TerraCycle is a pioneering upcycling and recycling company which collects non-recyclable trash and repurposes it into new, practical, eco-friendly products. Their line of products includes backpacks, pencil cases, notebooks, messenger bags, lunchboxes, binders, and homework folders as well as items like wine cork corkboards, picture frames, coasters, mp3 boomboxes & more. The trash is collected by student groups at schools across the country. Groups, which are called “Brigades,” can collect trash from juice pouches to chip bags to computer keyboards. They sign up for free, and then send their trash in to TerraCycle for free as well.

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. homework folder lunchbox backpack stereo clip board

Terracycle is one of my favorite companies of all times and Tom Szaky is another living proof that one person can make a huge impact in the world, Terracycle has deviated over 2 billion units of trash from going to landfills, it has donated over $2 million dollars to schools and it has over 23 million people collecting trash! Here's an inspiring interview with Tom, a popular blogger at Treehugger and the face of the National Geographic show Garbage Moguls. What did you want to be when you were a kid? I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. When I was 14, I started a web site design company called Flyte Design, and my interest in entrepreneurship continued to grow from there.

When it comes to recycling, Sharon Sullivan, an educational assistant at Maude Wilkins Elementary School, takes it one step further. She recycles what was once considered unrecyclable and, at the same time, turns a profit for the school. “The students recycle their juice boxes and donate the money to charities,” said Interim Principal Wanda Pichardo. Sullivan, who has been employed at the school for 16 years, said she got the idea after reading about TerraCycle in a magazine.

Vicky Peck has a nickname some might find not so flattering, but she loves it when kids call her the “juice pouch lady” because it means they’re thinking about recycling. And getting kids to think about recycling is the first step. In two years, Peck and the students of Douglas Elementary School have recycled more than 55,000 drink pouches through a nationwide recycling program run by TerraCycle Inc. In return, the school has received $1,105 for enrichment programs, and the students have caught the recycling bug.

In two years, Ms. Peck and the students of Douglas Elementary School have recycled more than 55,000 drink pouches through a nationwide recycling program run by TerraCycle Inc. In return the school has received $1,105 for enrichment programs, and the students have caught the recycling bug.

Westwood has certainly shown its fair share of effort in educating residents on how to be environmentally friendly by engaging in recycling best practices. But the truth of the matter is, not everything can be recycled. That, however, doesn't mean the only other destination for such items is a landfill. Now, thanks to a company known as TerraCycle, these items can be "upcycled".