Oenophile parents will adore this corkboard made from actual recycled wine corks.  It provides the perfect place to pin a shopping list or a photo of their favorite child - you!

The perfect bag is light, water resistant, and stain resistant and TerraCycle has it. The company has created toiletry cases, tote bags, and lunch sacksfrom recycling tent material. Each item is made from a different tent part, giving it a distinctive, custom design. The lightweight material won’t weigh down you or your suitcase, and makes the bags practical for any trip – to the mountains or on business.

I am a big fan of recycling and Upcycling. Now many people do not even know what that term means, Upcycling. Basically it is like recycling, where you are saving something from the being thrown away and ending up in a landfill by reusing it,  but with Upcycling you are turning it into a new, more stylish item. Many crafters do this at home, and have a ton of fun doing it, making beautiful items. Well, 2001 a company called TerraCycle came on the scene and turned this Upcycing into a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved. Here is what they do: People send in certain items they are looking for, stuff people are going to be thrown into the trash. The people sending them in receive money towards the non-profit of their choice: their school, church, charity, as long as it is a non-profit organization. TerraCycle turns the items into trendy items, like lunch boxes, back packs and other school supplies, scrapbooks and speaker boxes, and practical items like fences, coasters, and garden supplies.Honestly, what I mentioned does not even begin to touch on all of the things that they make. The materials they are using are growing and items that they are  making just continues to grown and that means more and more things trash staying out of the landfills each year, plus more and more non profits adding money to their causes. As you can see I love TerraCycle. I have loved them for a long time, since I saw my very first Capri Sun drink pouch and knew how green this company was. These days you can find quite a few of the Terracycle products around my house. And I think they would make amazing holiday gifts for just about anyone on your list. Kids will love the fun designs made from candy wrappers, chip bags, and juice boxes. There are great items that are appropriate for teens and adults, too. With unique items like tote bags, lunch sacks, toiletry cases and travel pouches which are made from repurposed USPS mail bags and old tents that were destined for the trash. All USPS and tent products will be available online at Uncommon Goods. The Upcycled Tent DOPP Kit  is made from piece of manufactured tent and scraps and the clip, closures, and zippers are the like those used in the tents used in camping, giving it an authentic feel. Since it is made from true tent material, on the inside and outside, it is very durable. The inside has 3 zippered pockets that can hold everything you need for your trip or even just to keep things organized at home. And even though people do not usually think of gardening in the winter, indoor plants still need care. TerraCycle had both indoor and outdoor gardening items. The watering can offered from TerraCycle may seem like just a normal can, but it is made from recycled Bare Naked Wrappers. Just another way to keep all that trash out of the landfills, while keeping your garden watered and blooming beautifully. TerraCycle products are available at a wide range of major retailers from WalMart to Target as well as online sites, such as Uncommon Goods. I hope you will look at the other amazing products that are available from Terracycle, and include them on your Holiday list. Also, please consider looking into the TerraCycle’s recycle program to earn money for your school or charity.

¿Tienes hijos y te quedas en el puente de diciembre en Madrid? ¿Quieres que se diviertan y aprendan al tiempo? Si es así, IFEMA propone, entre el 5 el 9 de diciembre, DABADUM, Salón del Ocio Infantil en Familia, el mejor espacio de ocio de Madrid con actividades lúdico-educativas y pedagógicas, para que los más pequeños disfruten con sus familias durante el puente de diciembre.

Pour réfléchir à ce problème, la semaine européenne de réduction des déchets sera lancée du 17 au 25 novembre 2012.

In honor of Recycle America, beauty product lines that recycle and have recycling programs America Recycles Day, November 15, is a day that is dedicated to promoting recycling across the country. In case you missed it, don’t fret. You can still participate in recycling all year around. Many cosmetics companies are now committed to conserving our resources, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution by offering smart recycling programs. Join the fight to keep cosmetics packaging out of our landfills. Here are some popular beauty product lines that recycle. Garnier Garnier has teamed up with TerraCycle, a company dedicated to recycling waste, in order to recycle and reuse cosmetics packaging. Consumers can join the Personal Care and Beauty Brigade to recycle items such as used lipstick tubes, mascara tubes, nail polish bottles, shampoo bottles, conditioner bottles and eyeliner pencils. The material will be reused to create environmentally-friendly playgrounds throughout the United States.

There are tons of companies and individuals trying to capitalize on the recycling trend. Terracycle is taking that trend to another level. They are recycling waste products or upcycling to create new products while reducing the products that would normally just go to a landfill.

Products include traditional garden supplies like a Terra Stone Plant Caddy retailing for $14.99, the Eco-Terra Watering Can for $11.99 and TerraCycle’s trademark All-Purpose Plant Food for $4.99 – $32.00 at major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, independent garden centers and online. Another classic TerraCycle product line includes school products including backpacks, lunch bags, pencil cases, notebooks, binders and more!

One of our most interesting gifts include foldable, portable and lightweight Eco-Speakers for $19.99, made from upcycled trash to tuneful treasure. Other unique items include tote bags, lunch sacks, toiletry cases and travel pouches made from repurposed USPS mail bags and upcycled tents. All USPS and tent products will be available online at www.uncommongoods.com. Lunch sacks will retail for $37.00, dopp kits for $38.00, and tote bags for $46.00. The Coin Pouch, Tote, and iPad Case will retail from $14.00 – $84.00.

