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. The Environmental Committee is creating opportunities for Park Slope Coop members to be a part of this great opportunity to RECYCLE even more products.

Do you use a Brita® water purification system or pitcher? How about PUR®? There is no need to worry about what to do with those used plastic carbon filter cartridges. The Howard County Recycling District facility now accepts those items for recycling.

The South Brunswick Senior Center has teamed up with TerraCycle to collect plastic materials as a fundraiser. TerraCycle pays for each article collected as well as postage to mail in the items. The company then “upcycles” the goods into eco-friendly products. Brita pitchers, pitcher filters, water bottles and faucet filters; any brand of potato chip wrappers; and electronics such as cellphones, laptops and ink cartridges will be accepted.

Ziploc sandwich bags, Capri Sun juice pouches, chip bags and the plastic wrap that protects a homemade cookie will all be thrown away after every lunch, destined to release carbon emissions in a landfill. St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Glenn Burnie is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint and, at the same time, cash in. A year ago, St. Paul’s partnered with the New Jersey recycling company TerraCycle’s Drink Pouch Brigade to recycle juice pouches.

Local TV brigade hit.

Many of my invitations to TerraCycle are met with strong, no-thank-you affirmations, "I already recycle." "I've been recycling my entire life" (with a clear implication that the time is longer than I have been alive). A recycler is already traveling the right road to becoming a TerraCycler, but every single person may engage in TerraCycling and, for many reasons, it's not the same as recycling. One reason I would like to focus on is the concept of ZERO WASTE! A trash item sent to TerraCycle is fully re—used, recycled, re—purposed, or upcycled with no waste—nothing incinerated, nothing dumped into the earth, nothing permitted to quagmire into aquatic imbroglios. TerraCycle is committed to eliminating global waste by taking anything bound for a landfill and turning it into a functional new product—from back packs to park benches, cereal bags to building materials, fence posts to writing instruments, TerraCycle is changing the way the world sees trash and benefitting not-for-profits in the process. Beauty and personal care cases, containers, dispensers, tubes and bottles from items such as lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, shampoo and conditioner, bronzer, foundation, body wash, hand soap, lotion, shaving foam, powder, body lotion/cream, lip balm/gloss, face soap, face lotion, concealer; Brita pitchers, dispensers, bottles, faucet systems, all filters and packaging; standard cell phones, smart phones, and iPhones; cereal bags and plastic cereal bag liners; individual and large/outer flexible cheese packaging found on items such as shredded cheese, string cheese, individual slices, solid cheese blocks, deli—style sliced cheese and other large cheese packaging; extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling papers, ash; dairy tubs, seals, and lids from items such as yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, butter and margarine, whipped topping, pudding, plastic ice cream tubs and lids; plastic diaper packaging, wipes outer plastic packaging, and individual wipes packaging; aluminum and plastic drink pouches, and baby food and drink pouches; laptop, tablet, e-reader, Ipod, MP3 player, camera, digital camera, camcorder, GPS unit, and graphing calculator e-waste; baby and toddler food pouches and caps; Elmer's glue sticks, bottles, and caps; any foil-lined energy bar wrappers, granola bar wrappers or protein bar wrappers; Entenmann's plastic pouches; tubs, lids, and seals from all hummus containers; all inkjet cartridges and many toner cartridges; plastic trays and lids, plastic film, outer wrapping, and packaging; all individual, multi—pack and family size snack bags; all No. 6 rigid cups; plastic tape dispensers and cores; all toothpaste tubes with caps, toothbrushes, toothbrush and toothpaste packaging, and floss containers; pens and pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers and marker caps, highlighters and caps, permanent markers and caps. Are you one of the people collecting TerraCycle items? Does your fridge magnet, office desk, or church bulletin have a current list of TerraCycle brigades? If not, why not? Easier to let someone else take the responsibility? As I challenged in this column last week, let's go beyond easy! Add your name, church, business or organization to the growing list of TerraCyclers! To check out what trash TerraCycle can take, review the details and pictures at www.CoyoteHowlingShopForaCause.com, or visit Coyote Howling and learn how to take your trash back from the landfills and use it to fund meals for children. Coyote Howling's designated nonprofit: Feed My Starving Children. Tonya Huber, PhD, is founder and owner of Coyote Howling Shop for a Cause Contact her at CoyoteHowlingNM@gmail.com 575-808-8320.

