No one does it better than Park Forest Elementary School. Recycling, that is. CDT employee mugshot Britney Milazzo on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Christopher Weddle CDT photo And there’s proof. Principal Donnan Stoicovy and four former students, who are heading into sixth grade, made a trip to Washington, D.C., last week to pick up an award for their efforts on a schoolwide recycling and sustainability program. 4 PFE students given the President’s Environmental Youth Award Adam Cooper, Adam Lieb, Robert Rothrock and Elijah Snyder were recipients of the President’s Environmental Youth Award for their leadership in helping their school become a zero-waste facility. “I was really excited that me and my friends had won this award,” Elijah said. “I really care about the future of the Earth, and the recycling we do at PFE will improve that future. In Washington, it was really cool to see that there are a lot of other people working toward the same goal.” Stoicovy said Park Forest Elementary students and staff diverted 85 percent of their school’s waste from landfills and cut its waste bill by about half. “It’s been a passion of mine for a long time, but I don’t want to take all the credit for it,” Stoicovy said. “It’s a full-school effort, and we’re even getting a lot of help from parents and the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority.” Adam Lieb said the project started about three years ago with recycling in individual classrooms. “Then we would take these items to the sorting center, one on each floor,” he said. “From there we would divide all the recyclables into the correct containers, which reduced what was sent to the landfill.” The project grew from there. Plant Supervisor Danny Gill made a small version of a waste station in the school’s cafeteria. Stoicovy said the contraption was made from an old waste station from the recycling department at Penn State. Gill cut it down to a smaller size so it was useable for elementary-aged students. The school also works with TerraCycle — a New Jersey-based recycling company that rewards its customers for reducing waste.

January may mark the first month of the Western calendar, but for many (including myself), the August and September months truly punctuate the New Year.  Students, parents of students, and anyone who was ever either or both of these can relate: Back-to-school season is a time for new beginnings, and this too often means new "stuff." Now is a prime time to reevaluate your habits, schedule, and routine as they relate to your mission to live your best life with minimal impact on the environment.  A more sustainable routine is something to strive for year-round, but in the spirit of fresh starts, here are four simple ways parents and students alike can go green for back to school: 

1. Mindfully curate your closet.

The beginning of the school year is a great time to make intentional choices when it comes to your wardrobe. Your clothes should reflect your values and express who you are—and that is no trivial topic.   With that being said, your closet purge doesn't have to add to the world's waste problem. On average, every American tosses 82 pounds of textiles a year, which end up in landfills and can take decades to decompose. So instead of trashing your gently used and off-season items, donate them to a nonprofit like Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity; try to sell them at a trade like Crossroads Trading Co. or Brickyard Buffalo; or recycle them if damaged.

2. Recycle old and used binders.

The humble three-ring binder can get overstuffed, scuffed, dented, and otherwise damaged after a year of heavy use. But since binders are often made of vinyl and metal rings, they are not easy to recycle. Instead of tossing your old ones in the landfill, check out my company's Binder Recycling Program. You can can bring any old empty binder to an Office Depot or OfficeMax retail location and receive a $2 instant discount off a same-day binder purchase. Save money and the planet? Win, win!

3. Walk, bike, or carpool whenever possible. If your commute is light enough that you are able to walk or bike to work, consider yourself lucky and take advantage of the opportunity. Ditching your car reduces your carbon emissions, saves you money, and is great for your health.

For those of you who must drive, consider public transport or carpooling. Consolidating trips takes cars off the road, reduces gas consumption, and lowers your individual carbon footprint. As an added bonus, some commuter cities have carpool lanes that lessen the stress of traffic slowdowns.

4. BYOL (Bringing Your Own Lunch). When it comes to fueling your hustle, bringing your own lunch directs your energy and resources in the most effective way. By packing your own lunches and snacks, you are connecting to your food and creating a mindful routine. Be sure to bring your lunch in BPA-free plastic and glass containers, alongside reusable cutlery.

