Teachers at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School used to see a lot of used Capri Sun drink pouches get thrown away. Now the school earns two cents for every one of those pouches they collect and return to a company called TerraCycle, which makes affordable, eco-friendly products from packaging waste. The schools use the program not only as a fundraising opportunity but as a way to educate and inspire their students.

A company founded in 2001 by a 19-year-old Princeton University freshman is increasingly finding a home for "un-recyclable" plastics and bridging the gap between consumers of everyday items like drink pouches and the brand owners that create them. Now, Tom Szaky, a grizzled 28-year-old that was named to Inc. magazine's 30 under 30 <http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060701/coolest-startup.html>  list at 24, and his company, TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  (Trenton, NJ), are reaching out to the plastics industry.

Volunteers will also collect energy bar and candy wrappers, and vendors will collect wine bottle corks. The town of Vail has partnered with TerraCycle, a New Jersey based eco-friendly innovator that converts these items into unique accessories and other “upcycled” products. For each item collected, TerraCycle will donate two cents to the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  has an extensive, far-reaching recycle-able materials collection system running nationwide.  These collected bottles, lids, wrappers, bags and more are brought together and recycled into so many cool (and once again useful) products:  From purses to shower curtains to flower pots.  As their “Terracycle” saying goes, “Send us your trash, and we’ll make it into cool products!”

ReCellular, the world's leading electronics sustainability firm, today announced a new strategic partnership with TerraCycle, the upcycling company that has revolutionized the market for recycled goods. By the end of the year, the partnership hopes to have over a thousand brigades that collect and donate cell phones, raise funds for local causes and keep e-waste out of landfills. The companies have also committed to expand the relationship through additional upcycling opportunities in the future.

Mrs. Poremba’s 5th graders at Mt. Pilchuck, who helped collect, store and count the pouches. Hayden Ploeger gathered Capri Sun pouches to help students in Africa. Hayden Ploeger, a 5th grader at Mt. Pilchuck Elementary was searching the web one day and came up with a great idea. Ploeger found out that a company called TerraCycle will take CapriSun pouches and turn them into usable items such as purses, pencil cases and tote bags. To do this, they offer two cents per pouch to anyone who wants to send them to the company. Ploeger’s brain started to move and realized that by collecting these pouches he could not only help keep them out of landfills, but he could use the money to help other students in need.

Students at Faith Lutheran School in Antioch are finding are finding a good turn for the environment is doubly advantageous.

Opt for greener ways to plant your seedlings. Photos: Green Nation Gardens <http://www.greennationgardens.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=T3900>  and TerraCycle <http://www.dwellsmart.com/Products/Gardening-Tools-and-Supplies/TerraCycle-Natural-Fiber-Pot-Natural-10in> When you start those seedlings, there's a greener way to sow your seeds. Instead of using plastic pots, create easily biodegradable seedling pots out of newspaper with this Paper Pot Maker ($15) from Green Nation Gardens. If you aren't planting directly into the ground, the greenest option would be to reuse a container you already have. If you're in the market for a new vessel, we like TerraCycle's Biodegradable Fiber Pots and Saucers made from rice husks, and bamboo and coconut fibers. (We're also big fans of the company's organic Garden Fertilizer  – it's made from worm poop!)

Upcycling is, “simply put - using those items that cannot be recycled and remaking them into reusable items,” says DiColandrea. He uses energy bar wrappers as an example of how materials can be reused when they can’t be recycled. “Its [energy bars] packaging remains very high as a waste, and recycling the packaging is not easy for some local recycling centers to do. Reusing the packaging to create another product is a simple and low-cost answer,” he added. Green Starkville has created a team for Terracycle, a company which collects materials that can be reused to manufacture new items – upcycling. For each item received, Terracycle will give $0.02 to Green Starkville, and Terracycle turns the materials into everything from clipboards, bags, and toys to fences.

  I haven't written about it much lately, but I still make an effort daily to think how I can become more green.  I'm never going to be perfect, but I aim to move in that direction on the spectrum.      Some things I've gotten better at:

• Making green friends.  My pal Megan (also known as my knitting sensei), a fairly new and very green mama to Maeve, and I are often found talking about our green growth and struggles. She introduced me to TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> , and we've spread our efforts to school a bit with two collection brigades.  Still so much more to do.