NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Clean Water Project is working to clean up cigarette butts from the streets of downtown Nashville. “Cigarette butts are the number one most polluted item in the world,” said Mark Thien. “It's the most littered item here in Nashville, as well.” The organization has teamed up with global company TerraCycle to recycle cigarette butts from the Nashville area. “It's actually a free program to participate in. The only cost is pulling out a used box out of the waste stream that you would typically be sending to the dump, or through your recycling program,” Thien. Nashville Clean Water Project provides the postage each month to send the cigarette butts to TerraCycle. Two of downtown Nashville’s biggest venues have signed on to the project. The Nashville Predators began collecting butts at Bridgestone Arena in February. “I believe they've shipped off somewhere just short of a hundred pounds of cigarette butts, which, pound for pound, there's about 1,000 cigarette butts per pound,” according to Thien. Music City Center has only collected cigarette butts for a month and the convention center has already generated 10,000 butts for the program. Thien said the reason behind his organization’s push to collect cigarette butts comes because of the environmental threat they pose to the area’s waterways. “At the first rainfall, those butts are going straight into our rivers and creeks, and the Cumberland River, as well,” said Thien. Once TerraCycle receives the collected butts, the company transforms the waste. “The filters are mixed with the recyclable plastic, then it's injection molded into shipping pallets,” explained Thien. The group is trying to recruit more companies and organizations to collect cigarette butts and recycle them. Anyone interested can send an email to butts@NashvilleH2o.org to get more information.

A baby's first smile is a moment to treasure. Keeping that grin healthy makes parents smile, too. Tom's of Maine, the leading natural oral care brand, is offering parents a new natural Toddler Training Toothpaste to help start good brushing habits with no artificial flavors, sweeteners, preservatives or dyes. Tom's of Maine Toddler Training Toothpaste gently and effectively cleans tiny teeth and gums with ingredients derived solely from plants and minerals.  Safe if swallowed and fluoride-free, the formula also contains no gluten, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate. "As a new parent, the amount of choices you need to make about what goes in or on your baby's body can be overwhelming," said Lindsey Seavey, brand manager at Tom's of Maine. "But it's also a time filled with possibility where even the smallest of decisions can make a difference, especially in the early years when you want to give your child the best start. We believe a natural toothpaste can be one step towards creating a healthy daily routine." A baby's daily oral care routine begins sooner than you may think. The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives recommends beginning brushing as soon as a child's baby teeth begin to appear through the gum surface.  To help make brushing easier, Tom's of Maine Toddler Training Toothpaste has a mild fruit flavor to please babies and toddlers and a no-mess nozzle parents will appreciate. Tom's of Maine natural Toddler Training Toothpaste is available now at retailers nationwide for a suggested retail price of $3.99. The new introduction rounds out the Tom's of Maine children's natural oral care portfolio, which includes options that evolve with the needs of growing families such as Silly Strawberry toothpaste (ages 3-7 years), Juicy Mint anticavity rinse (ages 6 years and up) and the recently introduced Wicked Cool! toothpaste (ages 8 years and up). The Tom's of Maine Toddler Training Toothpaste tube is recyclable through the Tom's of Maine TerraCycle collection Program, which gathers toothpaste tubes as well as a wide array of personal care product packaging and recycles them into useful products like picnic tables and park benches to prevent waste from reaching landfills. The company gives 10% of profits back to helping communities across the country and supports access to oral care for children across the nation.

