The makers of Activa and Actimel have launched a programme collection yogurt pots with eco-innovator TerraCycle, that not only diverts the not traditionally recycled pots from the landfill, as it donates 2p per pot collected to a school or charity of the collectors choice. The programme launched in October, and the volumes sent in by 'teams' surprised even the most optimists. TerraCycle isn't only collecting the empty pots and bottles, it is also taking in pre-consumer material from the factory, that would otherwise be thrown away, for example the end of a roll of plastic, or misprints that are unsuitable to hit the supermarket shelves. So what does TerraCycle make with this? Firstly, they'll try to upcycle the material into new consumer goods, from the basic plant pot (that many of us to at home anyway) to coolers and lunch boxes, which can be found for sale at a major supermarket later in 2011. Then, the second choice is recycling the pots, when for example they are too damaged to be upcycled. TerraCycle was born in 2001 in New Jersey USA, when Tom Szaky –then a college freshman– discovered that worm castings were a great plant fertilizer. But as most college students, he couldn't afford the packaging for his product, so he began using empty fizzy drink bottles that he could find in bins around campus. This would become his first step towards upcycling, and ultimately the creation of TerraCycle. Just over nine years later, Szaky's ingenious (and rather unusual) idea can now boost of having operations in 11 countries (including the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, UK, Turkey and the Southern Cone), with France and Germany lined up for early 2011; and with partners such as J&J, Danone, Kraft Foods and GSK, it is no wonder that TerraCycle is the leading name in upcycling in the world. Their Danone Yogurt Brigade programme also counts with the support of the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP). You can read more about their collection programmes here: www.terracycle.co.uk/brigades

The school is ranked 63rd nationwide among elementary schools in the Drink Pouch Brigade of TerraCycle.

Você já se imaginou usando uma bolsa Doritos, uma mochila Ruffles ou uma carteira Fandangos? A TerraCycle, com criatividade e inovação, criou uma maneira de fabricar esses produtos que, além de descolados e divertidos, são eco-amigáveis.

13. Yak Pak Billboard Bag These tough, durable bags are made from recycled billboard vinyl that would normally be thrown away; that not only makes them eco-friendly, but utterly unique.  Comfortably lugging your stuff around while helping keep garbage out of landfills?  Sounds like a win-win to us. Price varies www.terracycleshop.com

This school in Souris was the first Manitoba school to join TerraCycle's Brigades and has been tops in collecting drink pouches this year.

Secondly, swing by TerraCycle (http://www.terracycle.net/) to see if you regularly accumulate the nonrecyclable items that they will pay you to send them! Terracycle is an organization pioneered by Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, two freshmen at Princeton University in 2001, who believe that in nature, there is no such thing as waste. Animals eat each other and become fertilizer for plants that are eaten by animals that are eaten, etc. While Szaky and Beyer don't promote cannibalism, they do promote upcycling, meaning they reuse what we might consider waste.

El término "upcycling" que se traduce por "suprareciclaje", fue utilizado, entre otros, por William McDonough y Michael Braungart en su libro titulado Rehaciendo la forma en que hacemos las cosas (2002).

Uma proposta inovadora para a eco-moda, ou uma nova solução ambiental?

Com essas embalagens, a TerraCycle produz bolas, mochilas, estojos, cadernos e outros produtos, evitando que mais lixo seja produzido.

In a process called “upcycling” products that cannot be recycled are used to make a new product.  Things like drink pouches, chip bags and candy wrappers that would otherwise fill landfills across the U.S. are collected by an industrial waste management company called TerraCycle and re-purposed into backpacks, lunchboxes, tote bags, pencil cases and more.  2 cents from each drink pouch that is collected through a program called Drink Pouch Brigade is donated to charity.