Reusable, recyled back to school items from Terracycle and Rebinder.

As I was reading Success Magazine one day, I came across a great article on Tom Szaky and Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> . It was such a fun experience to interview Tom.  Be sure to check out their recycling program to see all the cool things they make out of garbage you send them!

While many companies boast of using 100% recycled materials for their paper or cardboard products, there are not many companies who take the extra step in saving the earth by "upcycling" previously non reusable products. TerraCyle is one company that is seeking to change that. TerraCycle's slogan is "outsmart waste" and this is exactly that this company has been doing since its inception nine years ago. Founded by a 19 year old Princeton student <http://www.terracycle.net/about_us> , TerraCycle has been focused on finding ways to upcycle everything from Capri Sun packages to Frito Lay chip bags. Because TerraCycle is an upcycling company, and not a recycling <http://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/607/recycling.html>  plant, the company does not turn juice packages into more juice packages. Instead, old "trash" finds a new life as it is changed into fashion bags, backpacks, fences, and more for a total of 186 upcycled products to date <http://www.terracycle.net/products> . Many of these products can be found for sale in stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, The Home Depot, Office Max, Petco, and Whole Foods Market.  The purpose of upcycling, overall, is to reduce landfill waste by producing products that are even better than the original item; in fact, most of the items used in TerraCycle's upcycling program would normally be considered non-recyclable.

Over the years I have expressed my love of creative recycling. While I do share a large variety of craft projects using trash, no one can certainly make crafts using all of their trash. I discovered a wonderful alternative to crafting with your own trash. You can send it away to be crafted by others. There is an eco-friendly company called TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  that uses certain types of would-be-waste materials to make new products. For example, they take Capri Sun pouches or Frito Lay potato chip bags and make tote bags out of them. They get all of the 'trash' to make their products from individuals and schools all across America as part of their 'trash for cash' fundraising program. They pay any non-profit organization, chosen by the person or team sending in the 'trash', $0.02 for each piece of trash they receive. Voila, you can get cash from your trash!

Students from Scott Elementary School aren't only going green, they're getting green. As if the need to take care of the planet isn't enough, a New Jersey-based company is willing to pay cash for the kids' trash. "So many recyclable and reusable products are sent to landfills, and we are running out of space for our garbage," said Teri Lodesky, teacher and coordinator of Scott Elementary School's environmental club. "A bonus of the program is that TerraCycle pays two cents for every item collected." Founded in 2001, TerraCycle is one of the fastest-growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Its free national collection program pays not-for-profit organizations and schools for their non-recyclable waste materials, like lunch staples Capri Sun drink pouches and Frito-Lay chip bags.

In every residence hall, there are Terracycle bins. Terracycle is an organization that collects wrappers that normally would not be recycled and turns them into eco-friendly products. Ramirez said some of the items they collect are Lays chip bags, Mars candy wrappers, Nabisco cookie wrappers, and foil-lined energy bar wrappers. “Buy products that have wrappers that can be Terracycled, and keep many snack food wrappers out of the trash,” said Kenneth Armstrong, residence life recycling coordinator. You can also purchase eco-friendly school supplies and other items made from Terracycled products on the Terracycle website

Recycling company TerraCycle is making it easy for Americans to start trash cleanup projects. Simply sign up at terracycle.net <http://www.terracycle.net/>  to have collection bags with prepaid return shipping labels mailed to your home or business. Fill them with chip bags, cookie <http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/terracycle_trash_recycle/green_living/191#>  wrappers, drink pouches, and other food-packaging waste and send them back to TerraCycle; the trash will then be “upcycled” into tote bags and pencil cases (you can buy these accessories at Target stores or target.com <http://www.target.com/> ). Thanks to partnerships with food <http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/terracycle_trash_recycle/green_living/191#>  giants like Frito-Lay, Mars, and Nabisco, plus well-known natural brands such as Kashi, Clif Bar, Honest Kids, and Bear Naked, TerraCycle will donate $.02 for every wrapper you collect to the charity of your choice. At the end of last year, volunteers had raised more than $100,000 for public school organizations and groups like the Arbor Day Foundation.

A company founded in 2001 by a 19-year-old Princeton University freshman is increasingly finding a home for "un-recyclable" plastics and bridging the gap between consumers of everyday items like drink pouches and the brand owners that create them. Now, Tom Szaky, a grizzled 28-year-old that was named to Inc. magazine's 30 under 30 <http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060701/coolest-startup.html>  list at 24, and his company, TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  (Trenton, NJ), are reaching out to the plastics industry.

Along comes TerraCycle to provide me with just one more project to consume time and mind. However, this one is good for the planet and contributes to charity as well.  So it can't be all bad to be obsessed, right?  TerraCycle makes eco-friendly products from lots of  different non-recyclable waste materials and these products are quite affordable.  Sure, you can take your plastic, glass and aluminum containers to your local station or leave on your curb to go to the recycler... but what about those potato chip bags, cookie wrappers, tape dispensers?  Now you have a much more attractive alternative to dropping them at the local landfill.  Not only does this help the planet but TerraCycle will "Pay" you for your work by contributing to your charity of choice.  And on top of that, you can purchase these way-cool products from TerraCycle.