Que la imaginación y ganas, son todo lo que se necesita para emprender, nos dejó bien en claro Tom Skazy, quien recientemente estuvo en la Argentina, y compartió su experiencia en una charla organizada por la Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Tom es un CEO de 30 años que tiene una empresa global! La empresa headquarters de Terracycle está en Nueva York, Estados Unidos, pero ya tienen sede en más de 20 países, (entre ellos, Argentina), más de 100 empleados contratados e internos y ahora están por cerrar en Colombia, India, Africa, entre otros. Tom se había ido a estudiar a EE.UU. a la Universidad de Princeton en el 2001, y en el 2002, con 19 años, la dejó para dedicarse fulltime al proyecto de Terracycle junto con un amigo de la universidad. Ambos “inventaron” un fertilizante orgánico a partir del reciclaje de desechos en basurales, y se presentaron en grandes cadenas como Wallmart y Home Depot Pero, como no tenían todavía ingresos para diseñar y producir el packaging, recolectaron con ayuda de sus amigos botellas de plástico de gaseosas de la basura y difusores de una empresa que los desechaba cuando cambiaban de color. Así lograron producir 100 de estos fertilizantes para el 2003, los que inicialmente compró Wallmart y luego otras empresas. Con este capital comenzaron a construir la primer fábrica de fertilizantes (adjunto foto). Después de 1 año Tom rechazó una oferta de 1.000.000 de dólares norteamericanos de un reconocido premio porque los inversores no querían que Terracycle estuviese tan involucrado con el cuidado del medio ambiente y se fuera más a lo comercial. Después de doblar la inversión inicial y de alcanzar el primer millón, fueron a otra idea para no estancarse en la venta de fertilizante. Entonces, crearon un programa “TrashxCash”, que se encargaban de recolectar basura, organizándose en grupo y llamando a voluntarios para seleccionar la basura y venderla a las mismas empresas para su re-uso o reciclaje. También producen diseños de objetos que venden a través de la página web. Su fuente de ingresos alternativa se genera a través del marketing y publicidad para otras empresas. Hoy en día, casi todos los productos en EE.UU. tienen el isologo de Terracycle en sus paquetes. Aquí, el pionero es Tang. Hoy tiene un capital que supera los 13 miles de millones, gracias a las alianzas con grandes marcas con Kraft, Coca, Kimberly-Clark, etc. Con respecto a la competencia, Tom aclara que la idea de trabajar con “basura” no es atractiva para nadie, pero aun así Terracycle se ocupa de satisfacer a sus potenciales competidores vendiendo porcentaje de la empresa. En cuanto a los empleados que toma Terracycle, algo en particular que comenta Tom, es que se el personal entrevistado se filtra gracias a 2 preguntas claves: “cuál fue el mayor error que cometiste en un trabajo” y “que harías si…” y plantea una problemática a resolver con $ 0.00. Por lo tanto, el personal que trabaja para él o con él, lo hace porque cree en el proyecto y en el concepto de la empresa. Tom fue nombrado CEO #1 menor de 30 años, superando al creador de Facebook. Para quienes estén interesados en conocerlo un poco más, Tom escribió un libro titulado “Revolution in a bottle”, que, seguramente, debe ser muy interesante.

Hale takes on Craig for Owen school board seat Four seats on the Buncombe County Board of Education are on the ballot this year, and county voters will be able to cast ballots for each of the four races, regardless of the district in which they live.   For the Owen district, incumbent Chip Craig is challenged by Dan Hale. In the Roberson district, incumbent Steven Sizemore will face Amy Churchill. In the North Buncombe district, incumbent Ann Franklin will face challenger Brian Freelan. Incumbent at-large member Dusty Pless will face three other challengers, Alan Ditmore, Jerry Green and Chico Januszkiewicz.   The Citizen-Times will run statements from each of the district's candidates every day this week, ending with the at-large seat race.   Dan Hale, challenger "I'm running for the Board of Education because I want to be a clear voice for the children of our public schools.   "I see a great need to get more money to the classrooms, and I believe that the school system is not in perfect condition and does need improvements.   "From the board meetings that I have attended, I feel that there is a real need for transparency and improved communication. In spite of continual budget cuts, I think money can be better managed so that teachers won't have to pay out of pocket for materials or field trips.   "I see a failure in policy procedure and enforcement that has a direct negative effect on children and staff.   "Every decision that I make on any issues in our school system will always be for the betterment of our children. I believe in managing with direction, with high quality, caring staff, there is no need for 'micro-managing.'   "Because of negative events happening in the schools, we need more parents getting involved to help our schools improve, that is why I'm getting involved."   Hale and his wife, Yvonne, are the parents of two daughters who attend Black Mountain Primary in the first and third grades.   For three years, Hale has been active in the school's successful TerraCycle recycling program. He also said he has assisted his wife, Yvonne, with her responsibilities as incoming PTO president and is active in his daughters' Girl Scout troops.  

