The essence of Earth Day revolves around the philosophy of “sustainability.” There is only one Earth and somehow, someway, we must figure out how to make it last to sustain life. In the last several decades, there has emerged a realization that resources are not unlimited. Supply of critical resources, such as oil and rare earth metals, are already declining. The Earth’s human population continues to grow and emerging countries are increasing their demand for resources. Clean air, clean water and food could become critical. Years ago, environmentalists coined the phrase “Think Globally, Act Locally.” This is still an excellent idea to guide our actions. Americans by far use more resources per capita than any other country in the world. How can we protect the Earth? 1) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reduce the amount of waste you produce by bringing reusable grocery bags to the store. Bring travel mugs and reusable coffee cups and get a discount at Starbucks. Bring your own lunch in reusable containers (you’ll eat healthier and save money). Thrift shops, yard sales, clothing swaps, and hand-me-downs are great ways to save money on clothing and furniture, especially for children. Check with your local recycling company for a list of products that can be recycled. You can also learn more through www.recyclebank.com, www.terracycle.net and www.preserve.com,

Earth Day is now a marketing frenzy, but a recent GreenBiz article questions the value of promotions at this time of year. According to Albe Zakes, the global vice president of media relations for TerraCycle, Earth Day is not the best time for major initiatives. TerraCycle which helps companies with recycling programs, actively dissuades their customers from launching major initiatives on or around Earth Day. "With everyone and their mother doing some kind of quasi-green messaging around Earth Day, you risk a truly environmentally responsible promotion, product or service getting lumped into consumer's green fatigue and being consider green washing," Zekes says. "Moreover, green media - and mainstream media for that matter - is inundated with so many 'green' pitches that truly noteworthy stories get overlooked. Better to wait a month or two when the masses are pitching product reviews for Mother's Day and Father's Day and your new recycling drive or solar installation will get more notice."

Jarrett Nature Center celebrates its 10^th birthday and Earth Day with family friendly activities and appearance by eco-entrepreneur Tom Skazy of TerraCycle, Inc. with face-painting, music, interactive displays and booths, crayon and electronic/small appliance recycling and more, Saturday, April 21, 9am-noon, 899 Horsham Road, Horsham, PA. Moore College of Art & Design hosts MOOREcycle, a range of free festivities on The Parkway for Earth Day, coinciding with the Philadelphia Science Festival, this Saturday, April 21, 10am-3pm, including a unique display of art projects made entirely from recycled materials, offering the opportunity to make your own environmental design from materials donated by TerraCycle.

As recently as a few years ago, campaigns and initiatives tied to Earth Day were worth a large chunk of any company's marketing budget. As more and more companies got into the game, however, consumers came to expect everyone to do at least something for Earth Day, and now it may have officially jumped the shark as far as corporate marketing and public relations go. Albe Zakes, global vice president of media relations for TerraCycle, which works with big corporations to run recycling programs, says he now dissuades customers from launching major initiatives on or around Earth Day.

To further enhance their eco-friendly philosophy, Ford Motors has gone onto create three exciting yearlong sustainability initiatives. Their recent partnership with lifestyle platformSHFT.com has allowed for the creation of a ten-part documentary series, the first of the three programs. SHFT, headed by Adrian Grenier and Peter Glatzer, has collaborated with Ford on the series entitled, The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators Changing Our World. The documentary highlights the profiles of ten individuals who are building new sustainable businesses. The ten part series will feature ten eco-entrepreneurs who are changing how businesses approach sustainability, and is scheduled to appear on various platforms including AOL, Huffington Post, U.S. Virgin Airlines flights, and SHFT.com. For the first two episodes, viewers will hear from Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, and Michael Crooke, former CEO of Patagonia and professor at Pepperdine University.

Biltmore’s winery recycles corks through TerraCycle, an organization that collects corks and other post-consumer materials and “up-cycles” them into products. Corks are collected at locations across the estate, including the winery’s tasting room and estate restaurants. “Sustainability is very important at Biltmore,” said Ted Katsigianis, Biltmore’s vice president of agricultural services. “We try to incorporate a variety of projects that have a positive impact.”

A cidade Mortugaba, localizada a 743 km de Salvador, no sudoeste baiano, é um exemplo de sustentabilidade. O time de coleta “Recicle Mortugaba”, que integra o Programa de Coleta TerraCycle, além de coletar embalagens industrializadas, como de chocolates e biscoitos, as transformam em produtos reciclados e produtos feitos das próprias embalagens, a exemplo de estojos e bolsas.

Além disso, conforme explica Roberta Morelli, gerente de marca e inovação da unidade de lácteos da BRF, a empresa tem feito um trabalho junto aos consumidores para a recuperação de embalagens após o uso. Desde o ano de 2010, foi estabelecida uma parceria com a ONG TerraCycle. A instituição faz o recebimento de embalagens de produtos congelados e potes de margarina, que são enviados pelas próprias pessoas que os adquiriram. Isso favorece a reciclagem, uma vez que as embalagens terão destino certo e próprio para posterior reaproveitamento. Só em 2011, foram coletadas 196.303 unidades. Neste mesmo ano, houve o incentivo, por parte da empresa, à reciclagem, a partir de uma promoção, intitulada “Turma da Mônica no Mundo do Circo”. A ação recolhia embalagens de produtos da linha Turma da Mônica Perdigão e fornecia, em troca, ingressos infantis.

Quer participar de alguma ação de ajuda na preservação do planeta e não sabe como? Pois uma ótima atitude está em curso agora, que terminou o verão. Trata-se da Brigada Coppertone Protetores do Planeta, um programa de coleta responsável pelo destino correto de embalagens de todas as marcas de protetores solares. Essas embalagens demoram até 400 anos para se degradarem na natureza. Para participar, basta se cadastrar no site www.coppertone.com.br. Depois é só baixar as etiquetas pré-pagas para o envio das embalagens para a TerraCycle. Assim que juntar 10 ou mais embalagens de protetor solar, basta colocá-las em uma caixa qualquer, fechar bem, colar a etiqueta pré-paga para envio e entregá-la na agência dos Correios mais próxima.

E melhor alternativa é usar a criatividade para reaproveitar esses materiais para outros fins, sem que haja o processo de reciclagem. A essa processo se dá o nome de upcycle e quem está à frente disso aqui no Brasil e em outros países do mundo é a Terracycle, que organiza brigadas de consumidores que recebem para recolher e enviar material à empresa. Lá, são feitas bolas, bolsas, caixas de som e outros objetos usando emabalagens BOPP.