One way to go green without costly changes is to take things you would ordinarily throw away and reuse them. Milk crates can become book shelves and metallic drink pouches can be stitched together to make pencil cases for the children. This practice is called upcycling and you can either do it yourself or contribute reusable household trash to organizations that convert it into eco-friendly products.
Through free collection programs called Brigades, upcycling pioneer TerraCycle is collecting and paying for packaging waste from household staples.
Perché non si ricicla tutto? Banalmente, la stragrande maggioranza dei rifiuti che produciamo non è riciclabile industrialmente. Per il resto, invece, il processo di riciclo è molto importante e, in questo senso, la raccolta differenziata è fondamentale. Ma, come già accennato, la quantità di rifiuti che non può essere riciclata è significativamente elevata e non fa altro che riempire discarichespesso già stracolme. Come fare allora per diminuire ulteriormente la quantità di spazzatura non-riciclabile ed evitare l'apertura di nuove discariche? Uno dei metodi più efficaci è rappresentato dal cosiddetto reimpiego, ed è proprio tramite questa modalità che TerraCycle sta diventando un'azienda sempre più riconosciuta a livello internazionale.
BIC, der weltweit größte Hersteller von Kugelschreibern, schließt sich mit TerraCycle - einem Pionier des Upcycelns und Recycelns - zusammen, um Stiften ein zweites Leben zu schenken. Freiwillige „Sammelteams“ haben in Schulen, Kindergärten und Kindertagesstätten die Möglichkeit, Schreibgeräte und Korrekturmittel zu sammeln. Anstatt wie bisher im Restmüll zu landen, werden die leeren Schreibgeräte anschließend recycelt.
No matter how good your company’s intentions when it comes to recycling as many items as possible to keep them out of landfills, there are some common office items that CANNOT currently be sent to recyclers. Stuff you might find in your desk drawer like pens, highlighter, glue sticks.
That’s why TerraCycle <
http://www.terracycle.net/> , which makes products made out of things like this, is turning up the heat on what it calls its Office Product Brigades program. The initiative collects at least some of these things, earning your business a bit of a charitable deduction along the way.
Here’s the pitch: For every writing implement, tape dispenser or glue bottle you return (regardless of the brand), TerraCycle will donate 2 cents to the charity of your choice. TerraCycle will pick up the shipping costs for boxes of whatever you send in.
The clipboard to the right is an example of the sorts of things that TerraCycle makes out of what you send in. (The item in question happens to be made out of old circuit boards.) <
http://i.bnet.com/blogs/circuitboardclipboard.jpg>
TerraCycle’s partners in the Office Products Brigades program are 3M, Elmer’s Products, Papermaete, Sharpie and Scotch Tape. (Although as I mentioned before, it doesn’t matter what kind of stuff you turn in.)
Even BEFORE this program was launched, TerraCycle has collected more than 250,000 pens, markers, glue bottles, spent tape dispensers and such from landfills.
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The Santa Barbara City College Center for Sustainability is presenting a “Cities as the Solution” lecture series on March 25the and 26th. The keynote speaker is Albe Zakes. The March 25th portion goes from 7pm to 9:30pm and March 26th is an all day event.
For more information, please contact the SBCC Center for Sustainability by calling (805) 965-0581, ext. 2177. Or visit their website at
Santa Barbara City College <http://sustainability.sbcc.edu/> .
The fee for Friday is $5, Saturday is $30 for the all day event.
To help, one company is offering consumers a way to reduce their household garbage while earning money for local schools or charities. Through free collection programs called Brigades, upcycling pioneer TerraCycle is collecting and paying for packaging waste from household staples -- from the bathroom to the kitchen to the classroom.
Many major brands are getting on board with upcycling. Scott tissues and Huggies are sponsoring programs to collect plastic packaging waste from paper products and diapers. And since most oral hygiene products aren't recyclable, Colgate and TerraCycle have partnered to collect used toothbrushes and toothpaste cubes.
BIC, der weltweit größte Hersteller von Kugelschreibern, schließt sich mit TerraCycle - einem Pionier des Upcycelns und Recycelns - zusammen, um Stiften ein zweites Leben zu schenken. Freiwillige „Sammelteams“ haben in Schulen, Kindergärten und Kindertagesstätten die Möglichkeit, Schreibgeräte und Korrekturmittel zu sammeln. Anstatt wie bisher im Restmüll zu landen, werden die leeren Schreibgeräte anschließend recycelt.
Der Stiftehersteller BIC und das TerraCycle starten das in Deutschland erste Programm zum Sammeln und Recyceln von Schreibgeräten und Korrekturmitteln. Das Programm fördert das Umweltbewusstsein von Kindern und unterstützt gleichzeitig gemeinnützige Organisationen.
Der Stiftehersteller BIC und das TerraCycle starten das in Deutschland erste Programm zum Sammeln und Recyceln von Schreibgeräten und Korrekturmitteln. Das Programm fördert das Umweltbewusstsein von Kindern und unterstützt gleichzeitig gemeinnützige Organisationen.