With a business plan that began by selling an organic fertilizer made from worm poop, or vermicompost, in empty carbonated soft drink bottles, Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle Inc. is a green company that has been linked to the beverage industry since its impetus in 2003. Albe Zakes, global vice president of media relations, explains that the company’s fertilizer was one of the first non-uniform packaged products sold at nationwide chains such as The Home Depot, Walmart and Target. In 2007, TerraCycle shifted its main business model to its Brigade model, which offers free sign-up and shipping for individuals, families or organizations that collect a variety of approved used goods and return them to TerraCycle to be upcycled, or repurposed, into new things, Zakes says. In return for the collection, TerraCycle donates around $0.02 for each unit of waste, such as a drink pouch, potato chip bag or highlighter, to a school, nonprofit organization or charity. The Brigade program began with a partnership with Bethesda, Md.-based Honest Tea to collect the flexible pouches used for its Honest Kids line of beverages. The program grew from 100 schools in the first 48 hours to 500 schools in its first four months, Zakes says. The following year, Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Inc. brand Capri Sun joined as a co-sponsor of the drink pouch program, which was integral to the re-use of the brand’s pouches and the expansion of the program, Zakes says.