-good. However, a “natural” brand that offers additive-free, organic and 100 percent American grown varieties decidedly lends itself better to recycling efforts than other Reynolds-owned subsidiaries such as Camel.
Says Cressida Lozano, head of marketing and sales for the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company in a recent press release:
You don’t have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment. Our company has been committed to environmental sustainability since we were founded 30 years ago, and we’re proud to be the exclusive sponsor of an innovative program to reduce and recycle cigarette butt litter, regardless of which manufacturer made the cigarettes.
And on the topic of cigarette butt litter, Keep America Beautiful states that 65 percent of cigarette butts are disposed of improperly. Additionally, tobacco waste is the number one item recovered during the Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup Day — a staggering 52 million cigarette filters have been collected from beaches over the past 25 years. And even when non-biodegradable cigarette butts are disposed of “properly” — i.e. deposited into an ashtray and then into the trash — they continue to live a long, prosperous life within landfills where they leach toxins into the ground. It’s a less eyesore-inducing alternative to litter, but not much better.
TerraCycle’s stateside Cigarette Brigade program, like its Canadian counterpart, may garner some controversy due to the involvement of a major tobacco company. Still, I think the program — the first of its kind — is certainly warranted. I'm all for it. TerraCycle, a company deeply committed to recycling items that may be deemed by some, as founder/CEO Tom Szaky puts it, as “worthless and unsavoury,” is simply offering smokers and clean-up organizations a vehicle in which to safely dispose of a pervasive, unsightly, and all around nasty form of waste.
Recycle 'em if you got 'em: TerraCycle launches cigarette waste collection program
From glue sticks to flip-flops, TerraCycle embraces hard-to-recycle waste with open arms. And with a new collection scheme, the company is taking on the country's most pervasive type of litter: Cigarette butts.
If you’re at all familiar with “waste solution development” firm TerraCycle, you’re probably well aware that the New Jersey-headquartered company largely, but not exclusively, collects difficult-to-recycle trashof the PG-rated, lunchbox-friendly variety: Plastic Lunchables trays and lids, Capri Sun drink pouches, M&M wrappers, plastic yogurt cups, string cheese packaging, and the like.You’re also probably aware that a heft of the upcycled products designed and sold by the company — backpacks pencil cases, spiral bound notebooks, etc. — are kid- and classroom-friendly. This all makes perfect sense given that TerraCycle’s popular Brigades trash collection programs are often instituted as fundraisers at schools across the country.
That said, the steady flow of trash entering TerraCycle’s main collection warehouse in Trenton and other warehouses across the country is decidedly not of the adults-only variety (save for the Wine Pouch Brigade). And unless you count candy bar wrappers, there hasn’t been a whole lot of vice-centric or eyebrow-raising recycling going on within the wonderful world of TerraCycle — no empty whisky bottles, old issues of Penthouse, sex toys, glass bongs, beer cans.
Until now.
Following the launch of a similar program in Canada earlier this year, TerraCycle has kicked off its first Brigade trash collection scheme in the U.S., a scheme that focuses on both litter removal and landfill avoidance, in which potential recyclers must be 21 and over to participate (and to even access the Brigade homepage).
The form of waste involved that warrants an age restriction?
Cigarette butts and other forms of tobacco-related waste.
Launched with the sponsorship of tobacco manufacturer the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, the Cigarette Brigade allows participants to recycle butts, filters, half-smoked cigarettes, rolling papers, loose tobacco pouches, and the plastic outer wrap and inner foil found in cigarette boxes. Cigarette ash, yes, ash, is accepted as well. Cardboard cigarette boxes and cartons are not accepted, however, as those can be recycled on a local level.
The Cigarette Brigade, a program open to tobacco-using individuals, bar and restaurant owners, building managers, and litter clean-up groups, works much like other TerraCycle Brigade programs: Once a sizable amount of waste is collected by a participant, it is emptied into a plastic bag (True, cigarette butts aren't exactly most of us would want to hoard in a bunch of plastic baggies for a length of time). Participants then place the bag (s), which is later recycled by TerraCycle, in a box before shipping it to the company using a free prepaid UPS shipping label accessed through an online TerraCycle account. Unlike the Canadian Cigarette Brigade that offers 100 TerraCycle points per pound of waste collected, there is currently not a charitable point-incentive program attached to its U.S. counterpart.
Obviously, TerraCycle doesn’t plan on making pencil cases or tote bags out of several ashtrays-full of cigarette butts (although I did spot a cigarette butt picture frame during my tour of TerraCycle HQ last month) and selling them to consumers. Instead, the waste will be used to create industrial products such as plastic pallets while any remaining tobacco will be used in tobacco composting efforts.
