I speak for many of our eco citizens and dedicated environmentalist when I say that it pains me to throw anything away, but unfortunately, there are just some things that just can’t be recycled. Chip bags, candy wrappers, tape dispensers and used pens all have to go into the trash… or normally would… Thanks to the company TerraCycle, hard-to-recycle items like those listed above are not trashed, but are actually recycled, or even upcycled. TerraCycle partners with the companies that produce these items, and works with them to create an environmentally friendlier end of life- which means that for many of them, they are turned into something completely new-for example, pens and sharpies are turned into dry erase marker holders, and cookie wrappers are turned into backpacks. Awesome, right? Wait- it gets better.

Terracycle is an organization that will collect often otherwise un-recyclable items and also pay a small amount for the items you send. I have set up a stack of four plastic bins in the hall across from the Kitchen, where the other recycle bins are. Each bin has a sign that lists what it can collect. Please gather as many of these items as you can, from your house or work or elsewhere. In addition to raising a little money, it will be great to have a place to send these things other than the trash heap. Here is a run down of what you can bring in: Elmer's Glue and Scotch Tape: Empty glue sticks or other Elmer's glue product containers, any brand of empty tape rolls and dispensers. Cleaning Supply Packaging: Containers, lids, triggers, and refill bags (like Method brand bags) for all kinds of cleaning supplies, any brand.

Melanie Ziomek has always been an avid recycler and is so adamant about it her sister jokingly calls her “super recycling nerd.” “I told her I was going to make her a recycling nerd cape,” said her sister, Tammy Kozicki. Ziomek recycles everything she can at Normal’s drop boxes, but was concerned about all the products that can’t be recycled. “I realized how many ink cartridges my church (Word of Faith) and the company I work for (Central Illinois Grain Inspection) were going through,” Ziomek said. She started collecting them in hopes of finding an outlet — and she finally did last fall. It’s called Terracycle, a Trenton, N.J., company founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, someone equally passionate about finding uses for items that can’t be recycled.

The Bedford County school’s program, done in conjunction with TerraCycle, promotes recycling items not typically thought of as recyclables: drink pouches, chip bags, used writing instruments and Elmer’s glue containers. Recycling can be gross. Imagine encountering tobacco juice spat into an empty soda can. Nasty. Fifth-graders Chris Akers, 11, and Jason Williams, 10, scrunch their noses at the recollection. Imagine the aroma of a gallon jug bearing a crusty milk residue that's traveled well past sour. Phew. Fifth-graders Hannah Nichols, 10, and Hannah Wood, 11, said students have learned to leave all the milk jugs capped. And it turns out that mostly empty yogurt cups and drink pouches draw pesky swarms of fruit flies. Bring 'em on. None of it matters much to the recycling brigades at Huddleston Elementary School in Bedford County who don disposable vinyl gloves and brave these conditions to participate in the school's comprehensive and moneymaking recycling program. Working with a New Jersey-based company called TerraCycle, the students recycle many items not typically collected. Such as potato chip bags, glue sticks, baggies, cookie packages, drink pouches, candy wrappers, even writing utensils. And more. The K-5 school began its collaboration with TerraCycle in October 2010. Since then, students at Huddleston Elementary — all 214 are invited to participate in one way or another — have kept an estimated 65,000 items out of landfills and earned nearly $1,300 for the school's PTA account. "Anybody can help," said Amy Mallow, a teacher of fourth and fifth grade history and reading who coordinates the school's TerraCycle program. "Usually, I'm flooded with kids who want to help. They are quick to volunteer." For one thing, volunteering can get them out of class for a little while. But more altruistic motives play a role too. "It helps out the community," Nichols said. "It helps the Earth and keeps it from being polluted." TerraCycle transforms the collected packaging into new products such as tote bags, recycling bins, watering cans and backpacks. Lauren Taylor, a spokeswoman for the company, said Huddleston Elementary is one of the top collectors in the company's nationwide programs. That money has helped buy school supplies, contributed toward a fundraising Valentine's Ball, funded a family fitness night and allowed a theater group to visit the school to perform a program about Martin Luther King Jr. "Our recycling efforts at Huddleston Elementary School have exceeded our expectations," said Principal Aprille Monroe. "Our students actively help save space in landfills, energy consumption and natural resources," Monroe said. "Teachers have the added benefit of offering hands-on lessons so students understand why we recycle. Recycling has become a way of life at Huddleston and students are taking the message home to their families." Parent volunteers help collect items to bring to school and the students sort materials consumed at school. The custodians participate, too, by keeping an eye on kids headed toward garbage cans with a potentially recyclable item. "The janitors will catch you if you try to sneak it into the trash," Wood said, smiling. For more information about TerraCycle, go to www.terracycle.net.

Cumming Elementary deserves congratulations for the amount of waste they are keeping out of the local landfill. The school is one of the top collectors of hard-to-recycle waste in TerraCycle's nationwide Brigade programs. The students collect Capri Sun drink pouches, Frito-Lay chip bags, cookie wrappers and Elmer's glue containers among several other items, which earns them money for charity and keeps the garbage out of the local landfill. Cumming Elementary has earned more than $2,620 from recycling items that would otherwise be thrown away, which translates to approximately 130,806 units of waste. TerraCycle turns the collected packaging into new products such as tote bags, recycling bins, watering cans and backpacks. The school is one of 90,000 schools and community groups across the globe collecting almost 50 different kinds of products and packaging that TerraCycle accepts. In addition to participating in the TerraCycle Brigades, Cumming Elementary also recycles cans and bottles through the Dream Machine Recycle Rally, a national program co-sponsored by PepsiCo that aims to raise awareness of the importance of recycling among K-12 students. Schools can earn rewards and compete for prizes. Interested parties in either the TerraCycle Brigade programs or the Dream Machine Recycle Rally can visit www.terracycle.com to sign up.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend tweeted out a question about recycling Tyvek™ envelopes. I responded that she could – if she mailed them to a location that accepted them. She was a little put off: after all, the envelope was marked with a #5 plastic recycling symbol, so shouldn’t she just be able to throw it in her recycling bin?

