I’ll admit it. We don’t recycle much. I’m pretty sure that sooner or later everything ends up in a landfill anyway and the cost of human advancement and a hundred other things ( technology, population growth, industry, etc.) is that we’re going to produce waste. Leave no trace sounds nice, but in reality it’s not something we can do everywhere. Still…..my recent conversations with a leading-edge recycling company has me rethinking my ideas about recycling. Here’s how they convert old stuff into new stuff:

I have a confession to make: I am a chronic over-projector. This fact has even been reported several times by The New York Times. In May 2008 I was quoted predicting that our revenue would be “an estimated $8.5 million this year.” We actually finished the year at $6.6 million. Even as recently as June 2010, I thought we’d hit sales of “$16 million in 2010.” We finished the year at $13.5 million. A writer for The New York Times Magazine, Rob Walker, had this to say about TerraCycle in May 2007: “The privately held start-up can get a little carried away with its own hype at times. In 2005, the company projected sales of $3 million; it ended up selling a little less than $500,000. In 2006, the company said it expected annual sales of $2.5 million; the actual figure turned out to be a bit under $1.6 million.” The writer went on to quote our head of public relations, Albe Zakes, as calling me “very optimistic” — but he also reported that “even the actual figures represent a solid growth record.”

A Tang comemora a parceria com a Terra Cycle. Em um ano de trabalho, reciclaram mais de um milhão de embalagens de refresco em pó.

Teachers at Michael A. Maroun Elementary School are always on the lookout for ideas that help develop character and teach students about service to community. Beginning in September, the kindergarten teachers began a service project that offered a win-win for families, school and the earth as they embarked on a project to collect Capri Sun drink pouches and turned it into a contest which got others throughout Maroun involved as well.

With Fourth of July fast approaching San Franciscans are gearing up for BBQ’s, beach picnics, family, friends and festivities. Summer parties create great memories, but they can also create a lot of left over trash. While you try your best to separate, recycle and even compost, what can you do with all that difficult-to-recycle food packaging, like Frito-Lay chip bags, Kraft Singles cheese packaging, Capri Sun drink pouches, and plastic cups? This year, there is a better option for dealing with these tricky “non-recyclables.” You can send them, for free, to TerraCycle. TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing green comapanies in the world. It was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton freshman. He began by producing organic fertilizer, liquid worm poop, and packaging it for sale in used soda bottles. Today, TerraCycle’s expanded mission is to eliminate the idea of waste all together.

Då var det nästa sak från Buzzador. En kaffemaskin med kapslar. TASSIMO T20, svart som synden. En enkel smidig kapselkaffemaskin som tar minimalt med plats. Den fixar gott kaffe på några ögonblick. Själv är jag inte förtjust i mjölkvarianterna då de är alldeles för söta men många som har provat dem tycker att de är toppen. Ungarna älskar maraboumjölkchoklad. Den är toppen då den håller ungarna sysselsatta som baristor på exempelvis festen. Priset för kapslarna varierar från butik till butik. Om du vill ha vanligt kaffe kostar 16 kapslar ca 50 kr.Helt ok tycker jag. En annan sak som är bra med kapslarna är att de går att återvinna. Det är bara att gå med i den klubben som har samarbete med tillverkaren. Toppen då det går åt många kapslar.

During the summer I enjoy working in my yard. I try to cultivate my own organic herbs, fruits and veggies. Not only does this save money by raising my own small plot, I know my bounty has not been treated with chemical pesticides or fertilizers. I soon discovered I had a problem with no using fertilizers. Most of my plants were short and scraggly. I asked my elderly neighbor, who has a beautiful array of flowers and a small garden plot, his secret. It turned out to be fresh manure from his brother's farm. While I envied his plants, shoveling manure was not an option I wanted to explore. Instead, I turned to Terracycle's All Purpose Fertilizer. Terracycle products are the brainchild of Tom Szaky, who came up with the brilliant mission to upcycle and recycle traditionally non-recyclable waste (including drink pouches, chip bags, tooth brushes and many more) into a large variety of consumer products. They have several "waste brigades" which allow people to send in their trash and be paid for it. How awesome is that? The All Purpose Fertilizer is made from liquefied worm poop, nature's premiere fertilizer. It sounds gross, but it works well.

HIT: A deal between Trenton-based Terracycle and outdoor apparel company The North Face to recycle 2 million plastic bags a year collected from 20 North Face stores.

Here is some information that might interest hikers who prescribe to the Leave No Trace philosophy of hiking. The below information is about a business that will recycling many of the non-recyclables that hikers regularly throw out. Anyone can send in their used wrappers for free and for every piece of packaging that TerraCycle receives, participants are awarded with two points, which can be put toward buying a specific charity gift, or converted to money and donated to a charity of the participant’s choice. Here is a press release that was sent out by the people at TerraCycle. We thought it was a cool concept. TRENTON, New Jersey – June 21, 2011 – This summer, instead of throwing out their garbage, hikers and park-goers have another option for their non-recyclable trash after they pack it out: sending it free of charge to pioneering company TerraCycle® to be recycled. TerraCycle collects people’s trash and recycles the non-recyclable into eco-friendly, affordable, and practical products. The “leave no trace” policy, which has evolved into the “pack it in, pack it out” policy of taking all your trash out of the park with you, is furthered by TerraCycle’s Brigade® program, through which people can send in difficult-to-recycle food wrappers for recycling and upcycling and earn cash for charity. Usually, wrappers from products including Kashi, Bear Naked, CLIF BAR, and Revolution Foods, among others, are non-recyclable. TerraCycle upcycles some wrappers into tote bags, coolers, notebooks, laptop cases and mini-speakers. Wrappers that aren’t upcycled are melted down and turned into plastics such as trash cans, flower pots, and clipboards. The snacks that hikers use while enjoying the outdoors can become eco-friendly, long-life products that support the environment that hikers are enjoying. Instead of just leaving no trace on the parks, hikers and outdoorsmen can also leave no trace on the Earth. Anyone can sign up for TerraCycle’s Brigade programs and send in their wrappers for free. For every wrapper TerraCycle receives, two points are awarded that can be put toward buying a specific charity gift, or converted to money and donated to a charity of the participant’s choice. Most importantly, the Brigade will be keeping these wrappers out of the local landfills and off the ground.