Walmart will soon begin to sell plants in upcycled margarine tubs instead of traditional black pots in stores throughout the Northeast. Credit: TerraCycle

CHESANING – During the 2010-2011 school year, Big Rock Elementary School students and teachers have raised approximately $150 by collecting items that would normally have been thrown away as trash. They’re not recycling, they’re upcycling. And on April 21, they hope to generate even more money by including the community at-large in their effort. Second grade teacher Cami Leland is leading the effort to upcycle at Big Rock Elementary, they’ve been participating in the program for two years. She explained it’s all about utilizing many of the items that aren’t typically recycled. These items can be used to produce other products.

Objetivo da coleta: Colaborar com a Equipe Vallereciclar participante do Programa Terracycle. A entidade indicada é a Associação Maria de Nazaré. Para saber mais do programa acesse http://www.terracycle.com.br/ e da equipe vallereciclar acess vallereciclar.blogspot.com

During the 2010-2011 school year, Big Rock Elementary School students and teachers have raised approximately $150 by collecting items that would normally have been thrown away as trash.

Summer is just around the corner, which means it’s almost time to start buying sandals and flip flops again. If your house is anything like everyone else’s house this examiner knows of, there are currently several pairs of flip flops from last year hiding in closets throughout your house.  If you’re trying to think of a way to dispose of them without adding more trash to the landfills, a solution is available.

We all have them. A collection of pens and markers that don't work anymore. Many people just throw them away. This year, in celebration of Earth Day, TerraCycle and Office Depot have a better solution. You can take your old pens, markers and mechanical pencils to local Office Depot for recycling. You will receive a coupon towards a new Sanford product which can be used for a new Sharpie, Expo or PaperMate. It will help the earth and you will get a discount, too. This offer runs during Earth Week from April 17th to the 23rd. You can take any pen, marker or mechanical pencil to receive the coupon regardless of brand.

Foil bags Potato chip bags and candy wrappers are among the hard-to-recycle items the New Jersey-based TerraCycle focuses on finding new uses for. The company enlists brigades of people worldwide to collect and turn in different types of trash that are then sent to innovative companies where they are transformed into household products, school supplies, gardening tools and even alarm clocks and picture frames. Learn more at www.terracycle.net.

Stop, don’t throw out last season’s flip-flops <http://www.ecouterre.com/pocketflops-recycled-flip-flops-that-fold-in-half-for-portability/>  just yet. Starting April 22, Old Navy <http://www.oldnavy.com>  will be hosting a monthlong drive to collect used flip-flops for TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net> , a waste-reduction company that will recycle them into four playgrounds across the country. Start Earth Day off on the right foot—drop those flops at an Old Navy <http://oldnavy.gap.com/customerService/storeLocator.do>  store near you.

TerraCycle is an international upcycling company that takes difficult to recycle packaging and turns it into affordable, eco-friendly products.  Founded in 2001, they are the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over 30 major brands in the U.S. (and in a growing number of other countries) to collect used packaging and products (chip bags, candy wrappers, juice pouches, pens, toothbrushes, etc.) that would otherwise be destined for landfills. Here are a few of their programs if you are interested in learning more about how YOU can reduce your carbon footprint and upcycle your trash!