To address the recycling issue the company launched an ‘upcycling’ scheme in March, asking parents to collect empty pouches and Freepost them to Terracycle to be turned into Ella’s Kitchen lunchboxes and similar - half a million have already been diverted from landfill. Another lifecycle analysis suggests this eliminates 192g of CO2 per pouch compared to 6.33g with recycling. Lindley adds that the company also collects and sends off its manufacturers’ waste to be upcycled.

Are you looking for creative ways to frow an interest in the environment with your kids? Or a way to help their school in these budget constrained times? Or perhaps a way to clean up your community? The answer to all these may just be sitting right near you: the packaging left over from their Ella's Kitchen food, or over on their desk, the Berol pen that's out of ink.

We are TerraCycle and we make new eco-friendly products like baby bigs, tote bags and plant pots out of what you'd normally have no option but toss it in the bin. Our goal is to change the way peple think about waste and the possibilities it has.

The one issue remaining was that most councils are unable to recycle our pouches. That’s why we were really excited when we came across Terracycle. Terracycle’s upcycling brigades are massive in the US but Ella’s Kitchen is only the second company to run a programme with Terracycle here in the UK following Kenco’s launch last year.