Terracycle have started a new programme for schools where all money raised through it goes to the school. It also teaches children about social responsibility and encourages them to think about their own impact on the environment.

Don’t know what to do with all those candy wrappers, coffee bags, wine corks, used toothbrushes, and the rest of your unwanted but non-recyclable household items? Kristina Greene will take them.  Greene sends the donated goods to TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.ca/> , which pays two cents for each item received. That garbage is then transformed into everything from the standard backpacks, messenger bags,  coolers and  pencil cases to fences made out of drink pouches or  garbage cans made out of chip bags.

Northfield-based Kraft has also revisited packaging and advertising. Kraft ditched movie tie-ins on packaging, and nutritional information is more prominent. Most Lunchables trays are now clear, because moms said they wanted to be able to see the food inside. Because the plastic trays aren’t recyclable, Kraft moved to avoid “green” criticism by partnering with TerraCycle to convert used Lunchables containers into lunch boxes and pencil cases.

We know not every blue box accepts every piece of waste that a normal household generates so we were excited to hear about TerraCycle's initiatives to reuse more items that normally would just go to landfill.  The 28-year-old Canadian founder and president Tom Szaky has been quoted that there is no such thing as garbage and he means it.  TerraCycle is working with community groups and schools to collect unwanted old yogourt cups, plastic bottles and other items and paying them a small amount of money that is donated to charity.

Looking for a refreshing alternative to throwing away your toothpaste tubes? This easy do-it-yourself project upcycles your empty tubes into a simple toothbrush holder. Upcycling materials like these are a great way to reuse without costing a mint. If you have completed this project and still have more toothpaste tubes and other oral care products to upcycle, be sure to sign up for the TerraCycle (www.terracycle.net <http://www.terracycle.net/>   ) oral care brigade and send them in. These items will be transformed into new products, and better yet, your collection will earn money for your favorite charity!

Another new Wal-Mart effort begun this month is a collection system for 28 types of trash that's being tried at five stores on the East Coast. Another company, TerraCycle, takes the waste, including candy wrappers, pens and coffee bags, and upcycles the waste into products like tote bags and portable speakers, reports GreenBiz.com.

Terracycle.net turns your garbage into goods by doing what it calls “upcycling,” or turning those goods into new products. Here’s where the line between trash and treasure is blurred.  Terracycle turns your garbage into goods by doing what it calls “upcycling,” or turning those goods into new products.  Start collecting items like candy wrappers and drink pouch cartons.  Print out a free shipping label   and send it all to Terracycle.

President Bill Clinton got into the topic of trash at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative recently. It is an important topic. We create tremendous amounts of waste these days, and much of it could be used in a constructive way, rather than polluting our planet. While some companies are trying to be greener and minimize their waste, other companies have made waste the source of their business. Using “waste” as a key input to the products they create, these companies are as green as green gets. TerraCycle is one such company.

Tom Szaky’s company, TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> , collects post-consumer waste, such as Carpi Sun pouches and Oreo cookie wrappers, and turns them into entirely new products such as backpacks and pencil cases.  While Szaky’s “upcycling” business has an authentic environmental aura, it’s his partnerships with big companies like Kraft and Nabisco that make the business work.  Those large packaged goods companies sponsor the collection brigades that provide TerraCycle with used packaging. It’s an unlikely alliance, but one that gives the big companies a “green” image, while providing TerraCycle with low cost or free raw materials.

President Bill Clinton got into the topic of trash at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative recently. It is an important topic. We create tremendous amounts of waste these days, and much of it could be used in a constructive way, rather than polluting our planet. While some companies are trying to be greener and minimize their waste, other companies have made waste the source of their business. Using “waste” as a key input to the products they create, these companies are as green as green gets. TerraCycle is one such company.