FORT FISHER, N.C. — Bags full of candy on Halloween typically means trash bags full of wrappers the day after, but the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher is trying to help cut down on the waste. The aquarium is partnering with Terracycle, a company that creates products from hard to recycle waste like candy wrappers. Organizers say it is a simple way to teach kids about conservation. "Because candy wrappers are lightweight they can travel far distances and they have long life spans in landfills so what we would like for them to take away from this is that they can make an impact on their environment," said NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher registrar Casey Davis. The aquarium will accept wrappers from everyone, but they are also offering a special incentive for school students. The classroom with the highest total amount of wrappers turned in will receive a free outreach program for 30 students from the aquarium. The aquarium is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

LiveWell Colorado is sponsoring a Candy Swap in Denver and Lone Tree, Colo. in the days following Halloween this year. On Friday, Nov. 2, take your candy bowl downtown between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to exchange it for a fresh fruit bowl. LiveWell will be on the 16th Street Mall between Curtis & Champa, in front of Bellco Credit Union. On Saturday, Nov. 3, the candy swap will take place in Lone Tree from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to fresh fruit, there will be other items for swapping, such as jump ropes and frisbees. Find the Candy Swap at the Bellco Credit Union at 9220 Park Meadows Drive. Both dates and locations will feature music, giveaways, and the LiveWell Rally Man. Participants will also be eligible to win a pair of Justin Beiber concert tickets. LiveWell Colorado has also said that the candy wrappers will be given to Terracycle, who will upcycle them, creating products and donating a portion of the proceeds back to LiveWell Colorado.

Students and teachers at a Syracuse school have found a way to turn trash into cash.   Roberts K-8 School, at 715 Glenwood Ave., is participating in a recycling effort through the New Jersey firm TerraCycle Brigade Program, which gives credits or money to organizations such as nonprofits and schools. In the case of the Roberts school, the money-maker is empty Capri Sun drink pouches.   Second-grade teacher Cara Kirkby heads the school’s recycling project.   “The Brigade Program is great because it teaches kids about recycling and reusing,” Kirkby said. “I have a bag made out of Capri Sun pouches that is used to collect the items so they can see that it has another use.”   Teams are responsible for each floor in the building — fifth-graders cover the first floor, second-graders the second floor and the middle school students the third floor.   The Capri Sun pouches are collected at school, with many students bringing them in from home, as well. Once there is enough to fill up a copy paper box — about 500 flattened pouches — Kirkby sends them to TerraCycle.   TerraCycle Brigade Programs collects non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle items and converts them into new products such as park benches, picnic tables, pots and even plant food.   TerraCycle turns the drink pouches into bags, backpacks and pencil cases, as well as plastic products such as plant caddies on wheels to move large plants around a home or office, said Stacey Krauss, public relations manager for the company.   There is no cost to join and no fees along the way. Any school, business or group can participate. Paid shipping is also provided to send in the collected waste to TerraCycle.   Points or cash are then credited to the school or non-profit organization of the participant’s choice.   There are a variety of options available for redeeming points. They can be used to obtain recycled products for a non-profit or donated to one of TerraCycle’s charity partners dedicated to environmental preservation, meals for the homeless in America, wells for people throughout the world who lack clean drinking water, to empower impoverished families or to provide school supplies for a homeless child. Points also can be converted into cash to support an organization that the donor selects. In the case of Roberts school, the funds are directed to the Parent Teacher Organization.   To date, the school has sent in 6,644 Capri Sun pouches, and at two cents per pouch, the school has netted nearly $133, Kirby said. Currently, there are more than 40 Brigade Programs.   While Kirkby has been coordinating the TerraCycle program for three years, she has been recycling at the school for 14 years.   She credits her strong environmental focus to the time she spent at State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she majored in resource management. She earned her master’s of education degree at State University College at Cortland.   “It’s kind of in your blood after going to ESF,” she said. “It stays with you throughout life.”   It is this philosophy that she shares with the students at Roberts. In addition to the Capri Sun pouches, Kirkby and students collect paper, bottles and cans. Nearly 200 students participate in the program.   Kirkby would like to take advantage of the other Brigade Program opportunities such as collecting pens and markers to benefit the school. To do so, though, she said she it would take someone to coordinate that aspect.   She also wants to spread the word to parents, businesses and community members to spark their interest in becoming a part of a Brigade Program in an effort to support the school.   “Our students take ownership and responsibility for the cleanup of our school and classrooms. This goes further to teach them about their citizenship and global responsibility to keep our Earth clean, healthy and a nice place for everyone to live,” said Janet Kimatian, Roberts’ principal. “The funds that are generated from recycling go to the PTO who then distributes money to the school for class trips and supplies that are not purchased by the district.   “We are very happy that the students are doing something for our school and community,” she said. To learn more: Visit terracycle.com, call 866-967-6766 or email customersupport@terracycle.net for more information about the TerraCycle Brigade Program.

