Ford Motor Company and sustainability lifestyle platform SHFT.com unveiled the first of 10 digital short documentary films profiling cutting-edge innovators in sustainable businesses at a promotional event last night at the 404 NYC space in Midtown New York. Ford executive chairman Bill Ford introduced the film, along with actor/filmmaker Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer, SHFT’s co-founders, who developed the The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators Changing Our World series. The film focused on Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, one of the fastest-growing green companies.

The challenges of a waste-recycling business. This is getting a little embarrassing. Twice now I have written about a new program that I think is going to allow us to dramatically expand our recycling efforts. Both times — when I first mentioned the program eight months ago and when I wrote about it again almost two months ago — I thought we were just a few weeks from introducing the program. Both times I was wrong. We have now determined that we are about six months away. The goal of our new program — we’re calling it “W.O.W.” or “World of Waste” — is to forge a direct link with our collectors, allowing us to recycle even more streams of waste. For example, today we collect about 2.5 percent of all of the drink pouches in America through a program that is sponsored by Capri Sun and Honest Tea and free to all participants. On the other hand, we have not yet been able to secure a sponsor to recycle used batteries. W.O.W. will allow us to collect batteries and a host of other waste streams. But in these cases, the costs will be paid by consumers, at least until we find sponsors. So what happened? Why the delays?

Since 2001, TerraCycle has risen from a dorm-room start-up selling worm poop-based plant food into a internationally-known growth business.   Its focus: providing consumer packaged goods companies and retailers with cause marketing programs and nonprofits with fundraising opportunities. TerraCycle has over 70,000 schools and charities collecting waste globally and they have earned collectively almost 4 million dollars just by recycling more! Whether you work for a large company, a start-up or an NGO, you'll pick up valuable lessons from Global VP Albe Zakes based on Terracyle's decade of turning "waste into wonder".

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.

Das Thema Recycling wird im Schulhaus Notker in Gossau gross geschrieben. Seit November 2011 sammeln die Schülerinnen und Schüler alte Stifte, um damit ein soziales Projekt zu unterstützen. Manuela Störi Klassenlehrerin Regine Rickenbach wurde im amtlichen Schulblatt auf die Aktion aufmerksam. Für jeden gesammelten Stift, der an das Recycling- und Upcycling- Unternehmen TerraCycle gesendet wird, erhält das Schulhaus Notker zwei Rappen als Spendenbeitrag.

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, celebrated across the country by people concerned with environmental issues. The date was chosen because April 22 is the first day of spring in the Northern hemisphere and the first day of fall in the Southern hemisphere . What can you do to honor the day? Here are some organizations to help you find recycling locations in your area. TerraCycle http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/ A company whose byword is “Outsmart Waste” is dedicated to eliminating of the idea of waste. It converts previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste into many products in over 20 countries. Earth911 http://earth911.com/ Recycle something you no longer need. List a material or item and your zip code to find a location that recycles the material you have. Call 2 Recycle http://www.call2recycle.org/ This company is the only free rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program in North America. Their slogan is “Make every day Earth Day.” AARP Recycling Guide http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/environment/recycling-guide/ Select an item from their list to find an organization that recycles it, from batteries to golf balls to wheelchairs. Better World Books http://www.betterworldbooks.com This organization has re-used, donated, or recycled over 73 million books. That’s 99 million pounds of materials that stayed out of the landfill. Great for the planet. Donate your books, then buy other books from them. As Call 2 Recycle says, let’s make every day Earth Day.

Hvordan håndterer man komplicerede produkter som kuglepenne, stifteblyanter, tuscher, rettelak og andre skriveredskaber af plastik? Og kan man lave nye produkter ud af dem og samtidig støtte velgørenhed? Hvordan forener man i det hele taget en forretning og miljømæssigt ansvar? Bliv inspireret her. Vi skrev for et stykke tid siden om at forbruge med hjertet; at danskerne i stigende grad ønsker at støtte gode formål gennem deres indkøb. Vi fandt det besynderligt, at der ikke er flere firmaer, der tænker på hele produktets livscyklus og er mere innovative på afsætningsdelen. Vi studsede ligeledes over, at der ligefrem bliver lavet produkter, som er designet til at leve kort tid, så forbrugerne er tvunget til at købe nye. Intet af det stemmer særlig godt overens med en klimakrise, et øget befolkningstal og generelle udfordringer med bæredygtighed.

La adecuada gestión de los residuos es un tema que en los últimos meses ha dado mucho de sí. El proceso deaprobación de la Ley  21/2011, en julio del año pasado, trajo consigo multitud de debates los meses previos y posteriores a dicha aprobación. Desde todos los sectores se habló de las modificaciones introducidas y de las mejoras o dificultades que iba a acarrear este nuevo texto legal, pero casi un año después de aquello, a nivel usuario y en lo que a los residuos domésticos se refiere,  no se percibe ningún cambio.

Terracyle pone en marcha, de forma gratuita, programas de recogida de basura de materiales que hasta ahora no son reciclables para luego convertir los desechos recogidos en nuevos productos económicos y ecológicos. Ya hay más de 15 millones de personas recogiendo basura en 11 países. En España han comenzado su andadura con una Brigada de Recogida de Instrumentos de Escritura.

LONG BEACH - It's the end of lunchtime at Longfellow Elementary School and students are lining up behind purple recycling bins to sort their trash. The bins are divided into six categories: energy bar wrappers, chip bags, plastic bags, city recycling, juice pouches and cookie wrappers. "I like that we recycle in our school because it's good for the planet," said 6-year-old Jenna Jacob, as she recycled her cookie wrapper. For students at Longfellow Elementary at 3800 Olive Ave. in North Long Beach, recycling is more than a lunchtime activity; it's a way of life, said Principal Laurie Murrin. "It's become part our campus culture," she said.