TerraCycle: http://www.terracycle.net is a great company doing great things with previously useless trash. They turn Starburst wrappers into messenger bags and chip bags into park benches. And they get those wrappers and bags from community collection brigades and directly from the companies whom might have extra packaging to get rid of. So, the upside is that those items are being kept out of the landfills where they may never decompose at all because of the science behind aerobic and anaerobic digestion.

TerraCycle, a pioneering upcycling and recycling company, offers all types of gifts made from recycled and upcycled items that would have otherwise been thrown out and wasted. Many of their products, including tote bags, coolers, journals/notebooks, corkboards, and jewelry can be great gifts for moms. The tote bags are durable and colorful – perfect for anything from carrying groceries to taking the kids to the beach or park for the day. Coolers, journals and notebooks incorporate plastic packaging from products including Capri Sun and Frito Lay chips. Corkboards are made from wine corks, and could be used to hang up the kids’ schedule or phone messages. Their jewelry is made from recycled silver, which cuts the costs and environmental distress of extraction and processing of precious metals.

It's Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holday that is celebrated throughout the globe, and this Cinco de Mayo this cooking mama is going green. Thats right folks we are talking about recycling and going green in our kitchens. We are familiar with the normal recyclables, but what happens to the products that are considered non-recyclable? It is sent to a landfill and sits and can release toxic gases into the air, and poison our water supply. I had the oppertunity to speak with Megan Yarnell from Terracycle, one of the fastest growing green companies in the world. Terracycle has created a nationwide recycling programs for those items that were previously non-recyclable. They upcycle or recycle products like Lay's potato chip bags, Capri Sun drink pouches, and Mission Foods tortilla bags, they turn them into plastic pelets, or re-purpose them.

TerraCycle is a company I know Mamas will get behind.  We're all doing our part to become a bit greener.  as much as we can I think.  Whether it's packing our kids lunches in more earth friendly packaging or handing down our kids clothes.  We're doing what we can.

If you don’t want to take on DIY projects yourself, you can start a “brigade” and earn points for your group. A school, for example can collect foil juice containers (like Capri Sun packets), ship them to TerraCycle, which will make them into backpacks. Plastic pellets can be reformulated to become lunchbox/coolers, Frito Lay chip bags make the inner lining of a cooler, composite wood can be made from everyday trash, etc. In return, the brigade will earn points and pick a charity for which TerraCycle will translate the points into a contribution. Charities include Covenant House, which provides services to homeless and at-risk youth; Feeding America, a hunger-relief organization; National Wildlife Federation, dedicated to conserving wildlife habitat; Charity: water, which provides safe drinking water to developing countries; and many others. (Details, charities and donations are detailed at www.terracycle.net/points).

Debbie Kozell works with TerraCycle to turn garbage into useful products, and to raise money for the Home and School Association.

Big Rock Elementary has been participating in a program that utilizes many of the items that aren't typically recycled.  TerraCycle, a New Jersey company, pays for the items collected and turns them into a variety of other products.

During the 2010-2011 school year, Big Rock Elementary School students and teachers have raised approximately $150 by collecting items that would normally have been thrown away as trash.

They collected things like foil pouches from their juice drinks and potato chip bags and send them off to a company called Terra Cycle in New Jersey.  The school gets money for the effort.  This year the students have been able to earn almost $200 dollars far.

A great article that the Hungarian business magazine Figyelo ran on TerraCycle and our CEO Tom Szaky.