“If you just leave your bag of garbage by your front door I’ll stop by and grab it on my way to work.”
This probably isn’t something most people Facebook message their friends about at 10:00 at night. But, not only is this really a message sent to me from a friend a few nights ago, but I also really did run and, excitedly, pull a bag of garbage I’d been saving for her out of the closet and set it by my front door.
TerraCycle takes recycling to a whole new level with their recycling brigades program. The company was originally founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, a then 20 year old Princeton University Freshman. TerraCycle started by producing organic fertilizer (worm poop) in used soda bottles.
For today's post during this TerraCycle Refresher week on our blog, I'm sharing a list and description of what items we collect for TerraCycle here at Blue Ridge.
Glue Bottles/Sticks
Any size Elmer's brand glue sticks and plastic glue bottles are acceptable. Only Elmer's please!
We earn $0.02 per item.ri
REESE - Just by eating lunch, students at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School are fundraising for their school.
The students separate their Capri Sun pouches from the rest of their waste and send the popular juice containers to TerraCycle of Trenton, N.J., which in return gives the school 2 cents for every juice pouch recycled.
Mark Fritzler, 8th grade, left, and Zack Parman, 7th grade, right, count the recycled Capri Sun juice concentrate drink during her lunch hour at St. Elizabeth School in Reese. Students are encouraged to recycle their Capri Sun drink containers after use for a school recycling program.
REESE — Just by eating lunch, students at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School are fundraising for their school.
The students separate their Capri Sun pouches from the rest of their waste and send the popular juice boxes to TerraCycle, who in return give the school $0.02 for every juice pouch recycled.
St. Elizabeth is among 40,000 organizations participating in the TerraCycle program.
After two weeks of lunches, St. Elizabeth collected about 270 juice pouches, said Gabriela Marguery, school principal.
They have participated in the program for eighteen months.
While the $5.40 collected does not seem like much raised over two weeks, Marguery said, but the amount adds up.
“With $5, there’s something we can do,” she said. “It helps pay for a field trip. The important thing for them is you’re recycling and helping the school.”
The school has even incorporated recycling into their curriculum, with a “Take Care of God’s Creation” unit.
Luke Holtz, son of Nicki and Todd Holtz of Reese said he brings a juice pouch nearly every day for the school’s fundraiser.
“(Recycling) is fun, you can help pick up at your house,” he said.
Alyssa Brow, the daughter of Todd and Cheryl Brow of Buena Vista Township said she recycles her juice pouches at school, and her food and canned goods at home “so it doesn’t make the world dirty.”
The recycling program at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School doubles as a fundraiser. The students separate their Capri Sun juice pouches from the rest of their refuse and each pouch generates 2 cents for the school. The day this was filmed, the school earned $5.40 from the 270 pouches over a two-week period.
Zack Parman, son of Kathy and Stan Parman of Bridgeport Township, a 7th grader at the school helps count the recycled packages every two weeks. He said he doesn’t mind helping out because fundraising ultimately helps the school, paying for field trips, balls and lighting in the gymnasium.
“We partner with these companies, these brands, to provide a solution for their packaging at the end of its life,” said Lauren Taylor, director, U.S. public relations for TerraCycle.
The company partners with many companies like Kraft Foods, Frito Lay, Revolution Foods, Bare Naked, Colgate, Elmers and Logitech.
They recycle and “upcycle” the discarded packaging. Recycling turns the product into something new and unrecognizable from its original form, but upcycling creates something recognizable from a product’s original form, like a Capri Sun purse or pencil case, or a backpack made out of chip bags.
“We have a lot of schools that participate, but anyone can get involved,” Taylor said. “Offices, community groups, anybody can get involved to make a difference.”
Step away from the trashcan! Leaving no trace just got easier — and cooler. Take your non-recycleable wrappers from products such as Kashi, Bear Naked and CLIF Bar and put them to good use through TerraCycle Brigade programs.
Ship your wrappers to TerraCycle free of charge and they will award you points that you can use to buy a specific charity gift. They then turn your wrappers into cool eco-friendly, affordable products such as tote bags, coolers, notebooks, laptop cases and mini-speakers. Wrappers that aren’t upcycled into products are melted down and turned into plastics that are used in trash cans, flower pots and clipboards. The snacks you enjoy can become eco-friendly, long-life products that support your environment through TerraCycle.
One Simple Ask is dedicated to exploring the theory and practice of ethical consumerism. Over the past few months, our team has come across some outstanding companies that are truly walking the “green” marketing talk that permeates our consumer culture. One such company is TerraCycle, a small business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, that specializes in producing products from pre- and post-consumer materials that people send to the company. Over the years, TerraCycle has produced over 1,500 different products available at major retailers, including Walmart and Whole Foods Market. Below is a discussion I had with Megan Yarnall, the Senior Publicist at TerraCycle.
What inspired the creation of Terracycle?
TerraCycle’s creation was inspired by a blooming plant fertilized by worm poop and a business contest. Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle, visited a friend from home during a college break and discovered how well his friend’s plant was growing after being fertilized with worm poop. Tom happened to be entering a business plan contest at that time, and he realized that if he could figure out a viable way to produce and package worm poop in a bottle, worm poop fertilizer could be the basis for his business.
Instead of throwing out their garbage this summer, hikers and park-goers have another option for their non-recyclable trash after they pack it out: sending it free of charge to pioneering company TerraCycle to be recycled.
TerraCycle collects people’s trash and recycles the non-recyclable into eco-friendly, affordable, and practical products. The “leave no trace” policy, which has evolved into the “pack it in, pack it out” policy of taking all your trash out with you, is furthered by TerraCycle’s Brigade program. People can send in difficult-to-recycle food wrappers for recycling and upcycling and earn cash for charity. Usually, wrappers from products including Kashi, Bear Naked, CLIF BAR, and Revolution Foods, among others, are non-recyclable.
