Along the way, Szaky (photo below) described how Terracycle had to negotiate with Pepsi and Coke for the rights to use their bottle shapes. He also talked about bottling, sleeving, and capping thousands of bottles of liquid garden fertilizer by hand before opening a factory in New Jersey; about getting sued by Scott’s, the garden product company, for trade dress infringement; and about how Terracycle and its unique upcycling concept of turning packaging waste into consumer products—bags, kites, pencil cases--is taking off around the world. “We’re establishing ourselves in a new country about every six weeks,” he told his Packaging Summit audience.

Mashpee -  For the students at Quashnet elementary school, it's easy being green . Every lunch period since August, the 520 third-through-sixth graders at the school have eschewed the trash can in favor of the recycling bin, collecting food wrappers in order to transform them in eco-friendly products through a partnership with  new Jersey based  comnpany Terracycle.

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) could play a big role in helping Earth-friendly start-ups survive. The Wall Street Journal reported that Terracycle, a small, private company that fashions products out of difficult-to-recycle packaging, is hoping that large retailers like Wal-Mart will take up its cause more consistently -- and help the tiny company finally turn a profit. Wal-Mart carried Terracycle's wares during a promotion for last month's Earth Day. In one clever touch, the retailer stocked Terracycle's backpacks, crafted from Kraft's Capri-Sun packages, next to the actual Capri-Sun beverages

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) could play a big role in helping Earth-friendly start-ups survive. The Wall Street Journal reported that Terracycle, a small, private company that fashions products out of difficult-to-recycle packaging, is hoping that large retailers like Wal-Mart will take up its cause more consistently -- and help the tiny company finally turn a profit. Wal-Mart carried Terracycle's wares during a promotion for last month's Earth Day. In one clever touch, the retailer stocked Terracycle's backpacks, crafted from Kraft's Capri-Sun packages, next to the actual Capri-Sun beverages.

The school signed up for the brigades, an upcycling program started by TerraCycle that is now in more than 50,000 schools nationwide. It's an easy thing to do," said Paul Stone, the school's adjustment counselor who found the program on the Internet. TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by then-19-year-old Princeton University student Tom Szaky, who gave empty drink pouches a second life by turning them into tote bags, backpacks, pencil cases, and lunchboxes.

Terracycle makes cool things by reusing the pouches.

In his book: "Revolution in a Bottle," Tom Szaky shares how he took "unwanted molecules of industry and created a whole new venture." In simple terms, someone's trash became his treasure. In 2002 Szaky dropped out of Princeton to head up TerraCycle a company known for eco-friendly products made from various non-recyclable products from such major retailers as Walmart, Target, and The Home Depot."

Most impressive was the display from Middlebrook School, Wilton's middle school, where recycling is part of every student's day. As teacher Janet Nobles explained, every trash can in the school has an adjacent recycling bin for glass and plastic. Further, they are working with Terracycle to send them juice bags (like CapriSun) and snack bags that are then recycled into new consumer products. They are glad to receive donations of these from anyone. If you don't eat those particular products, note that they also recycle wine corks. A list is on the Terracycle web site

TerraCycle Inc. aims to make money by reusing the hard-to-recycle trash the U.S. produces each year—but it first needs to find out if Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers think there's enough demand for its products.

A company called TerraCycle pays 2 cents for every pouch sent in. Carter wasn't sure how much juice Sand Pine students drank, but she was about to find out.