Money can come from a myriad of sources, but “Dirty Money”? From my recent blog stories you can tell I have a penchant for quirky and fun stories, yet always focusing on repurposing, especially to eliminate waste of all kinds. Well, this time I’m REALLY going to share some stories of companies eliminating the waste of waste – the dirty stuff. Let me warn you, this topic can get “dirty”.

I’m pretty excited to get the chance to not only review a great product but one that does so much more than put a smile on someone’s face on a Holiday morning. I’m reviewing a Drink Pouch Pencil Case from TerraCycle. The  Drink Pouch Pencil Case is not only cute enough to be carried by anyone but it’s made of recycled drink pouches. How neat is that?

Do you ever wonder what ever happens to those billions of empty drink pouches? Terracycle has come up with a fabulous way to reuse them, for making pencil cases. Not only are these cases cute and unique but they are also durable.

In my last post, I discussed the pervasive myth that certain materials are beyond recycling, noting that the only limitations to recycling something are economic in scope; if the recycling process costs more than its output, we consider it garbage. While that’s a sad fact to contend with, there are some surprising ways that some costs and environmental burdens can be reduced to make packaging more recyclable. One of the easier and more common methods is reducing the amount of packaging used altogether, using lighter designs that require less material to produce. Target has felt the pressure, reducing its own packaging by removing plastic lids from Archer Farms yogurts and opting for rubber bands instead of plastic bags to hold pairs of socks.

The idea of moving towards a “Zero Waste” world seems too farfetched for some people on the business end of the spectrum to take seriously. Even so, consumers are starting to value businesses that are more sustainably-minded, beyond simple “greenwashing.” Many skeptics seem to think that this is some idealized, unobtainable goal, when in fact there are very reachable and accessible methods of taking a few beginning steps towards Zero Waste. Plus, consumers aren’t just attracted to companies that generate Zero Waste; they value ones that are putting forth real efforts into making those first few steps to solving their own waste generation problems.

The South Brunswick Senior Center has teamed up with TerraCycle to collect plastic materials as a fundraiser. TerraCycle pays for each article collected as well as postage to mail in the items. The company then “upcycles” the goods into eco-friendly products. Brita pitchers, pitcher filters, water bottles and faucet filters; any brand of potato chip wrappers; and electronics such as cellphones, laptops and ink cartridges will be accepted.

One of the most consistent, unavoidable barriers to recycling is the cost. Layers of infrastructure – from collection to sorting to recycling – need to be navigated, and constant shipping costs emerge every step of the way. Shipping recyclables can be particularly prohibitive, and it all-too-often requires the use of diesel-fuel trucks that, apart from being terrible for the environment, historically cost more to fuel than gasoline. Until battery-powered freighters and trucks become accessible alternatives to gas guzzlers, are there any alternative fuels that might mitigate some of the environmental and economic costs of shipping?

New Jersey Schools Receive Grants to Reduce Waste from the Wrigley Company Foundation. School's Efforts Earn Them Awards with National Wildlife Federation's Eco-Schools USA Program. National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program has teamed up with the Wrigley Company Foundation to help schools engage in recycling and waste reduction efforts through the implementation of the Eco-Schools program. Eight schools in New Jersey participated in the campaign and five have already been awarded the NWF Eco-Schools USA Bronze Award for their efforts in reducing waste in the school.  Since the start of the campaign, 25,460 pounds of waste has been reduced or diverted to recycling.  

Help raise money for the Roseland Farmers Market and Sustainable Roseland as well as helping the environment in general by bringing empty personal care and beauty product containers to the market through the last day of the regular season on Nov. 7.   TerraCycle will give points for each item sent in to them. Simply bring empty containers to the Roseland Farmers Market and drop them off in specially marked boxes at the Farmers Market Committee Booth. Here is what they are accepting: Hair care packaging such as shampoo bottles and caps, conditioner bottles and caps, hair gel tubes and caps, hair spray bottles and triggers and hair paste plastic jars and caps. Skin care packaging such as lip balm tubes, face soap dispensers and tubes, face lotion bottles, tubes and plastic jars, body wash containers, soap tubes and dispensers, body lotion dispensers and bottles, shaving foam tubes (no cans),and hand lotion bottles and tubes. Cosmetics packaging such as lipstick cases, lip gloss tubes, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, bronzer cases, foundation packaging and bottles, powder cases, eyeliner cases, eyeliner pencils, eye shadow tubes, concealer tubes, concealer sticks and lip liner pencils. Aerosol cans, nail polish bottles and nail polish remover bottles are not acceptable.

Consumers have been making it abundantly clear: they want manufacturers to make packaging more recyclable. For us at TerraCycle, a company that recycles materials not typically considered recyclable, this movement towards recyclable packaging formats is, generally speaking, great to see. If one day all packaging were made recyclable on a municipal level, TerraCycle would be happy to close its doors and go out of business. The fact is, however, that a great majority of packaging is still considered unrecyclable by conventional, municipal standards. This brings up a larger question, one that I’ve been focused on for many years since I entered the industry—why do we consider certain materials to simply be “unrecyclable”?