La CUENTA VERDE del Banco del Tiempo es una campaña de recogida de materiales reciclables o reutilizables que persigue concienciar sobre la importancia del cuidado y el respeto al medio ambiente así como sensibiliza a la población sobre la importancia de donar materiales que no utilizamos y que pueden beneficiar a otras personas.

I’m super excited about the products I’ve been using from TerraCycle. I try really hard to be ‘green’ and sometimes it’s just not easy. It can be hard to think of alternative ways to do some things. TerraCycle offers wonderful and innovative solutions that you can feel good about. I love the wide selection of recycled and up cycled products. One of the things my husband and I really starting doing a lot more of was gardening. We got into it simply because we wanted to be able to grow some of our own vegetables and stayed at it because it is super relaxing.

Turning poop into gold may sound like extreme alchemy gone wild, but it’s something that Toronto-born entrepreneur Tom Szaky has been doing literally since his undergrad days back at Princeton University, where he made much more than a few dimes selling worm poop as an all-natural, Earth-friendly, low-cost fertilizer that he was convinced was a product just waiting for open-minded retail customers to embrace. Read More

Desde el colegio queremos trabajar en pro del medio ambiente. Para ello intentamos concienciar a nuestro alumnado de la importancia del reciclado y el cuidado de nuestro entorno a través de la práctica: acostumbrándoles a reciclar todo aquello que puedan, como papel y envases en los contenedores que tenemos ubicados en el patio.

Old Navy and Terracycle have partnered up to create the Flip Flop Brigade where every time you send your old used flip-flops into TerraCycle, you can get new flip flops and at the same time help out Mother Nature by diverting waste from landfills.   For every shipment of about 25 pairs of flip-flops (or 50 individual flip-flops), Old Navy will provide you with a coupon for a FREE pair of Old Navy flip-flops plus 25 additional coupons, each worth $10 off your purchase of $40 or more. There are no signup or participation fees, and the shipping is covered by the program.  

Old Navy and Terracycle have partnered up to create the Flip Flop Brigade where every time you send your old used flip-flops into TerraCycle, you can get new flip flops and at the same time help out Mother Nature by diverting waste from landfills.

For every shipment of about 25 pairs of flip-flops (or 50 individual flip-flops), Old Navy will provide you with a coupon for a FREE pair of Old Navy flip-flops plus 25 additional coupons, each worth $10 off your purchase of $40 or more. There are no signup or participation fees, and the shipping is covered by the program.

To get involved follow the steps below to earn your Old Navy coupons:

1. Collect about 25 pairs, or 50 individual, flip-flops (all brands are accepted) and fill up a box or bag. Remember to always reuse a shipping box or bag and use eco-friendly padding as needed. To receive your Old Navy coupons, you must ship at least 18 lbs of flip-flops.
2. Download a pre-paid shipping label from terracycle.com. Just visit your TerraCycle account online, and click “SHIP US YOUR WASTE”. You can print it out yourself or request a label from TerraCycle.
3. Ship the box to TerraCycle by affixing the pre-paid postage label and dropping it off at a UPS location.

For more detailed information please check out the Flip-Flop Brigade FAQ [http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/oldnavy].

15. Sweet speakers. A must-give gift for the iPod generation: A set of TerraCycle portable speakers made from upcycled M&M wrappers.

TerraCycle is a company known for recycling and upcycling non-recyclable items that was founded in 2001. Their products can be found anywhere from Walmart to Uncommon Goods, a web site where you can purchase upcycled items made from old repurposed mail bags and tents. TerraCycle works with 30 major brands in the U.S. (and worldwide) to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill. The waste is collected through TerraCycle’s Brigade Programs, which are free fundraisers that pay for every piece of waste collected and returned. This company is so innovative and cool I could describe it all day. Find out more about TerraCycle here. They sent me a few upcycled items to chhe first product I received was the M&M’s EcoSpeakers. The speakers are portable, lightweight and are made from 80% recycled materials. You can plug these babies into your laptop, iPod, phone, and more. They don’t require batteries and are extremely easy to assemble. It just takes a little bit of folding and they are ready to use. I find it pretty darn nifty that M&M’s packages can be used to create a casing for speakers. It just takes a little bit of folding and they are ready to use. I find it pretty darn nifty that M&M’s packages can be used to create a casing for speakers.eck out and each one of them impressed.