By collecting and sending in traditionally non-recyclable packaging that would otherwise be destined for a landfill, churches could earn points toward charity gifts or a cash donation through a new program from TerraCycle.  This free to join program is open to any individual or Christian school/church, and all shipping costs are pre-paid. Churches like St. Michael Lutheran Church in Greenville S.C., North Moreland Christian Baptist Church in Wheelersburg, Ohio, and St. Joseph Church in Dexter, Mich. collect a variety of items such as drink pouches, cereal bags, toothbrush tubes and toothbrushes, and cosmetic packaging.  These programs are made possible through TerraCycle’s partnerships with Capri Sun, Malt-O-Meal, Colgate and Garnier. Some religious organizations have enjoyed incredible fundraising success through TerraCycle’s Brigade program.  In just three years, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia earned over $6,000 though the program.  Last summer, the Hickory Church of Christ in Hickory, North Carolina won the Kraft Cheese Barbecue Bash to earn prizes and a $2,500 donation – doubling the money they had already earned through the Brigade program. “The money we earn through the TerraCycle Brigade program goes to our food pantry,” said Tracie Perkins, the Brigade coordinator at Hickory Church of Christ.  “Our members collect wrappers at home and from coworkers, neighbors and even local businesses.” You can learn more about TerraCycle’s Brigade programs by visiting www.terracycle.com.

Since 2007, TerraCycle has used innovative processes to recycle consumer packaging waste that would otherwise be destined for landfills. Now they are honing in on the world of beauty. Professionals in the industry regularly transform clients, but now they can transform their businesses into a zero-waste establishment.

SUSTAINABILITY PIONEER:L’Oreal USA – Garnier for its beauty brigade program, which diverts beauty packaging from landfills. Working with Terracycle, the program has collected 2.5 million pieces of packaging waste and upcycled it into new products.

The winner is L’Oreal USA - Garnier for its beauty brigade programme which diverts beauty packaging from landfill. Working with Terracycle, the programme has collected 2.5 million pieces of packaging waste and upcycled it into new products.

TerraCycle works with Garnier to offer a 100% free program that allows salons to collect most beauty product packaging regardless of brand! There are few limitations (no aerosols please) so check out www.terracycle.com/brigades to see the Beauty Brigade and other free recycling programs.

Through an exclusive partnership with TerraCycle, a company that specializes in recycling post-consumer waste and a driving force behind environmental action, Garnier provided a comprehensive solution to personal care and beauty packaging waste.

Our next drop off date for TerraCycle is Saturday, October 5 from 8-noon at the Habitat Office! Here is just one example of what you can drop off - no sorting required!

The issue of sustainability never seems to be far from the minds of cosmetics manufacturers, and L’Oreal USA’s latest green goal has been realized as its Garnier subsidiary develops the first community garden made from non-recyclable post-consumer beauty waste.

The Garnier Green Garden has been implemented in partnership with recycling firm TerraCycle and GrowNYC, a firm that sets up environmental programs, as part of the beauty brand’s long-term goal to find greener, more sustainable solutions for beauty care products. "We're thrilled to have created a program that has the capacity to impact the quality of life for an entire community," said David Greenberg, President of Maybelline New York-Garnier-Essie. "Our commitment to sustainability isn't just about keeping packaging waste from personal care and cosmetics products out of landfills, but it's also about reusing that waste and providing a foundation for greener living." The beauty waste to be used was collected by Garnier's Personal Care and Beauty Brigade Program, a free fundraising effort that pays for every piece of waste collected and returned to TerraCycle. Waste not, want not The collected beauty waste, which would otherwise be destined for landfills, consists of non-recyclable hair care, skin care and cosmetic packaging that have since been recycled by TerraCycle to create many of the plastic components being installed in the new garden. The garden is located at 237 East 104th Street, and is estimated to yield 1,500 pounds of vegetables a year. Garnier spokesperson Bridget Moynahan was presented for the ground-breaking ceremony and activities, as well as representatives from Garnier, L'Oreal USA, TerraCycle, and GrowNYC. "We are pleased to partner with our like-minded friends at Garnier who are providing the support needed to restore this community hub for all Harlem residents,” says Marcel Van Ooyen, Executive Director of GrowNYC. "Through the Personal Care and Beauty Brigade, the garden will be a permanent testament to the impact recycling can have on a community and in our world," adds Tom Szaky, TerraCycle CEO.

TerraCycle started in 2001 as a simple organic fertilizer company. Founder Tom Szaky, then a freshman at Princeton University, saw an opportunity to use discarded food scraps from the cafeteria to make a product that had value. He fed the leftovers to an army of worms to harvest worm compost, or Worm Poop as it became fondly known, a completely organic, ultra-effective fertilizer. With no money to buy packaging, Tom bottled the liquid fertilizer in used soda bottles collected from recycling bins, unwittingly creating the world’s first product made from AND packaged entirely in waste. The idea of using would-be waste material to make new products grew. Today, TerraCycle partners with major consumer goods manufacturers such as Kraft Foods, Frito-Lay, Mars, Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oreal, Method and many more to collect almost 50 kinds of non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle packaging, such as drink pouches, chip bags, candy wrappers, toothpaste tubes, cosmetics and household cleaner packaging. For each piece of waste sent to TerraCycle through this Brigade program, the collector earns points that can be put toward charity gifts or converted to cash and paid to any school or non-profit. The programs are completely free to join and all shipping costs are pre-paid. The collected material is upcycled or recycled into a wide range of consumer products. By using some of the millions of pieces of packaging that go to landfill every year to make innovative consumer goods, TerraCycle hopes to reduce the need to use virgin materials and show the world it is more sustainable and profitable to use waste as a raw material. Since 2007, more than 90,000 locations and 29 million people have gotten involved in the Brigade program and are helping to collect trash in homes, schools, offices and community buildings across the country. More than 2.5 billion pieces of pre- and post-consumer packaging have been collected and over $4.5 million has been donated to schools and non-profits. For more information, please visit: TerraCycle.com and TerraCycleShop.com

Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and author of "Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle is Redefining Green Business," will be a featured speaker April 18 during Penn State’s Earth Days. TerraCycle collects trash and turns it into reusable items.