TerraCycle is an awesome program designed to help control the amount of waste produced from everyday items. They actually pay mothers, daycare centers, and schools for their waste which is then upcycled into rad products like backpacks, bird feeders, KITES, and bike pouches. Um, how freaking cool is that? I was seriously blown away by the amount of trash that one tiny baby can create- baby food jars/lids, diaper boxes and plastic wrap, little baggies for this and that...unfortunately, the list goes on. TerraCycle has partnered with major companies like Huggies and Sprout Organic Baby Food (who pay for the costs of the program which = 100% free everything for participants! WIN!) and they need your diaper packaging and food pouches (any brand) so that they can start turning them into things like bibs, diaper bags, and cosmetic cases.

Recycling rates in the U.S. run at about 30 percent compared to other developed areas in the world which are close to 75%.  In 2008, Kraft develop strategic partnerships to help increase recycling rates in the states with organizations such as RecycleBank <http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/03/betting-on-recyclebank-the-next-big-thing/>  and TerraCycle, (a company that “upcycles” waste materials to create fashionable items such as backpacks or totebags made from Capri-Sun packaging).  Participants who send in their waste get as much as 2 cents per candy wrapper or drink pouch.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  turns waste into profitable products. It’s an awesome business that embodies the idea of a sustainable economy, as it creates a market for products made from trash. TerraCycle began with two freshmen at Princeton University, Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer. Basically, they sold worm castings (fertilizer) in a wasted soda bottle. They took food waste from their school dining hall, fed it to their friendly worms, and voila, a commodity to be sold. This packaging of dining hall-sourced fertilizer in junk plastic bottles continued to sell, and eventually TerraCycle fertilizer was being sold at Home Depot and Whole Foods. Now, TerraCycle has expanded to include purses, bags, fences, and boxes–all made from trash.

"While school may be out for summer, the custodial staff at Crofton Woods Elementary is hard at work getting the school squeaky clean before students return. Due to budget cuts, the custodial staff saw a reduction in cleaning supplies but thanks to the efforts of Lori Lloyd, chief custodian at the school, the school is getting cleaner and greener. Lori received information a few years back from TerraCycle, a unique company that collects packaging waste and upcycles, or repurposes it, to make eco-friendly products. TerraCycle pays schools and nonprofits to collect the items they upcycle. Lori signed on to the program in 2008 initially upcycling Capri Sun drink pouches and receiving two cents per pouch from TerraCycle in return. Last year, she expanded the program and now collects chip bags, candy wrappers, Ziploc bags, Elmer's Glue bottles, butter tubs and a few additional items. The custodial staff at Crofton Meadows collects, sorts and ships the items to TerraCycle.

TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  has the best business model — “Send us your trash… we’ll make it into cool products!” If you despair of all the waste generated by things like Capri Sun pouches, sign up your school or nonprofit organization for various TerraCycle “brigades.” <http://www.terracycle.net/brigades>  Collect used pouches, candy wrappers, and other items, send them in to TerraCycle, and get paid a couple cents for each. (Given the amount of these products kids go through, that can add up pretty quickly…)

Around here we are doing our best to minimize waste, buying things with less packaging, using more cloths than paper towels to clean up, and frankly, eating the kind of food that doesn’t come wrapped in plastic (amen?) but there will always be left overs. The food we feed OBaby’s when we’re traveling comes in pouches. Yes for heaven’s sake we eat chips from time to time. And cereal. But TerraCycle came up with innovative and adorable ways to reuse whatought to be waste. I absolutely love this idea. TerraCycle diverts packaging waste from landfills and helps raise consumer awareness about reducing, reusing and recycling.  By encouraging people to rethink ‘what is waste,’ TerraCycle is making it simple for consumers to have a positive impact on the environment. YOU can actually be on the recycling end of the equation by sending them your used packaging, including empty baby food pouches to be upcycled into baby-related items such as diaper wallets, bibs, backpacks and totes. Neat, huh? Participation is free and all shipping costs are paid.

SHREWSBURY – In May 2010 a bunch of kids started collecting empty juice pouches and snack bags in an effort to clean up the planet while raising $$ for Shrewsbury public schools.  With the help of Floral Street School and an eco-friendly company called The Dumpster Divers, they have collected over 2000 pieces of trash in just over 2 months time!  This non-recyclable waste will be sent in to another eco-friendly company called Terracycle.  They collect all types of trash and reuse it to make new creative products to resell in major stores across the country.  For every piece of trash sent in to Terracycle, 2 cents is donated to the collectors specified school or charity.   Already, these ambitious kids have raised approximately $50 for Floral Street School.  Imagine how much trash we can keep out of our landfills and how much $$ can be raised for local schools and charities if this program spreads throughout Central MA.

Teachers at Woodbine Elementary School used to see a lot of used Capri Sun drink pouches get thrown away.  Now the school earns two cents for every one of those pouches they collect and return them to a company called TerraCycle, which makes affordable, eco-friendly products from packaging waste. The school uses the program not only as a fundraising opportunity, but also as a way to educate and inspire their students.  Representative of the school, Susan Recu says, “We were looking for ways to raise money for the school that would also help the environment.”

  when you have kids, you tend to start thinking about things you may not have before. like garbage, landfills and what part you can do to help said kids have a better place to live long after we are gone. going green is such a big part of every day life these days (or at least, it should be – even small steps help). so i was thrilled to hear from TerraCycle and jumped on the opportunity to help them spread their mission. TerraCycle is a small company who takes non-recyclable waste (and pays 2 cents per piece to charity) and turns them into upcycled and repurposed eco-friendly items. they take the things that most of us throw in the trash, because we can’t throw it in the recycle bin, and make pencil pouches, binders, tote bags, shower curtains and picture frames – just to name a few. think capri suns, doritos, skittles and other packaging. they even take soda bottles and remake them into containers for dog shampoo and garden fertilizer.

Teenager Alex Copado and two young friends foster the reuse of drink pouches.