ANTIOCH – Students at Faith Lutheran School in Antioch are finding a good turn for the environment is doubly advantageous. Last year, students at the school began collecting their non-recyclable Capri Sun drink pouches that previously had ended up in trash bags with the rest of the waste from their lunch periods.  The program they collected the pouches for is run by New Jersey-based TerraCycle, which collects non-recyclable items from schools and community groups across...

Launched in January, the charitable campaign asks only that you bring your used corks to any ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store, which in turn gives the corks to Normacorc and TerraCycle for recycling into such products as corkboard. And for every cork turned in to ABC, two cents is donated to charities chosen by the retailer — including UCP of Central Florida, which provides therapy and other services to children with disabilities.

St. Paul of the Cross School and local office-supply business Garvey's Office Products teamed up earlier this year for the school's Green Initiative with a program they called the Writing Instrument Brigade.    Green Team committee member Amy Bartucci explained: "Children in all grades are being asked to properly dispose of old writing instruments made of plastic to be up-cycled into many different cool products through TerraCycle."

Teachers at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School used to see a lot of used Capri Sun drink pouches get thrown away. Now the school earns 2 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. Teacher and program organizer Barbara Mons-chauer said, “Anytime we can teach children to help the environment and make them aware of impact I feel we should take advantage of that situation. The two cents back is a bonus.”

TerraCycle is an awesome program designed to help control the amount of waste produced from everyday items. They actually pay mothers, daycare centers, and schools for their waste which is then upcycled into rad products like backpacks, bird feeders, KITES, and bike pouches. Um, how freaking cool is that? I was seriously blown away by the amount of trash that one tiny baby can create- baby food jars/lids, diaper boxes and plastic wrap, little baggies for this and that...unfortunately, the list goes on. TerraCycle has partnered with major companies like Huggies and Sprout Organic Baby Food (who pay for the costs of the program which = 100% free everything for participants! WIN!) and they need your diaper packaging and food pouches (any brand) so that they can start turning them into things like bibs, diaper bags, and cosmetic cases.

Recycling rates in the U.S. run at about 30 percent compared to other developed areas in the world which are close to 75%.  In 2008, Kraft develop strategic partnerships to help increase recycling rates in the states with organizations such as RecycleBank <http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/03/betting-on-recyclebank-the-next-big-thing/>  and TerraCycle, (a company that “upcycles” waste materials to create fashionable items such as backpacks or totebags made from Capri-Sun packaging).  Participants who send in their waste get as much as 2 cents per candy wrapper or drink pouch.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  turns waste into profitable products. It’s an awesome business that embodies the idea of a sustainable economy, as it creates a market for products made from trash. TerraCycle began with two freshmen at Princeton University, Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer. Basically, they sold worm castings (fertilizer) in a wasted soda bottle. They took food waste from their school dining hall, fed it to their friendly worms, and voila, a commodity to be sold. This packaging of dining hall-sourced fertilizer in junk plastic bottles continued to sell, and eventually TerraCycle fertilizer was being sold at Home Depot and Whole Foods. Now, TerraCycle has expanded to include purses, bags, fences, and boxes–all made from trash.

Last week I wrote up a post on the new Terracycle Brigades <http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2010/06/terracycle-coupons-to-get-you-started.html> and added some coupon links for you to get started.  These Brigades are incredible. Through them, TerraCycle and its sponsors help schools or other community groups raise money for a charitable organization of the collector’s choice, which can include your child's school. Participation is free and all shipping costs are paid. To date, over 1.8 million units of waste have been diverted from landfill. Plus TerraCycle and its sponsors paid over $800,000 dollars to over 50,000 schools or non-profits. To see the full range of items TerraCycle collects and pays for, visit www.terracycle.net <http://www.terracycle.net/> .

"While school may be out for summer, the custodial staff at Crofton Woods Elementary is hard at work getting the school squeaky clean before students return. Due to budget cuts, the custodial staff saw a reduction in cleaning supplies but thanks to the efforts of Lori Lloyd, chief custodian at the school, the school is getting cleaner and greener. Lori received information a few years back from TerraCycle, a unique company that collects packaging waste and upcycles, or repurposes it, to make eco-friendly products. TerraCycle pays schools and nonprofits to collect the items they upcycle. Lori signed on to the program in 2008 initially upcycling Capri Sun drink pouches and receiving two cents per pouch from TerraCycle in return. Last year, she expanded the program and now collects chip bags, candy wrappers, Ziploc bags, Elmer's Glue bottles, butter tubs and a few additional items. The custodial staff at Crofton Meadows collects, sorts and ships the items to TerraCycle.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  has the best business model — “Send us your trash… we’ll make it into cool products!” If you despair of all the waste generated by things like Capri Sun pouches, sign up your school or nonprofit organization for various TerraCycle “brigades.” <http://www.terracycle.net/brigades>  Collect used pouches, candy wrappers, and other items, send them in to TerraCycle, and get paid a couple cents for each. (Given the amount of these products kids go through, that can add up pretty quickly…)