PTO is excited to announce that our school is going GREEN! We teamed up with a program called TERRACYCLE.  We are going to be collecting a number of items to recycle and earn CASH.  Each classroom will have a bin to place collected items, which may be brought from home or just saved from lunch/snacks at school.  Please consider getting involved as we strive to make God’s creation a beautiful masterpiece one community at a time.  Below is a list of all items we are going to collect.  PTO will keep everyone informed throw here as to our progress throughout the year.

When shopping for the “green” friend or loved one, it’s important to remember their ultimate concern is reducing waste. However, that is no excuse to not buy a gift. Instead, give a high quality gift they are guaranteed to appreciate or, alternatively, a gift made from recycled materials. Here are five affordable TerraCycle products available at select Walmart and Target stores and online. Coin Pouch

• Recycled Material: USPS Mail Sacks
• Price: $14.00
• Description: This pouch is super sturdy and can hold a number of small items such as money, makeup, and small accessories.Each piece is custom handmade from a distinct mail sack and will differ in terms of graphics. Perfect gifts for the eco-fashionista who loves unique and one-of-a-kind accessories.

Backpack

• Upcycled Material: Capri Sun Pouches
• Price: $21.99
• Description: These fun school supplies are sure to get attention from classmates. The sight of the familiar juice pouches will make any co-ed nostalgic of their grade school days! These are exciting gifts for the cutesy co-ed who loves attention.

Speaker Set 

• Recycled Material: M&M’s Wrappers
• Price: $16.99
• Description: A very practical gift for any co-ed—the “green” aspect is only a plus! This portable speaker set is made from 80 percent recycled materials and folds for easy storage. The 3.5 mm universal plug works with your iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, laptop, or computer. Available at Radio Shack.

Travel Toiletry Case

• Upcycled Material: Tents
• Price: $38.00
• Description: Each unique piece is custom handmade from different parts of a tent. Perfect for the on the go, eco-friendly man in your life.

Corkboard

• Upcycled Material: Wine Corks
• Price: $19.99
• Description: This classy gift will sparkle in any co-eds dorm room. If she needs a place to hang her to-do list, study guides, and family photos, why not make it eco-friendly?

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.

TerraCycle is a great new way to recycle! You can send in your ‘trash’ things like chip and cookies wrappers, juice pouches and more to be turned into things like binders, pouches, and more.

TerraCycle’s purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs, called the Brigades, and start sending us waste.

TerraCycle then converts the collected waste into a wide variety of products and materials. With more than 20 million people collecting waste in over 20 countries 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.

Our goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today must be sent to a landfill.

Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton University freshman, TerraCycle began by producing organic fertilizer, packaging liquid worm poop in used soda bottles. Since then TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world.

Products include traditional garden supplies like a Terra Stone Plant Caddy retailing for $14.99, the Eco-Terra Watering Can for $11.99 and TerraCycle’s trademark All-Purpose Plant Food for $4.99 – $32.00 at major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, independent garden centers and online.

Other unique items include tote bags, lunch sacks, toiletry cases and travel pouches made from repurposed USPS mail bags and upcycled tents. All USPS and tent products will be available online at www.uncommongoods.com. Lunch sacks will retail for $37.00, dopp kits for $38.00, and tote bags for $46.00. The Coin Pouch, Tote, and iPad Case will retail from $14.00 – $84.00. We are also featuring portable, battery free Eco-Speakers for $19.99.

Creating Green Jobs In The USA TerraCycle Videos's Channel Get 2 Cents For Your School Or Charity For Each Drink Pouch, Cookie Or Candy Wrapper, Etc. You Send To TerraCycle TerraCycle Pays All Shipping (all) Costs.

“Who put this recyclable item in the garbage???” My kids have gotten used to me asking this question as I’ve become more environmentally conscious over the years. I knew the habit had become deeply ingrained when I attended a church dinner and found myself trying to move a bunch of recyclable 2 liter bottles someone had set on top of the trash to a recycling container.  Since I moved from halfhearted recycling to serious recycling around ten years ago, I’ve tried to support companies who are reusing waste in creative ways, like Terracycle.  They take traditionally nonrecyclable waste, drink pouches, chip bags, toothbrushes and many other products, and create new and innovative products. Have you ever wanted to recycle your nonrecyclable items? If so, Terracycle has a program that pays you cash! You collect these items and send them in to Terracycle.  They produce reusable goods like this circuit board clipboard and you get cool cash in your pocket. It’s a win-win situation.

A few weeks ago I was sent a set of M&M Eco Speakers from TerraCycle to try. I have to say, I am pretty impressed with the quality of sound these tiny little speakers can project. The best part, they are eco-friendly!   The M&M Eco Speakers are portable, lightweight speakers that are made with recycled materials. Their 3.5 mm universal plug allows you to play music from your iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, laptop, or computer. I was very excited to try these out on my iPod, iPhone, and iPad.  When you get them, they come flat and you simply fold them to form the speakers.  It is very easy to do!

I have been in love with Terracycle items for a LONG time now. They have been “in the works” since 2001, but major sales began in 2004, with items being sold at The Home Depot and WalMart in Canada. They made their way to the US in 2005 with fertilizer and plant food. They grew quickly, and in 2007 they started making the items that I have fallen in love with, recycled waste everyday use items, such as backpacks, binders, pencil cases and folders. In January of 2008, TerraCycle met with Kraft Foods and by February, Capri Sun signed on as the leading sponsor in the Drink Pouch Brigade, and this is where the items that I received for review come in.

What if you could reduce waste and get some awesome gifts at the same time? No seriously. What if you could give someone garbage and they create the coolest gifts for those special people in your life? I’m for real!

TerraCycle upcycles and recycles traditionally non-recycable waste (including drink pouches, chip bags, tooth brushes and many more) into a large variety of consumer products. These products keep waste out of our landfills and contribute to a cleaner world.

I was provided some of the coolest items ever to review (and to add to my gift giving list!) I received the Upcycled Mail Sack Tote that as soon as I opened the box, hubby and I were fighting over it!