Say good-bye to juice boxes, water bottles, and canned drinks in your kids lunches. If you DO happen to get any of those drinks made with drink pouches, have your kids bring the pouches home so you can participate in the
TerraCycle, Capri Sun™ and Honest Kids™ Brigade!
We were recently awarded the opportunity to start a
TerraCycle Brigade with
Capri Sun that was the answer to our prayers on getting something started in school for not only my husband’s students, but for the whole school!
TerraCycle is going to turn your trash into KME's cash! These are all the items we are collecting.
TerraCycle is a company renowned for turning trash into treasure. Here's an inside look at the graffiti-clad warehouse in Trenton, N.J. where much of the upcycling magic happens.Late last week, I had the pleasure of touring the Trenton, N.J. offices of
TerraCycle, a “waste solution development” firm with the most admirable mission to "eliminate the idea of waste."
Unfamiliar with TerraCycle? Well, if you’ve ever seen or owned a
tote bag made from Dorito wrappers, a
coupon holder made from tortilla packaging, or a
Christmas tree skirt made from Capri Sun pouches, chances are that it came from TerraCycle. And, of course, there’s the company’s signature product, launched in 2001 by vermicomposting Princeton student-turned-eco-entrepreneur
Tom Szaky: liquefied
worm poop plant fertilizer packaged in recycled plastic two-liter soda bottles.
In addition to liquefied worm poop and trashy handbags, TerraCycle offers dozens upon dozens of additional consumer products made from
recycled and
upcycled materials ranging from
plastic lumber lawn furniture to
M&M’s wrapper kites. (More provocative prototype designs such as
wall clocks made from pregnancy tests and picture frames made from cigarette butts do exist, but don’t expect to find them on the shelves at your local Target ... at least, yet). Of the mostly pre-consumer waste collected by TerraCycle (more on that in a bit), 95 percent is recycled, 4 percent is upcycled, and 1 percent is reused. To date the company has collected over 2,432,696,434 units of waste.
So how does TerraCycle amass all the raw materials for their products? As mentioned, a majority is sent to TerraCycle as pre-consumer waste by various companies. The rest of it — the hard/impossible to recycle post-consumer waste that many folks end up tossing in the garbage — is largely collected through the company's popular
Brigades program. Most, but not all, Bridgades have
point-raising incentives and are often instituted as fundraising schemes at schools and nonprofit organizations. Alternately, the points earned through collecting waste and sending it to TerraCycle can also be used towards charitable contributions. TerraCycle Brigades span across a wide range of categories usually paired with a corporate sponsor:
Fllip-flops,
toothbrushes,
chip bags, wine pouches,
Solo cups,
printer cartridges,
energy bar wrappers, and the list goes on and on. Most recently, the company launched a
Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade, which also entails a
sweepstakes.
Giveaway ends on August 22nd at 11:59 PM. Open to US residents only. Ages 18+.
Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter to win, daily entry available by tweeting!
TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. Capri Sun – Honest Kids juice pouches can be recycled by Terracycle as can Candy Wrappers, Starbucks Coffee bags, Zip Loc Bags, pens, Cookie Wrappers, Colgate toothpaste, and more. Yes this is more involved, so try to get your local community or school involved.
Juice Bags: Ordinary juice bags are a combination of aluminum and plastic polymer which can’t be recycled. But don’t toss them in the trash – gather them up and send them to your favorite charity. Here’s the deal with that: TerraCycle will donate 2 cents for every Honest Kids, Capri Sun and Kool-Aid drink bag – and and they’ll donate a penny for every other brand. Plus they provide free shipping. TerraCycle turns old juice bags and pouches into colorful purses, totes and pencil cases. See them yourself at Walgreens, Target or teracycle.net.
Juice Bags: Unfortunately, common juice bags are a combination of plastic polymer and aluminum, which isn’t recyclable. But don’t throw them away – collect them and send them to your favorite charity. TerraCycle will donate 2 cents for every Capri Sun, Kool-Aid and Honest Kids drink pouch – and a penny for every other brand. Not only that, they provide free shipping. TerraCycle turns old juice bags and pouches into hip and colorful purses, totes and pencil cases. Check them out yourself at Target and Walgreens, or at teracycle.net.
Juice Bags: Made of a combination of plastic polymer and aluminum, common juice bags aren’t recyclable. But don’t throw them in the garbage – collect them and mail them to your favorite charity. TerraCycle will donate 2 cents each for every Capri Sun, Kool-Aid and Honest Kids drink bag – and they’ll also donate a penny for any other brand. Not only that, they will provide free shipping. TerraCycle transforms old juice bags and pouches into colorful hip purses, totes and even pencil cases. See them for yourself at most Target stores, Walgreens, or at teracycle.net.