A local organization is mixing faith, and recycling. "Well we truly believe that God calls us to care for creation, and part of caring for creation is caring for the earth,” said Karen Neder with Earthkeepers. Karen helped found Earthkeepers back in 2007. It's a group open to any religion, but all with the same mission: to be more environmentally friendly. "As a way for churches in the Quad Cities area to get together and exchange ideas about greening their congregations,” said Karen. And Karen has gone above and beyond to make her church, Trinity Lutheran, a greenhouse of worship. She started by cultivating the crop of her fellow parishioners. Putting up a display teaching what can, and can't be recycled in the church's own recycling program. Karen said sometimes, it's been a challenge. "It's amazingly confusing for people,” she said. But then, just a couple of months ago, Karen took things to the next level. She discovered an online recycling program called Terracycle. “Terracycle is a program that I started here to encourage recycling of non–recyclables," said Karen. It's as easy as taking things that you didn't know you could recycle; makeup, Chapstick, a Brita filter, putting them into a box, and sending them off. "It's a website that you go to and you can join a specific brigade that's sponsored by a company,” said Karen. A brigade is a specific group of items you're recycling. For example, Kraft sponsors a cheese brigade, where you gather empty cheese wrappers. When enough are collected, Karen puts them in a box and ships them off to the company, where they're recycled. And you even get money for doing it. "Whatever you collect, when you send it into Terracycle, they will give you whatever you collect and the points can be turned into a small amount of money for a charity or a school,” said Karen. Karen chose Trinity Lutheran's preschool, Blessed Beginnings. "The response was so great from parents,” said Karen. A one woman show, Karen is merging faith and recycling into a perfect harmony for the future.

May 31--PANAMA CITY BEACH -- After joining a worldwide movement to "outsmart waste" last fall, Pier Park is expanding its efforts this summer by launching an area-wide initiative to keep waste out of landfills. Through a partnership with worldwide recycling pioneer TerraCycle, the shopping center signed on to participate in a Cigarette Waste Brigade last year, in which cigarette butts are collected and recycled into plastic pellets for industrial use. Since the brigade's inception, TerraCycle has collected more than 13.5 million units of cigarette butts from 4,801 collection locations. The effort was so successful at Pier Park that officials have decided to expand to recycling other products through TerraCycle's various brigade programs. "As part of Simon Property Group, Pier Park is proud to expand its recycling efforts aligned with TerraCycle's innovative Waste Brigade programs," said Pier Park General Manager Brent Gardner. "Pier Park is committed to doing its part to create a more sustainable environment for generations to come, and this expanded effort will positively reduce landfill waste, which is a primary environmental goal." Starting in June, area residents and visitors are encouraged to bring recyclables to Pier Park on the first Saturday of every month between 9 a.m. and noon. Pier Park will be collecting items for 21 different TerraCycle brigades, which will then be packaged and sent to the organization to be recycled. Categories include: iPod and MP3 players; laptop, tablets and E-readers; Brita filter products; cellphones; cheese packaging; cigarette butts; cleaner packaging; Colgate products packaging; dairy tubs; diaper packaging; drink pouches; Elmer's glue sticks, bottles and caps; energy bar wrappers; Glad food storage products; inkjet and toner cartridges; lunch kit packaging (Lunchables); pairs of shoes; personal care and beauty products; Scotch tape; snack bags; and writing instruments. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle works with hundreds of major brands in the U.S. and in dozens of other countries to collect and repurpose materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. For more information on TerraCycle, visit www.terracycle.com. For more information on recycling programs at Pier Park visit www.simon.com/mall/pier-park or call (850) 236-9979.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — After joining a worldwide movement to “outsmart waste” last fall, Pier Park is expanding its efforts this summer by launching an area-wide initiative to keep waste out of landfills. Through a partnership with worldwide recycling pioneer TerraCycle, the shopping center signed on to participate in a Cigarette Waste Brigade last year, in which cigarette butts are collected and recycled into plastic pellets for industrial use. Since the brigade’s inception, TerraCycle has collected more than 13.5 million units of cigarette butts from 4,801 collection locations. The effort was so successful at Pier Park that officials have decided to expand to recycling other products through TerraCycle’s various brigade programs. “As part of Simon Property Group, Pier Park is proud to expand its recycling efforts aligned with TerraCycle’s innovative Waste Brigade programs,” said Pier Park General Manager Brent Gardner. “ PierPark is committed to doing its part to create a more sustainable environment for generations to come, and this expanded effort will positively reduce landfill waste, which is a primary environmental goal.” Starting in June, area residents and visitors are encouraged to bring recyclables to Pier Park on the first Saturday of every month between 9 a.m. and noon. Pier Park will be collecting items for 21 different TerraCycle brigades, which will then be packaged and sent to the organization to be recycled. Categories include: iPod and MP3 players; laptop, tablets and E-readers; Brita filter products; cellphones; cheese packaging; cigarette butts; cleaner packaging; Colgate products packaging; dairy tubs; diaper packaging; drink pouches; Elmer’s glue sticks, bottles and caps; energy bar wrappers; Glad food storage products; inkjet and toner cartridges; lunch kit packaging (Lunchables); pairs of shoes; personal care and beauty products; Scotch tape; snack bags; and writing instruments.

If you’re trying to be an environmentally conscious unclutterer, you probably know that reuse is preferable to recycling. If someone can enjoy the paperback book I’m getting rid of, giving the book to that person (directly, or through a venue such as a used bookstore) is better than tossing the book into my recycling bin. But, sometimes the recycling bin is the right answer. If the book is falling apart or it’s a reference book that’s now seriously outdated, it’s ready to be recycled. Even more: TerraCycle has its Brigades, where you sign up to recycle a specific type of item, such as Brita filters, energy bar wrappers, drink pouches, or cheese packaging. You collect your specific item and then mail the collected items in, postage paid (in most cases).