The Bluffton Middle School is accepting certain trash for its upcycle program, a recycling-like initiative and fundraiser that earned the school more than $1,750 last year and about $700 so far this year.
Unlike traditional recycling, upcycling, a term first created in 1994, does not break down products to incorporate them into other materials.
Instead, upcycling is designed to essentially change the used product into a new product without breaking it down. Consider these examples from the TerraCycle website.
I had the chance to interview Albe Zakes, the VP of Media for Terracycle, and a founding member. This is such a great interview as Albe tells how Terracycle was started, how they overcame their obstacles and most importantly, how social entrepreneurs should go about making their vision come to life. He explains what ‘up-cycling’ is and how that put TerraCycle on the path to generate millions in sales.
Atlanta (CNN) -- They say one man's trash is another man's treasure and for Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, that couldn't be more true.
His New Jersey-based company is helping millions of people wise-up to waste recycling. But is was a wacky idea that got 29-year-old Szaky started.
"My friends and I were trying to grow some plants and realized worm poop was one of the best fertilizers to feed them," Szaky said, "...and that suddenly started getting me to thinking differently about waste."
“People are missing out on valuable resources because they’re overlooking what in front of them and writing it off because that’s the old habit.”
Tom Szaky
Terra Cycle, Inc.
CEO
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TerraCycle, Inc. is an international upcycling company that takes difficult to recycle packaging and turns it into affordable, eco-friendly products. Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, founded it in 2001. TerraCycle is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over 30 major brands in the U.S. (and in a growing number of other countries) to collect used packaging and products (Frito-Lay chip bags, Mars candy wrappers, Capri Sun and Honest Kids juice pouches, pens, toothbrushes, etc.) that would otherwise be destined for landfills.
TerraCycle repurposes that waste into new eco-friendly materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. The waste is collected through TerraCycle’s Brigade programs, which are free fundraisers that pay schools and non-profits for every piece of waste they collect and return.
After a student told him about TerraCycle, a science teacher signed up the school to collect non-recyclable packaging, starting a school-wide recycling program.
The designers at TerraCycle refer to themselves as "junkies." The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may not recognize job addiction, but after speaking with the company's resident design junkies, it is not hard to imagine withdrawal symptoms on days off. Not simply because the Trenton, New Jersey-based recycling and upcycling firm does eco-friendly work, but because so much of what they do, or fail to do is an exercise in recombinant aesthetics.
This year, bringing green into the fall and winter is easy. While packing lunches as kids head back to school, options for staying eco-friendly and keeping lunch tasty are at your fingertips.
TerraCycle, a pioneering recycling and upcycling company, offers eco-friendly, upcycled and recycled lunchboxes as well as a way to earn money by collecting non-recyclable food packaging such as cookies, chips, and juice pouches.
Once they're done, students can make their own environmental efforts by joining a Brigade, collecting their wrappers and sending them in to TerraCycle to earn money for their school. In addition to the lunchboxes mentioned above, TerraCycle turns the wrappers into eco-friendly backpacks, pencils and notebooks for students to enjoy.