For my review, we received the Capri Sun Rectangular Lunchbox, M&M’s Eco Speakers, and the Upcycled Tent Dopp Kit.

TRENTON — Trenton-based recycler Terracycle is making no butts about it, they’ve got big changes coming their way thanks to a new partnership with a cigarette manufacturer. The recycler announced last week that it has teamed up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, makers of Natural American Spirit cigarettes, to launch a program aimed at collecting and recycling cigarette waste. The cigarette waste, according to a release from Terracycle, can be seen littered about in nearly every public place from sidewalks and roadways, to parks and shopping malls. Cigarette waste is a pervasive form of litter that Terracycle, along with the help of its new partnership, has led to the development of a creative solution to make use of discarded cigarette butts. “You don’t have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment,” said Cressida Lozano, the head of sales and marketing for SFNTC in a release. “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.” According to the release issued by Terracycle, over 52 million cigarette butts were collected from beaches during the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Day in the past 25 years. Terracycle aims to turn the previously undesirable cigarette butts into items like shipping products, plastic lumber, railroad ties and other industrial items after the waste is converted into plastic pellets. Zakes said that while the plastic pellets are carcinogen and toxin free, Terracycle declined to turn them into consumer products based on the stigma that cigarettes carry. Instead, the company decided that the pellets could be used to make industrial products. One of these products, which the company had on display at its offices were plastic shipping pallets, which Zakes told The Trentonian are more durable than wooden pallets that are prone to breakage. According to Terracycle the cigarette butts are processed in the town of Portland, Pa., which is located in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. The company said that the paper and remaining tobacco will be composted, while the largely plastic filter medium is melted down and converted into a toxin-free plastic pellet that will eventually be used to create new products, which according to Zakes would have previously called for the use of virgin material, meaning companies would be creating more new plastic. Despite the stigma based around cigarettes, Terracycle ensured that the raw pellets are safe and toxin free by treating them to a round gamma radiation. “People might think that (gamma radiation) is a scary thing,” said Zakes. “But it’s not, it’s the same process used to kill bacteria like salmonella in food.” At the Terracycle lab on New York Avenue, samples of similar pellets were displayed along with products that they could be transformed into. Among the products on display were parking space dividers and plastic sheeting created from a similar pellet material. The shift to creating plastic pellets is what Zakes called a “game-changer” for the company as it allows them to become a supplier to other businesses that will create products from the recycled raw material. Terracycle said the program which they refer to as the Cigarette Waste Brigade, is free to participate in and will help to divert cigarette butts from landfills. Those who wish to participate and are over the age of 21 can sign up on the company’s website at www.Terracycle.com. Once they have signed up and created an account to be a part of the Cigarette Waste Brigade, they can collect butts from ashtrays and ash receptacles, place them into a plastic bag, which also will be recycled, and place the collected waste into a shipping box. After enough waste has been collected participants can sign into their account and print a prepaid UPS shipping label to return their box. Once the box is received, and the contents weighed, participants will earn credits that will be donated to Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit community action and education organization. According to Terracycle the credits break down to about $1.00 per pound, which equates to about 1000 cigarette butts. “This is one of the most exciting developments in Terracycle’s history,” Szaky says. “As a company committed to recycling waste streams that others deem worthless or unsavory, cigarette waste will help to promote our belief that everything can and should be recycled” In addition to recycling cigarette waste, the company said it is working on transforming other harder-to-recycle items like diapers and chewing gum. With the partnership with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company has just launched in the United States Cigarette Waste Brigade, the company has also launched the program in Spain, Germany and Canada and said they’re working on further worldwide expansion.

TerraCycles tävling Pennkampen För att uppmuntra skolor och förskolor att samla in sina använda pennor har TerraCycle och BIC lanserat en kul insamlingstävling, ”Pennkampen”, mellan den 24:e september och den 24:e november. Förstapris är en projektor från BIC och TerraCycle-poäng som kan lösas in till pengar för välgörenhet. Läs mer på www.terracycle.se/pennkampen BIC sponsrar insamlingsprogrammet Penn-brigaden, men det går att skicka in alla slags kulspetspennor, filtpennor, stiftpennor, korrigeringspennor, märkpennor och överstrykningspennor gjorda av plast och metall oavsett märke. Pennorna skickas sedan med Posten till återvinningsexperterna TerraCycles anläggning i Göteborg. Penn-brigaden drivs från TerraCycles hemsida, www.terracycle.se, och det är helt gratis att delta tack vare att portot betalas av BIC. För varje inskickad penna betalar TerraCycle 20 poäng som kan lösas in som 20 öre. Pengarna kan antingen användas för lämpliga skolprojekt eller doneras till en valfri välgörenhetsorganisation. Programmet sätter dessutom fokus på aktivt deltagande och hjälper till att medvetandegöra barn och ungdomar om vikten av att hushålla med begränsade resurser. Christine Jansson, TerraCycle Sverige 020-793103, christine.jansson@terracycle.se, www.terracycle.se Pennorna samlas in i klasserna och lämnas på Anders kontor innan den 20:e november för vidare transport till TerraCycles. För att få del av pengarna (20 öre per penna) som vi kommer att skänka till Indien eller Tanzania behöver vi samla in 5 kg pennor. Dvs ca 500 st. Oavsett om vi får ihop så många pennor eller inte är det ju viktigt för miljön att återanvända så mycket vi bara kan.