I'm sharing something a little different for today's TerraCycle Tuesday. Instead of highlighting a brigade, I'm spreading the word about TerraCycle's annual Eco-Product Design Contest, which will soon be accepting entries for 2012. Here's some info from TerraCycle: Elmer’s® Products, Inc. and TerraCycle® challenge students to use commonly discarded materials to create new products. Participants will design upcycled products using Elmer’s packaging and/or used classroom materials, and e-mail photos or drawings and descriptions of their design to TerraCycle. Entrants do not have to be a part of Elmer’s Glue Crew of TerraCycle’s Elmer’s Glue Crew Brigade® to participate. One Grand Prize winner will receive a TerraCycle and Elmer’s Prize Pack. He or she will also be featured on the TerraCycle website and Facebook page. Three runners up will receive TerraCycle and Elmer’s prize packs. Send your entries to contest@terracycle.com, and be sure to include a photo or drawing, with a 250 word or less description of your upcycled product in your e-mail. Also be sure to include contact information in your entry so we can contact you if you win! Entries will be judged on the creative use of commonly discarded materials, if the design itself is environmentally friendly, if the materials used in the design are environmentally friendly, and whether the design is deemed to be commercially viable. Entry Phase: March 1 - March 31, 2012 Finalists Announced: April 9, 2012 Public Voting: April 9 - April 20, 2012 Grand Prize Winner Announced: April 23, 2012 More info here! http://brsdgifted.blogspot.com/2012/02/terracycle-tuesday-eco-product-design.html

I'm sharing something a little different for today's TerraCycle Tuesday. Instead of highlighting a brigade, I'm spreading the word about TerraCycle's annual Eco-Product Design Contest, which will soon be accepting entries for 2012. Here's some info from TerraCycle: Elmer’s® Products, Inc. and TerraCycle® challenge students to use commonly discarded materials to create new products. Participants will design upcycled products using Elmer’s packaging and/or used classroom materials, and e-mail photos or drawings and descriptions of their design to TerraCycle. Entrants do not have to be a part of Elmer’s Glue Crew of TerraCycle’s Elmer’s Glue Crew Brigade® to participate.

Social media is popular for various reasons including the fact that it’s easy to reach people and that it’s free. Media such as advertising and marketing often is not free, so for many companies it is hard, if not impossible, to find room in the budget. For companies who don’t mind taking a leap of faith, there’s another option, one that TerraCycle relies heavily upon: owned media. I say “leap of faith” because sometimes you have to shell out some cash to create the owned media, and then be patient and wait for the fruit of your efforts to materialize. Here at TerraCycle, we just started a bi-weekly podcast that documents eco-tips, eco-news, and features interviews with key players from our partners such as Elmer’s, Dropps, and Garnier as well as leading voices from the sustainable industry.

Mark Fritzler, 8th grade, left, and Zack Parman, 7th grade, right, count the recycled Capri Sun juice concentrate drink during her lunch hour at St. Elizabeth School in Reese. Students are encouraged to recycle their Capri Sun drink containers after use for a school recycling program. REESE — Just by eating lunch, students at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School are fundraising for their school. The students separate their Capri Sun pouches from the rest of their waste and send the popular juice boxes to TerraCycle, who in return give the school $0.02 for every juice pouch recycled. St. Elizabeth is among 40,000 organizations participating in the TerraCycle program. After two weeks of lunches, St. Elizabeth collected about 270 juice pouches, said Gabriela Marguery, school principal. They have participated in the program for eighteen months. While the $5.40 collected does not seem like much raised over two weeks, Marguery said, but the amount adds up. “With $5, there’s something we can do,” she said. “It helps pay for a field trip. The important thing for them is you’re recycling and helping the school.” The school has even incorporated recycling into their curriculum, with a “Take Care of God’s Creation” unit. Luke Holtz, son of Nicki and Todd Holtz of Reese said he brings a juice pouch nearly every day for the school’s fundraiser. “(Recycling) is fun, you can help pick up at your house,” he said. Alyssa Brow, the daughter of Todd and Cheryl Brow of Buena Vista Township said she recycles her juice pouches at school, and her food and canned goods at home “so it doesn’t make the world dirty.” The recycling program at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School doubles as a fundraiser. The students separate their Capri Sun juice pouches from the rest of their refuse and each pouch generates 2 cents for the school. The day this was filmed, the school earned $5.40 from the 270 pouches over a two-week period. Zack Parman, son of Kathy and Stan Parman of Bridgeport Township, a 7th grader at the school helps count the recycled packages every two weeks. He said he doesn’t mind helping out because fundraising ultimately helps the school, paying for field trips, balls and lighting in the gymnasium. “We partner with these companies, these brands, to provide a solution for their packaging at the end of its life,” said Lauren Taylor, director, U.S. public relations for TerraCycle. The company partners with many companies like Kraft Foods, Frito Lay, Revolution Foods, Bare Naked, Colgate, Elmers and Logitech. They recycle and “upcycle” the discarded packaging. Recycling turns the product into something new and unrecognizable from its original form, but upcycling creates something recognizable from a product’s original form, like a Capri Sun purse or pencil case, or a backpack made out of chip bags. “We have a lot of schools that participate, but anyone can get involved,” Taylor said. “Offices, community groups, anybody can get involved to make a difference.”