Emmorton Elementary is taking the old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" to a whole new level. Since the beginning of the 2010 school year, the school on Tollgate Road has raised $8,000 by recycling everyday trash, such as chip bags, candy wrappers and juice pouches, through national program TerraCycle. "Our kids are really excited about it," Emmorton's principal, Dr. Peter Carpenter, said. "It's an amazing program." Carpenter originally heard about TerraCycle from his cousin and became intrigued.

WILDWOOD — Jason Fuscellaro’s classroom at Glenwood Avenue Elementary school is full of boxes of empty chip bags, juice containers, candy wrappers and empty tubes of toothpaste. It was trash that was headed for a landfill, but because of Fuscellaro’s class’ new recycling program they’ll be turned into new products and a money maker for the school. The program is through TerraCycle, a Trenton company that says it wants to “eliminate the idea of waste.” The company created recycling systems for various products where anyone sign up to be part of a group, called brigades, and start sending them waste. For example, there is a brigade for chip bags that works with Frito-Lay to “up-cycle” the bags into products like tote bags, plant containers or park benches. The brigade has to collect enough chip bags, 350 for this program, to be counted.

If sweet-smelling room deodorizers aren't your thing, here's something to consider: the Moso Bag, a natural air-purifying bag containing moso bamboo. What's so great about that? Moso bamboo is said to absorb and filter odors, pollutants, allergens and bacteria while dehumidifying to prevent mildew, mold and moisture. What's more, it's fragrance-free, unlike some air fresheners that mask odors by covering them up with other scents.

Tang y TerraCycle donaron al Jardín de Infantes 908 de Magdalena, Provincia de Buenos Aires, más de $10.000, que van a utilizar para comprar juegos de parque y para una salida escolar. Es por la participación en el Programa de Recolección de Sobres de Bebidas en Polvo. www.clubtang.com.ar www.terracycle.com.ar

What can be TerraCycled in this category? Answer: any brand and size of polystyrene #6 cups What CANNOT be TerraCycled in this category? Answer: foam cups, any # cup other can #6 What does this waste get used for? Our cups are made into recycled plastic products that can themselves be recycled into more useful items! ps: Did you notice the new TerraCycle Tuesday logo on the right column of this page? Click on it to see all TerraCycle Tuesday posts!

Celebrate the Pink, Yellow, and “Green” Hues of Easter TerraCycle®Provides Easter DIY Project and Free Collection Program for Candy Wrappers Spring is in the air, and the Easter bunny is just a hop, skip and a jump away. This year, make sure to fill your Easter baskets, but not your garbage cans, with sweet treats. TerraCycle offers an environmentally-conscious alternative for all those leftover candy wrappers as well as fun DIY projects to get the whole family excited about an Eco-Easter. With the help of partners MOM Brands™and M&Ms, TerraCycle hopes to make this springtime holiday greener than the newly-grown grass.

There are so many vibrant organizations, people, and innovations that could be named the Elite Eight of Sustainability. When Bag The Box asked for my picks of the Elite Eight, I knew I was going to have a difficult time. I’ll admit my final list is missing some great picks, but here are my final choices for the Elite Eight of Sustainability. Runa Tea (organization): Runa was born from the traditions of the Kichwa people of the Amazon – sharing conversation and music over the tea. A group of students imagined that they could make a sustainable business that would both bring this idea around the world and support the Kichwa. Today, Runa has planted more than 150,000 new trees, conserved rainforest, and brought stability and higher income to struggling locals. Ocean “gyre” plastic (eco-innovation): The gyre plastic from the middle of the Pacific is just sitting there. Time to start putting it to use: Method soaps is starting to use gyre plastic for all their packaging instead of making new. Not only does this lessen the carbon footprint of their production, it helps lessen our previous impact.

Back in August, I featured TerraCycle on The Campsite in Your Trash Can Be Someone’s Treasure. This is a company that recycles your trash, including garbage from trail food you bring along on your outdoor excursions, into handy products, from bags to office supplies. TerraCycle sent a bag made out of LUNA Bar wrappers for me to try, and so this past winter I put it to the test. I felt pretty proud carrying around my recycled bag (in this mountain town those wrappers are pretty recognizable, too). I often got asked where I got the bag and also received comments on how smart it was. I tried to carry different types of items in it, from groceries to books I was lugging around for research. I really loved the LUNA bag until the wrappers began to lift from the nylon ‘frame’ that give the bag its shape. I had only been using it for about 2 weeks.

Despite having once famously complained that recycling is bullshit—nothing more than a sham to shift responsibility from producer to consumer—Lloyd was nevertheless impressed by Terracycle's sponsored waste upcycling programs which encourage companies to take responsibility for the waste stream created by their products. We've following Terracycle pretty closely ever since, even inviting founder Tom Szaky to guest post from time-to-time on his unique take on recycling and waste. But usually the best way to understand a new concept is simply to see it in action. And this latest video (complete with German subtitles) from Terracycle is about as accessible an introduction as I can think of, explaining how Terracycle's partnership with juice maker Capri-Sonne diverts traditionally non-recyclable foil and plastic juice cartons from landfill and turns them into valuable consumer products. From the relatively low energy footprint of creating fabrics out of existing materials, through the waste minimization, to the reconnection between producer and the waste they generate, there is plenty for your average TreeHugger to like here. But it's worth noting that the benefits go way beyond green—just think of all the schools and community organization earning much needed revenue; or the number of jobs being created in such a labor-intensive and resource efficient business model. Once again, we are reminded that the "green economy as elitism" meme is nothing but hot air coming from the old guard. This is what the new economy will look like. And I like it.