A new initiative by LVC’s Sustainability Committee provides a unique way to upcycle products typically thrown away on campus. TerraCycle creates collection and solution programs for non-recyclable waste, and will be rolled out on campus in time for move in day. Residential Life area coordinator Michael Schoch is spearheading the TerraCycle effort on campus, along with his “green team” of resident assistants, building representatives, and Sustainability Committee members. “The TerraCycle project is another opportunity for LVC to continue to become as sustainable as possible, Schoch said. “It is the team’s hope that we can reduce waste on campus by educating our community about new items that can be upcycled instead of being thrown into general waste. In turn, by simply changing behavior, we will be able to collect points/money and send them off to charities.” Schoch has prior experience with a successful TerraCycle program. During his graduate studies at Millersville University he worked closely with a professor to implement upcyling within a residence hall on campus. “It is my hope to include and encourage the LVC campus community to get involved and contribute to a more sustainable society.”

Yesterday my son threw away a ketchup bottle and a toothpaste tube. The ketchup bottle had another serving it it, about 1 1/2 Tablespoons. I grabbed it and turned it upside down on the counter and used the rest last night. I took the toothpaste tube and showed him how much product was being thrown away. Americans throw away 1 BILLION toothpaste tubes a year, along with shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles. On average, they leave 10% of the product in them. Not only does this waste the earths resources, it wastes your money!

How can you use flip-flops in a new way? One company found the answer. It used about 20,000 old flip-flops to build playgrounds for kids! Those flip-flops would have otherwise ended up in the trash.

With the wide variety of individual-size packaging for food products, creating a portable lunch that will please youngsters’ tastebuds is easier than ever. However, it also causes more waste, which leads to fuller wastebaskets, and eventually, fuller landfills. That’s where the program TerraCycle comes in. The company, headquartered in New Jersey, collects difficult-to-recycle food packaging and turns it into extra money for schools. Three area schools currently are participating in this program: Bad Axe Elementary, Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools and Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic School in Harbor Beach.