Terracycle will be partnering with Mars, Inc. to upcycle candy wrappers into consumer products such as laptop sleeves. A Sweet Alternative Eco-conscious folks have thought of creative ways to repurpose candy wrappers. A quick search on the Internet for items made out of candy wrappers will generate page after page of handbags, wallets and even candy-wrapper jewelry.Upcycling company TerraCycle is working to reduce the amount of candy wrappers headed for the landfills by teaming up with one of the world’s largest candy makers, Mars, Incorporated. The idea is to turn packaging, including candy wrappers, into consumer goods. TerraCycle will upcycle wrappers from M&M’S, , Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Starburst, Skittles and 3 Musketeers. The material will be reused for backpacks, tote bags, messenger bags and even cell phone holders and laptop sleeves. Albe Zakes, vice president of media relations for TerraCycle, believes the repurposing initiative, or upcycling, offers an easy and convenient way for consumers to recycle candy wrappers. “We hope to inspire consumers and corporations to think about the end-life cycle of food wrappers,” he say

waste combater. difference maker. minute exerciser. Albe Zakes wanted to work for TerraCycle (a pioneer in innovative upcycling and recycling systems) so badly he took an unpaid internship. He’s now TerraCycle’s VP of Media Relations. [www.terracycle.com] I’ve always worked for causes that were about giving back to the community. Giving back has always been my intention. When I work for a company I know is making a positive difference in the world, I work better. When you believe in something and you’re passionate about it, you’re destined to go far. I’d spent a lot of time working for non-profit organizations when I read an article about Tom Szaky, the CEO and founder of TerraCycle. He basically said it’s easier to change major corporations if you’re in the boardroom than if you’re picketing in the parking lot. That floored me. I’ve come to think that for-profit industry creates the most opportunity for change. Now I work at TerraCycle. One of the things we do is run recycling fundraisers for schools and nonprofits. We bring attention to the waste issue America faces. Twenty-seven trillion pieces of consumer packaging go into landfills every year. An estimate of 90 percent of the things we buy will be in a landfill within six months of buying them. The average American creates four pounds of waste a day. That doesn’t mean we throw four pounds of waste a day away with our own hands, but our actions, on average, create four pounds of waste every single day – and that’s for all 360 million of us in America. When you start hearing some of these stats, they can knock you loose. People are usually unaware of the effects our culture’s waste habits are having and how connected things are. A lot of people just need their eyes opened about our waste situation. I was once in southern Europe doing a beach cleanup as part of a volunteer project and saw stuff that had washed up on shore all the way from the U.S. It was staggering. That was the moment when I realized how connected the world really is. Giving back also happens in smaller ways. In the PR department where I work, we revive and reconnect in different ways. We like to do exercise minutes. Anyone can call for them. One person in the department is a Pilates instructor, so she’ll lead us in a five-minute Pilates course. Or, on nice days, we’ll all get out and go for a walk. I’ve found that getting up and moving can be really helpful.

Jag sålde en psykologibok i höstas och träffade en härlig människa, och vi kom in på ekologi och återanvändning, och kunde knappt sluta prata om det inte hade varit för att jag skulle iväg till mitt ena jobb. Jag fick i alla fall ett mail av henne häromdagen och det visar sig hon nu är praktikant på TerraCyclesom är ett innovativt återvinningsföretag som försöker överlista skräpet. TerraCycle har en tävling nu som håller på till och med den 22 november 2012. En stor del av det avfall som Sverige genererar går inte till återvinning. Förpackningar, plåster och annat skräp hamnar ofta i förbränningen och resurser går förlorade. TerraCycle utmanar dig att bevisa värdet av det vi slänger bort. Jag kan ju säga att jag älskar konceptet. Jag älskar hitta olika sorters återanvändning av skräp, och jag utmanar mig själv ständigt. Min senaste idé var att använda en konservburk att förvara tandborstarna i genom att ta bort själva papperstrycket och få fram metallburkens helhet. Fungerar även som kruka. Vissa burkar är fina i sig och dem diskar jag bara av och förvarar pennor  i. Så nu ska jag fundera ut något bra till denna tävling – jag vill mest vinna för att kunna skänka poäng till välgörenhet!

Vad går tävlingen ut på?

Skapa ett choklad-, kaffe- eller te-inspirerat återvinningsprojekt av material som annars ses som skräp och sänd dem en bild av ditt verk, så har du chansen att vinna de fina priserna. Det är bara din fantasi som sätter gränserna och så länge ditt bidrag till tävlingen består av material som annars anses som skräp och ditt bidrag har kaffe- te- eller chokladtema, kan du delta. Varför inte skapa ett kaffebord av gamla te-paket, mosaik av kaffekoppar eller bjud dina vänner på varm choklad med ett bord pyntat av skräp. Skicka sedan din bild på bidraget till tavling@terracycle.se och berätta vilka material du har använt. Tävlingen avslutas den 22 november 2012 och är öppen för alla kreativa själar. De inskickade bidragen publiceras på TerraCycle Sveriges hemsida under slutet av november och en omröstning sker för att utse de tre bästa bidragen.

Vad kan du vinna?

Första pris är en  TASSIMO-maskin (TASSIMO T42), som kan brygga kaffe, te, choklad och andra varma drycker samt 10.000 extra TerraCycle-poäng, som kan skänkas till välgörenhet. Andra och tredje pris belönas med varsin upcyclad kameraväska. PS: TASSIMO jobbar  med TerraCycle för att hitta sätt att återanvända sina T DISC-behållare för kaffe/te och choklad till exempel underlägg, blomvaser, anteckningsomslag och pennfodral bland annat. Sedan kan jag väl tycka det är bättre att hitta på ett sätt som inte kräver så mycket avfall som dessa plastbehållare gör…