Ob Zigarettenstummel, Deodosen oder alte Flip-Flops – das mittlerweile in 20 Ländern weltweit tätige Unternehmen TerraCycle macht aus Abfällen neue, wertvolle Gegenstände. Gemeinsam mit Sammlern und Sponsoren setzt das Unternehmen auf Recycling.

Last week I attended LifeInStyle and the Home and Giving Fair in Sydney, and came home with some great businesses to share and some new products for our store. I will share a post about these events and my thoughts about them soon. But first, in a moment of “it was meant to be”, the very clever Nathan Devine, the author of the website and book Retrash, called me before I left on the off-chance I may have been able to come to Sydney for an event last Friday. I just happened to be headed to Sydney on Thursday so it was perfect! Retrash is a book of inspirational stories from people across the world, on ways they are reducing landfill through recycling, upcycling, repurposing and rethinking waste. Nathan gave me a copy and I will review it soon on the blog. Not only was the event at Google headquarters, which for a geek like me was a real thrill, but it was a presentation from both Nathan and the Chief Design Junkie (yes that is her actual job title!), Tiffany Threadgould, from one of the most clever upcycling and recycling organisations in the world – TerraCycle. TerraCycle basically take things you think are not recyclable, including DIRTY nappies (yes I know!) and cigarette butts (because they are essentially plastic, may be time to give up now) and recycles them. They recycle and upcycle pretty much everything and anything and you can even make cash sending your trash into them. Tiffany is an eco-lifestyle expert who spreads recycling inspiration with easy do-it-yourself solutions. Tiffany began with an MFA in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute, and now hones her upcycling know how as Head Design Junkie at the mega recycling company Terracycle. Her own company Tiffany Threadgould has been featured on CNN, Every Day with Rachael Ray, the New York Times, and countless magazines and blogs. Stay tuned for more as I am going to run an interview and feature with her soon. Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton University student, TerraCycle, Inc. began producing organic fertiliser by packaging liquified “worm poop” in used soft drink bottles. Since the inauspicious start, TerraCycle has become one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world. Today, TerraCycle is a highly-awarded, international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products. TerraCycle is widely considered the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable, post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with more than 100 major brands in the U.S. and 24 countries overseas, including Australia, to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new, innovative materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. Tiffany also told us about the new partnership with TerraCycle and Australia Post, that makes it easier for groups to collect waste and post it for free. You can collect your waste, print a postage label and send it for free. It is a great idea for schools and community groups, through the national programs -“Brigades” – where you collect previously non-recyclable or hard to recycle waste and in most programs, you receive a small donation for each piece of waste collected. It’s a great way for schools to fund raise. Find out more about the TerraCycle Brigades here. It was a fabulous session and so good to hear about the amazing things happening around the world. Have you heard of TerraCycle? And will you now be saving up waste to send to them?  I am starting special boxes here and will be speaking with my son’s school about getting involved. Helen

L’Eldor’Ados, le local des jeunes, vit en ce moment un bouleversement. Sollicitée par les jeunes, Maude Milcent, l’animatrice, a concocté, « sur la base de la récupération et du recyclage, deux projets qui leur tiennent à cœur : le réaménagement du local et la réalisation de récupérateur de crayons et de gourdes alimentaires ». Les récupérateurs de crayons (feutres et stylos à bille) et de gourdes alimentaires (type pom’pote) sont terminés. Confectionnés à partir d’objets de récupération et peints, ils seront bientôt mis en place à la Pom’d’Happy, à l’Eldor’ados et à l’Aiguillon-sur-Vie. Les collectes seront ensuite remises à Terracycle une entreprise de recyclage. L’argent récolté sera redonné à des associations.

Beaucoup de déchets ne font pas partie des consignes de tri des déchets car ils sont pour la plupart trop petits (pots de yaourts, stylos, capsules de café...), c'était sans compter sur TerraCycle, dont la devise est "éliminons la notion de déchets" !

A través de la alianza que Tang y TerraCycle llevan adelante hace más de un año, recolectaron 2,5 millones de sobrecitos de bebidas en polvo para convertirlos en nuevos productos ecológicos y donaron más de 250 mil pesos a distintas organizaciones y escuelas del país. Para registrarse y sumarse al programa medioambiental de Tang, visitá www.terracycle.com.ar o www.clubtang.com.ar

Tara Lynn-Perez, math teacher at The Henderson International School, is focused on a lot of things. Multiplication tables, long division, fractions – the usual stuff. But what you might not know is Tara’s other passion: to “eliminate the idea of waste.” She’s an avid proponent of a website/program called TerraCycle, an international recycling system for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste, and she’s gotten the kids at her school hooked on the idea!   Here’s how it works… Local programs, called Brigades, send TerraCycle their waste. TerraCycle then converts the collected waste into a wide variety of products and materials. The Brigades, then, receive points based on the number of items (waste) that they send in (2 points per item). The organization has more than 20 million people collecting waste in over 20 countries, and TerraCycle has diverted billions of units of waste and used them to create over 1,500 different products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market.