Cigarette butts are one of the most common kinds of litter, found everywhere from land to waterways. The tobacco and paper in them will break down, so those can be composted.

Schools are in a contest to win a playground made from recycled oral care waste through the second annual Recycled Playground Challenge, sponsored by TerraCycle, Colgate and ShopRite.

In recent times, recycling has practically become a household term. Even in school, children are being educated about the need to recycle, conserve and preserve. However, even with this increased awareness, statistics show that the U.S. alone produces approximately 230 million tons of waste every year, and not even half of it makes it to the recycling stage.

Spring is finally here and the weather this weekend was incredible with more sunny days projected here in Massachusetts for the rest of the week. To celebrate, we cracked open The Naked Grape’s 3L boxed cabernet.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. This simple mantra that most people have heard for years was truly taken to heart at Oliver Beach Elementary School, whose students won a picnic table made from recycled plastic for their participation in the Entenmann's Little Bites Pouch Brigade recycling program.

As much as the forces of public health have tried to change it, more than one in five Maine adults still smokes. And only about 10 percent of smokers’ cigarette butts find their way into appropriate receptacles, according to the nonprofit Keep America Beautiful.

His story sounds like a frat-house comedy, in which a shaggy-haired Princeton kid discovers the recipe for totally awesome pot, and turns the idea into a business. His secret: fertilizer made from worm poop.

While fundraising is an essential for nonprofits, charities and local schools across the country, it can be particularly challenging to raise funds in today’s environment—but there are ways around the problem. It doesn’t help that Americans are donating 8 percent less today than they were in 2007, before the recession, and many schools faced with budget cuts are feeling the brunt of the decline.

A school in Southington is in the running for a new playground. For more information about the challenge, visit Terracycle's website here.  

The Drink Pouch Brigade—offered by Capri Sun and TerraCycle—rewards participants and their schools with points and cash donations for collecting drink pouches. Hazelwood Elementary School in Washington did just that, using money generated through collecting drink pouches to help counteract school-wide funding cuts.