Many of my invitations to TerraCycle are met with strong, no-thank-you affirmations, "I already recycle." "I've been recycling my entire life" (with a clear implication that the time is longer than I have been alive). A recycler is already traveling the right road to becoming a TerraCycler, but every single person may engage in TerraCycling and, for many reasons, it's not the same as recycling. One reason I would like to focus on is the concept of ZERO WASTE! A trash item sent to TerraCycle is fully re—used, recycled, re—purposed, or upcycled with no waste—nothing incinerated, nothing dumped into the earth, nothing permitted to quagmire into aquatic imbroglios. TerraCycle is committed to eliminating global waste by taking anything bound for a landfill and turning it into a functional new product—from back packs to park benches, cereal bags to building materials, fence posts to writing instruments, TerraCycle is changing the way the world sees trash and benefitting not-for-profits in the process. Beauty and personal care cases, containers, dispensers, tubes and bottles from items such as lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, shampoo and conditioner, bronzer, foundation, body wash, hand soap, lotion, shaving foam, powder, body lotion/cream, lip balm/gloss, face soap, face lotion, concealer; Brita pitchers, dispensers, bottles, faucet systems, all filters and packaging; standard cell phones, smart phones, and iPhones; cereal bags and plastic cereal bag liners; individual and large/outer flexible cheese packaging found on items such as shredded cheese, string cheese, individual slices, solid cheese blocks, deli—style sliced cheese and other large cheese packaging; extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling papers, ash; dairy tubs, seals, and lids from items such as yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, butter and margarine, whipped topping, pudding, plastic ice cream tubs and lids; plastic diaper packaging, wipes outer plastic packaging, and individual wipes packaging; aluminum and plastic drink pouches, and baby food and drink pouches; laptop, tablet, e-reader, Ipod, MP3 player, camera, digital camera, camcorder, GPS unit, and graphing calculator e-waste; baby and toddler food pouches and caps; Elmer's glue sticks, bottles, and caps; any foil-lined energy bar wrappers, granola bar wrappers or protein bar wrappers; Entenmann's plastic pouches; tubs, lids, and seals from all hummus containers; all inkjet cartridges and many toner cartridges; plastic trays and lids, plastic film, outer wrapping, and packaging; all individual, multi—pack and family size snack bags; all No. 6 rigid cups; plastic tape dispensers and cores; all toothpaste tubes with caps, toothbrushes, toothbrush and toothpaste packaging, and floss containers; pens and pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers and marker caps, highlighters and caps, permanent markers and caps. Are you one of the people collecting TerraCycle items? Does your fridge magnet, office desk, or church bulletin have a current list of TerraCycle brigades? If not, why not? Easier to let someone else take the responsibility? As I challenged in this column last week, let's go beyond easy! Add your name, church, business or organization to the growing list of TerraCyclers! To check out what trash TerraCycle can take, review the details and pictures at www.CoyoteHowlingShopForaCause.com, or visit Coyote Howling and learn how to take your trash back from the landfills and use it to fund meals for children. Coyote Howling's designated nonprofit: Feed My Starving Children. Tonya Huber, PhD, is founder and owner of Coyote Howling Shop for a Cause Contact her at CoyoteHowlingNM@gmail.com 575-808-8320.

Sustainability is quickly becoming less of a consideration and more of a necessity for corporate entities and industries in the United States. This means putting an increased focus on efficiency through sustainability and alternative solutions, resulting in less operational waste. For cleanrooms and laboratories, this can also mean safer working environments and an increase in employee morale due to the corporate commitment that many companies are making. Despite many corporations taking a fresh look at ways to become greener, sustainability can be difficult to manage for facilities dealing with hazardous materials and other contaminates. The disposal of things like safety garments and protective gloves, for instance, has been a challenging issue due to the sheer volume of these items that are consumed. The traditional disposal option for items like these is the garbage, where they eventually end up in a landfill. While landfilling is one of the cheapest disposal methods, hazardous leachate may seep into the groundwater; plus, the synthetic polymers in protective clothing and gloves will not degrade over time in a landfill. Some consider incineration to be a more sustainable option, though massive quantities of greenhouses gases and pollutants are released into the air using this method of destruction. The ideal option for things like disposable garments and gloves is recycling. However, recycling rates in the United States are still dismally low: only about four percent¹ of the hazardous waste and 34.7 percent of the municipal solid waste² was recycled in 2011. Items made of multiple components, such as synthetic fiber garments with protective linings, are even more difficult and expensive to recycle as each component must be separated and recycled individually. The traditional approach to recycling (through municipalities) does not work in this scenario because the cost of collecting, sorting, and processing materials is greater than the value of the recycled output. For this reason, more and more corporate entities are beginning to focus on non-traditional recycling options to solve for their waste streams. For example, Kimberly-Clark Professional (KCP) started a large-scale recycling program, called RightCycle, for cleanroom garments and nitrile gloves. The program allows cleanroom staff to collect their used garments, boot covers, hairnets, nitrile gloves, and other related items for recycling. These waste items are stored in on-site collection boxes which are organized onto pallets.  These sites coordinate pick-ups with their back-end recycling partner, TerraCycle. Photo: Kimberly-Clark ProfessionalSince the end of 2011, the RightCycle program has diverted more than 182,000 pounds of KCP garments and gloves from landfills, a testament to how viable programs like these can be. The company’s larger goal is to keep all of their manufacturing waste from landfills by 2015.  For context, its Global Nonwovens Division is already diverting 99 percent of manufacturing waste from landfills. All of the garments and nitrile gloves collected through the RightCycle platform are pelletized and used to replace virgin plastics in the manufacturing process. Some of the products that TerraCycle is able to create from the recycled garments and gloves are things like industrial pallets, recycled plastic lumber, and Adirondack chairs. By being repurposed instead of landfilled, the materials retain some of their value as a new raw material. Programs like this one are setting the benchmark for take-back options, making work environments more environmentally responsible while helping to achieve overall strides in sustainability.

