Between September 1 and 11, [city] area residents can recycle used car seats! 34 Target stores across Texas are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to the Target store at [respective address] and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20% off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products.

The Tom’s of Maine “Green Your School Fund” is investing in kids and asking for consumers’ help in determining the most creative environmental projects submitted by educators nationwide by voting daily on greenschoolfund.com through Oct. 17, 2016. More than 250 projects from 40 states were submitted and a panel of judges—musician and actor Kevin Jonas; enterprise editor and senior reporter at The Huffington Post, Kate Sheppard; CEO of TerraCycle, Tom Szaky; 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes; and founder of the I am the Maven blog, Kerri Jablonski—chose the 10 most creative ideas as finalists. The project that receives the most votes will receive $25,000 in funding to turn their project into a reality. Second place and third place winners will receive $15,000 and $10,000 respectively and seven honorable mention projects will receive $2,000 each. The fund is also distributing more than $900,000 to classrooms across the country.

Between September 1 and 11, Tomball area residents can recycle used car seats! 34 Target stores across Texas are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to the Target store at 14302 FM 2920 and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20% off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products.

From Sept. 1 to 11, community members can recycle used car seats at Target. A total of 56 Target stores across Minnesota will host a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through the program will be recycled through TerraCycle. The Maple Grove North Target, 15300 Grove Circle N., is a car seat collection location. Interested residents can look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, they will receive a coupon for 20 percent off the purchase of a new seat. Other nearby Target locations by participating in this recycle effort include: Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Champlin, Coon Rapids, Crystal, Medina, Otsego and Rogers.

MINNEAPOLIS- Looking for a car seat upgrade? Or just want to get rid of your old one? Starting Thursday, September 1st you can donate it. TerraCycle and Target have partnered for a free recycling initiative for your old baby and child car seats at participating stores in Minnesota. All car seat brands are accepted for recycling. In return for recycling your car seat, you will earn a 20% discount on a new car seat.You can find a donation box at the front of the store or in the baby section. Car seats will be accepted until September 11th. There are 56 Target stores in Minnesota participating. To find a location near you, click here.

If “summer cleaning” is at the top of your to-do list, you’ll find all sorts of items you can get rid of to make room and give yourself some peace of mind. But during the fervor of freshening up your home, be sure you continue to be mindful of the environment! When it comes to discarding difficult-to-recycle items, sometimes you have to think outside of the garbage bin. Give your “clutter” a second life and consider these seven alternatives: Take Back Programs Take back programs are company or retailer-sponsored initiatives to collect and “take back” old or used products. Instead of an item being lost in a landfill, the company instead takes responsibility for their product waste. Some of these initiatives are brand-specific (think Apple Renew). Others accept items regardless of brand, like cosmetics brand Origins and the Back to Origins recycling program. Generally, individuals can give back or drop off items at a storefront or retail location, sometimes being rewarded for their return in the process. For example, this past Earth Month, TerraCycle partnered up Target to create a free recycling initiative for old baby and child car seats in the Houston area. Every individual who recycled a car seat was rewarded with a 20% discount on a new one purchased at Target. Waste is diverted from landfills, and customers are rewarded for doing the right thing!

Going green pays off in a big way for a New Jersey school. Elementary students in Wood Ridge, New Jersey saved up enough tubes and brushes to earn themselves a brand new playground! And – get this – the playground is constructed of recycled oral care product packaging such as toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and floss containers. Talk about going green!

Each year Colgate, ShopRite, and TerraCycle team up to host the Recycled Playground Challenge as part of the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program.   Schools recycle toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes, toothpaste cartons, toothbrush outer packaging, and floss containers and earn points for each product submitted. The school that earns the most Playground Credits wins a new playground, and the playground is made of that recycled oral care waste. This year’s winner was Catherine Doyle Elementary School in Wood Ridge, NJ, and their new playground will be revealed this fall, according to the Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights Daily Voice. Learn more about the Recycled Playground Challenge and maybe even set up a collection bin  at your dental office or local school.

