Biltmore’s winery recycles corks through TerraCycle, an organization that collects corks and other post-consumer materials and “up-cycles” them into products. Corks are collected at locations across the estate, including the winery’s tasting room and estate restaurants. “Sustainability is very important at Biltmore,” said Ted Katsigianis, Biltmore’s vice president of agricultural services. “We try to incorporate a variety of projects that have a positive impact.”

Many of the items we use on a daily basis produce a large amount of waste.  Much of our trash comes from food and beverage containers.  You eat a bag of chips, and then that bag sits in a landfill for years.  Other common sources of trash include school and office supplies, small electronics, and shipping materials.  However, there are ways to actually make money from items that normally go straight into the trash. Here are five types of items that you can get paid to get rid of in an environmentally friendly way. 1.        Food and beverage containers Within the last few years, a new company known as TerraCycle has found a creative way to reuse candy wrappers, chip bags, beverage containers, and even wine corks.  They take in these types of trash and then turn them into useable products, such as school and office supplies.  The best part is, TerraCycle will pay you for your trash.  By registering your organization (usually a school, scout troop, or non-profit), you can begin to keep track of what you send to the company.  The price is usually $0.02 per piece of trash, but it all adds up to help produce less trash and raise money for local schools or charities. For more information, visit www.terracycle.net

Trash to Treasure partners with the Broward College and TerraCycle  to collect nontraditional items for reuse and recycling.  TerraCycle pays for these materials and Broward College uses the revenue to fund the Michelle Lawless Scholarship which provides tuition for a student majoring in Environmental Science.

Blount County residents can now recycle items that are normally thought of as unrecyclable. Keep Blount Beautiful is partnering with Terracycle to recycle corks, gum packaging, nutrition bar wrappers and cell phones. TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different nonrecyclable waste materials. With over 50 products available at major retailers, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world.