Lunch boxes, totes and even flower pots are the newest additions to the "waste makes haste" trend. Made of recycled juice pouches, crushed computers, fax machines and other "disposables," a range of products turns trash into treasure. The products are the brainchild of Tom Szaky, who quit his college career at Princeton to pursue the development of his company, TerraCycle. Each creation made of 100 percent "e-waste" provides benefits both environmentally (reduces landfill waste) and socially (offers original designs). All products are available on line at www.terracycle.net, starting at $4.

Kindergartners use money from recycling to start garden.

  Lunch boxes, totes and even flower pots are the newest additions to the “waste makes haste” trend. Made of recycled juice pouches, crushed computers, fax machines and other “disposables,” a range of products turns trash into treasure. The products are the brainchild of Tom Szaky, who quit his college career at Princeton to pursue the development of his company, TerraCycle. Each creation made of 100 percent “e-waste” provides benefits both environmentally (reduces landfill waste) and socially (offers original designs). All products are available on line at www.terracycle.net, starting at $4.

Isaac said after her students learned about landfills, they wanted to do something to help the earth and began to raise money through TerraCycle. TerraCycle gives 2 cents for each recyclable received and uses the collections to make tote bags, backpacks and insulated coolers. Smith paraprofessional and parent Cherie Loomis and husband Scott Loomis collected the juice boxes and cookie wrappers to deliver to TerraCycle. By the end of the school year, the students will have raised almost $200, Scott said.

Four leading energy foods producers are sponsoring the TerraCycle program to recycle their wrappers into eco-friendly products and earn money for charities. So far, Clif Bar, Kashi, Odwalla and Bear Naked have helped keep more than 82 million wrappers and containers out of landfills and off roads and trails. Then they're recycled into things such as shower curtains and backpacks. Plus, the program contributes 2 cents to a school or charity for every recyclable item sent in. Participation and shipping are free. To date, TerraCycle says it has paid more than $900,000 to some 50,000 schools or non-profits. For more info or to get involved, click www.terracycle.net.

With budget cuts increasing every year, local teachers are saving trash to meet their classroom needs. Thomson Elementary, Norris Elementary and Maxwell Elementary schools earn money for used drink pouches, cookie and candy wrappers, chip bags and other trash that they send in to various participating companies.  Thomson Elementary School has the biggest "trash to cash" program, according to Lauren Taylor, public relations person for TerraCycle. TerraCycle accepts empty drink pouches, chip bags, cookie wrappers, candy wrappers, yogurt cups, Lunchables and lotion tubes and pays the school two cents for each unit of packaging.

You’ve probably seen them in the cereal aisle at the grocery store: bags of bargain cereal with one-off names like Cinnamon Toasters, Apple Zings and Honey Nut Scooters. The titan of bagged cereals, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based Malt-O-Meal, has found a niche in offering cereals almost identical to name-brand products from General Mills, Kellogg’s, Post and Quaker Oats at a reduced price. But where do all those cereal bags go once their sweet contents are consumed? As it turns out, nine Springfield schools collect the bags for recycling – and they make a little cash for their efforts. The Malt-O-Meal Cereal Bag Brigade is a schools-only program sponsored by Malt-O-Meal and run by TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based start-up that pays a pittance for recyclable trash and makes it into new products like kites, durable totes and even fences.

The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park is collecting non-recyclable items as part of a promotion to reduce waste and to raise money for various programs. Items being collected are: candy wrapper packaging from Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury; empty drink pouches from Honest Kids, Capri Sun and Kool-Aid; and empty Elmer’s glue bottles and sticks. For each item sent in, the Friends receive 2 cents. Those interested in volunteering should contact the group for further instructions at 718-601-1460, or go to www.vancortlandt.org. The program is done in conjunction with Terracycle, an eco-friendly group that “upcycles” the collected materials into new, ecofriendly and affordable products. For more information, go to http://www.terracycle.net.

With budget cuts increasing every year, local teachers are saving trash to meet their classroom needs. Thomson Elementary, Norris Elementary and Maxwell Elementary schools earn money for used drink pouches, cookie and candy wrappers, chip bags and other trash that they send in to various participating companies. Thomson Elementary School has the biggest "trash to cash" program, according to Lauren Taylor, public relations person for TerraCycle. TerraCycle accepts empty drink pouches, chip bags, cookie wrappers, candy wrappers, yogurt cups, Lunchables and lotion tubes and pays the school two cents for each unit of packaging. Ms. Taylor said Thomson Elementary students collected approximately 82,000 wrappers and earned $1,640 during the first semester of last school year. It is not yet known how much was collected/earned during the second semester. In addition to the products turned into TerraCycle, Thomson Elementary students also collect Campbell's soup labels, General Mills Box Tops for Education, Coke caps and tabs, old ink cartridges, old cell phones, empty Neosporin tubes, gum packages, and empty Ziploc bags. All items earn money for the school, with the exception of Coke can tabs, which Mrs. Giles sends to the Ronald McDonald House for their benefit. Maxwell Elementary School also participates in the TerraCycle program. Parent volunteer Judith Hodges was recognized by News Channel 12 for her efforts at the school. According to Ms. Taylor, Maxwell Elementary students collected almost 63,000 wrappers and pouches, earning the school $1,250 after the first semester. Maxwell Elementary Principal Donna Bennett said those numbers should be higher after the second semester, because Mrs. Hodges has hosted several contests with big prizes, such as a week-end at the beach. At Norris Elementary, QUEST students who make up the "Green Team" collect Capri Sun pouches and Frito Lay chip bags for TerraCycle. QUEST teacher Khrista Kent said the school has no parent volunteer to assist in the efforts, so their collection is much smaller. She said Norris Elementary earned approximately $45 during the first semester. "It just helps us focus on recycling, and we used the money to buy flowers that the students planted around the school," Mrs. Kent said. TerraCycle uses the trash to make a range or products like Seed Starter kits, pencil cases, cleaner bottles and tote bags. In a release, Ms. Taylor said the trash "came full circle back to Thomson" this year when these items were sold at Walmart in Thomson for the first time in early April. For information, visit www.terracycle.net.

TerraCycle  has gotten a lot of media attention for its unusual business model: Basically, it takes waste and turns it into a wide range of products, from fertilizer to computer bags to kites. Co-founded by Tom Szaky, who dropped out of Princeton University to start the company, TerraCycle, which is based in Trenton, N.J., has been the subject of an Inc. magazine  cover story, a National Geographic reality show, and a recent profile in the Wall Street Journal. But in 2009, the privately held company says it lost $2.2 million on sales of $7.6 million. The problem, according to Mr. Szaky, TerraCycle’s chief executive, was that the company didn’t really know how to manufacture its many products. You can find out how he addressed the problem — and why he’s projecting a $3.2 million profit on sales of $16 million in 2010 — by watching the video below.