Tiffany had been planning to eventually overhaul her outdated kitchen anyway, but unexpected flooding caused by burst pipes fast-forwarded the need for renovation. She recruited actor Kat Tingum, a friend and fellow recycling aficionado, to come along on her green makeover adventure. “My job as Chief Design Junkie at TerraCycle fully supports this mentality of reuse and upcycling,” Tiffany told us. “And while my day job (and a lot of my hobbies, too) involve building furniture and accessories, neither Kat nor I had ever done anything involving plumbing, hanging cabinets, or installing large appliances. This was definitely new territory and we both learned a ton!” Tiffany says she tackled her kitchen reno with the same mindset she does for all of her projects, carefully considering how to use as many salvaged materials as possible in an attractive and appealing way. “That’s where pennies, red wagons, old wallpaper, a few buckets of cement, and bucket lids all come into play,” she said. “All of these materials became the building supplies for my new kitchen.” “I am loving my new kitchen and am proud of the fact that it was created from loads of love, sweat, and salvaged materials!” says Tiffany.

Between September 1 and 11, Minnesota residents can recycle used car seats!  56 Target stores across Minnesota are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills.  All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to their local Target store and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section.  When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20% off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products.

Education is at the core of environmentalism. To be able to understand sustainability, environmental issues, and the importance of circular waste solutions is to be conscious of the challenges faced on this planet, and awareness is the first and most important step in creating solutions. The discussion of implementing proactive environmental consciousness starts with our youth, who have the most influence on the trajectory of our eco-infrastructure. How do we effectively educate younger generations on the importance of environmentalism? The challenge is preparing the youth to be active participants in addressing present and future environmental issues. A way to do that is to present environmental stewardship as fun, exciting and accessible. Stimulating, entertaining activities like games, competitions, and workshops bring complex concepts like sustainability and resource conversation down to a level that kids can relate to, empowering them to take action, and inspiring them to teach others to do the same. The NCF-Envirothon, sponsored by the National Conservation Foundation, is a competition that engages students through mental stimulation and the thrill of the chase. As North America's largest high school environmental education competition, this race pits high school students against each other through a series of “field tests,” getting students to solve environmental problems across a variety of categories such as aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use. The winning teams win cash rewards, incentivizing knowledge and awareness of environmental issues and the application of tools available to solve them. Teachers and educators play equally critical roles in paving the way for future generations. One program getting youth involved at all educational levels is the GrowNYC Recycling Champions Program. In partnership with the NYC Department of Education Sustainability Initiative and the NYC Department of Sanitation, this program provides external resources like PowerPoint presentations, set-up and trouble-shooting guides, handouts and signage for use in the classroom and cafeterias to teach students, teachers, and custodians in New York City public schools K-12 about recycling and waste reduction. Blueprints for student activities and faculty development workshops engage and develop at all levels. This type of leadership coming from the public sector allows best practices to be taught to all age groups in the education system, and encourages children to use them in social settings. Even multinational companies are stepping in to invest in the next generation of environmentalists. For years, TerraCycle has partnered with PepsiCo to promote their recycling program built with kids in mind. Structured like a game, PepsiCo’s Recycle Rally engages students K-12 through recycling competitions and prizes for active participants. The program also offers resources such as art projects, educational resources and materials, and progress tracking tools, allowing educators to introduce younger minds to recycling and promote their school’s recycling achievements. With a total of $1 million in prizes awarded to thousands of schools, and 59 million beverage cans and bottles recycled to date, PepsiCo’s impact has been massive, and continues to grow. Organizations and companies putting forth the resources to educate younger generations about sustainability are investing in our future environmentalists. Building better systems and resource infrastructures requires people who understand the importance of reducing waste and being mindful of their carbon footprint, and training kids to care about these issues at a young age will provide that security. The same way that conserving resources now will benefit us in the long run, teaching the value of environmental consciousness to youth in the present will create generations of activists in the future.