In case you were curious, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a division of Reynolds American, is the manufacturer of Natural American Spirit brand cigarettes. Obviously, American Spirits aren’t healthier or any less damaging than a pack of Pall Malls or what have you. They still do a body not-very-good. However, a “natural” brand that offers additive-free, organic and 100 percent American grown varieties decidedly lends itself better to recycling efforts than other Reynolds-owned subsidiaries such as Camel.
Says Cressida Lozano, head of marketing and sales for the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company in a recent press release:
You don’t have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment. Our company has been committed to environmental sustainability since we were founded 30 years ago, and we’re proud to be the exclusive sponsor of an innovative program to reduce and recycle cigarette butt litter, regardless of which manufacturer made the cigarettes.
And on the topic of cigarette butt litter, Keep America Beautiful states that 65 percent of cigarette butts are disposed of improperly. Additionally, tobacco waste is the number one item recovered during the Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup Day — a staggering 52 million cigarette filters have been collected from beaches over the past 25 years. And even when non-biodegradable cigarette butts are disposed of “properly” — i.e. deposited into an ashtray and then into the trash — they continue to live a long, prosperous life within landfills where they leach toxins into the ground. It’s a less eyesore-inducing alternative to litter, but not much better.
TerraCycle’s stateside Cigarette Brigade program, like its Canadian counterpart, may garner some controversy due to the involvement of a major tobacco company. Still, I think the program — the first of its kind — is certainly warranted. I'm all for it. TerraCycle, a company deeply committed to recycling items that may be deemed by some, as founder/CEO Tom Szaky puts it, as “worthless and unsavoury,” is simply offering smokers and clean-up organizations a vehicle in which to safely dispose of a pervasive, unsightly, and all around nasty form of waste.
Dabadum, salón de ocio infantil en familia ¡No te lo pierdas!
Dabadum, el salón de ocio infantil en familia, se celebra en Madrid del 5 al 9 de diciembre. Una gran fiesta llena de actividades y talleres para disfrutar con niños de todas las edades. Además, Ser Padres organiza la escuela de padres. ¡Un plan divertido y a cubierto para el puente de diciembre!
En clôture de la Semaine Européenne de Réduction des Déchets, Annonce du partenariat BIC / VITTEL
BIC et VITTEL améliorent continuellement l’éco conception de leurs produits pour limiter le recours aux matériaux non renouvelables et réduire leur impact sur l’environnement. Les deux marques informent et sensibilisent également le grand public au geste de tri et participent à l’amélioration des filières de recyclage.
Holiday Shopper’s Gift Guide 2012
NATURE - VERS LA FIN DES DECHÊTS
Fondé en 2001, la plate-forme TerraCycle s’est donné comme mission d’éliminer le concept même de déchets ! Son vice-président va encore plus loin en déclarant « que les déchets ne sont qu’une invention humaine. Dans la nature il n’y a pas de poubelle, tout peut être réutilisé d’une manière ou d’une autre. »
¿SE PUEDE RECICLAR UNA COLILLA?
En los ceniceros situados en las puertas de bares y oficinas se acumulan gran cantidad de colillas y de ceniza. Habitualmente, estosresiduos acaban en vertederos convencionales, o bien son incinerados, con la correspondiente liberación de CO2 a la atmósfera. Sin embargo, los restos de los cigarrillos se pueden reciclar y obtener así numerosos beneficios medioambientales.
Donan dinero juntando basura
POR LORENA SANDOVAL
La empresa TerraCycle se dedica a recolectar empaques vacíos de algunas marcas, los cuales sirven para hacerse de recursos que luego dona a las causas que consideren para apoyar.
La firma nació con la misión de “Eliminar la Idea de la Basura”, por ello es que recolectan los envases o embalajes de los productos Tang, Bimbo, Colgate y PepsiCo gracias a las escuelas, universidades, oficinas, personas individuales o grupos, recolectan empaques vacíos de dichas marcas.
Por cada empaque se abonan en una cuenta 25 centavos de peso (4 empaques = 1 peso), de esta manera cada equipo de brigada decide donar su dinero recaudado a una ONG de su preferencia.
En Querétaro hay aproximadamente 5 mil personas recolectando en 70 equipos: Dentro de los cuales están ONGs como, TECHO Querétaro, Promundo, Nuevo Mundo en Educación Especial Querétaro I.A.P, entre otras.