The free event allows people to bring in their old strings for recycling "and get their electric or acoustic guitars restrung for free," according to a press release.

Among musicians, D’Addario is a household name as it has been manufacturing instrument strings for over three centuries. Its factory in Long Island, USA, operates ‘around the clock’ to create 700 000 strings per day. Now the company has launched the world’s first-ever collection scheme for used strings called “PlayBack” to make sure all of them are properly recycled. More than 2.6 million guitars were purchased in the USA last year, representing over US$ 1 billion in sales revenues. Meanwhile, no less than 1.5 million pounds (approaching 700 tonnes) of instrument strings are dumped in American landfills on an annual basis. ‘That is as much as two and a half Statues of Liberty,’ D’Addario comments. And yet, municipal recycling systems in the USA do not accept instrument strings because of the metals and alloys from which they are made. The good news is that D’Addario’s collection scheme, which covers strings of all possible instruments, has amassed almost 70 000 strings from across the USA. This is still well short of the manufacturer’s objective of 300 000 by the end of this year. However, D’Addario has teamed up with recycled products pioneer TerraCycle and remains optimistic about hitting its target. Eco Points The Playback programme awards consumers with so-called Players Circle points for every quarter pound (113.4 grams) of strings handed in, a weight equivalent to six sets of acoustic guitar strings, seven sets of electric guitar strings or two sets of bass guitar strings. These points can be redeemed against purchases of new strings, plectrums or other music-related merchandise in the company’s online shop. Alternatively, customers have the option of donating their strings to raise money for the company’s charity, the D’Addario Foundation, which helps fund musical activities in underprivileged communities throughout the USA.

Fortune Magazine has for the second year published its ‘Change the World’ ranking of 50 companies tackling major world problems. Top of the list is pharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), for its drug pricing strategy and local reinvestment programmes in the developing world. Following GSK are Israeli desalination company IDE Technologies, and General Electric, which has to date invested $17 billion in clean tech R&D through its Ecomagination strategy. Fortune’s aim is to identify companies creating “scalable positive change that’s brought about by business investment”, rather than CSR or philanthropy programmes. The new ranking is markedly different from last year’s – the 2015 leaders Vodafone, Google and Toyota do not appear anywhere in this year’s top 50. But Fortune says the list is a good predictor of business performance, with last year’s publicly-traded constituents having made a 16.6% median return since publication. Fortune says smaller “on the cusp” companies to watch in the years ahead include home-decor company West Elm, recycling firm TerraCycle, and retailer H&M, for its circular economy efforts. (Fortune)

As a genre, reality television has a bad rap. A so-called “guilty pleasure” in many circles, top of mind here are the dating shows, cabin fever-fueled competitions, and the observational fly-on-the-wall brand of reality that has turned regular people into celebrities.

There are tons of coupons and deals available for Back to School Shopping, and plenty of other tips and tricks to save on school supplies, new clothing, laptops and more. But here's something you may not have tried: trading in gently used school supplies or clothing for store credit or even cash. This is an eco-friendly way to upgrade your kids' supplies without going over budget. Wondering which stores offer credit towards recycled school supplies?

• TerraCycle.com lets you send in items such as binders, writing utensils, glue sticks, scissors and more for points that can be redeemed for cash.

TerraCycle (U.S.) This Trenton company runs recycling programs for major corporations, turning seemingly unrecyclable goods—Brita filters, cigarette butts, Sharpie pens—into finished products or salable plastics. The $18.8 million business operates in 20 countries and boasts clients like L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, and Colgate.

In my house it seems like back to school also means back to paying more attention to your personal hygiene. My 10-year old daughter actually asked me to "smell her breath" before heading off to school this morning. I about fell to the floor in shock.

In marketing communication, there is what is called the “Advertising Rule of 7.” An old adage of standard marketing, this is in reference to effective frequency, or the number of times it is thought necessary for a consumer to see or hear a message before they take action.