Burroughs Elementary School in Fresno received more than $2,000 for collecting 18,000 Capri Sun drink pouches to be recycled in TerraCycle's Drink Pouch Brigade contest. The Drink Pouch Brigade program rewards participants for collecting and sending waste to TerraCycle so the waste can be recycled. The program began in September 2013, and participants can win prizes like park benches, recycling bins or even a playground.

(NAPSI)—People around the U.S. are increasingly bringing the “green” back to their neighborhoods. In addition to initiatives like Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) and environmental education through the schools, residents are starting to focus much of their attention on building long-lasting landmarks such as community gardens. The American Community Gardening Association estimates that there are already 18,000 community gardens throughout the country, and for good reason. According to Minnesota nonprofit Green Matters, community gardens decrease crime in urban areas with little vegetation, increase the value of properties in the surrounding area and can help locals save money on food through garden-generated produce. Instead of driving to a distant supermarket for produce or a faraway park for some green space, it’s just a matter of walking over to the nearby garden. The health benefits associated with these gardens show how important open garden spaces can be to otherwise “greenless” urban environments. In 2013, University of Utah researchers found that residents who get involved with community garden projects have recognizably lower body mass indexes than nongardeners, with less chance of being overweight. Not only that, fresh produce from community gardens is less likely to be contaminated with pesticides than other kinds and can be used to teach kids about better nutrition. Organizations such as GrowNYC try to make neighborhood gardens more prevalent. It has already helped establish more than 70 community gardens in New York City, one made with recycled beauty waste with the help of Garnier and recycling company TerraCycle. Initiatives like these not only help establish community gardens in areas with otherwise sparse vegetation, but get the public involved, increase environmental awareness, and educate the community at the same time. Assistant Director Lenny Librizzi shared these tips for getting involved in a community garden. • Look Online—Well-organized community gardens usually have websites or Facebook groups. • Visit—Take a walk through nearby gardens to see which one you’re most drawn to. • Get Your Hands Dirty—Being a member of a community garden is about more than just growing vegetables. All members should expect to help with common areas, composting, watering, or volunteering time.Ê • If At First You Don’t Succeed—Each garden has different rules and management systems. If you don’t feel like you’re gelling with the group, try out another one or consider starting your own. Organizations such as the National Recreation and Park Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture offer grant programs to communities to help fund garden projects. Some companies are also helping. For example, TerraCycle and Garnier will bring another Garnier Green Garden made out of recycled beauty waste to one of five urban areas in the U.S. in a contest decided by a public vote. To vote and learn more, visit www.green.garnierusa.com.

Join us for food and games. Win prizes and hunt for treasure. Use our SCRAPpy spin art machine and contribute to our oversized domino runs, all while supporting the SCRAP DC programs you've come to know and love. Tickets prices are low! -- adults $10, kids $5 (max. $30 per family) More about SCRAP DC: We're a creative reuse nonprofit -- think thrift store aimed at crafty types. After nearly 4 years in DC, we've truly found a home in Brookland, open 5 days a week. This larger space has allowed us to divert 7 tons of materials from local waste streams; offer classes, camps, and parties; and put on seasonal events and art exhibitions. All of this is still 100% volunteer-powered... yet we do have bills to pay. So we're bringing you this fun event to help us keep this good thing goin'! Whether you purchase tickets or make a donation, your tax-deductible contribution will enable current operations to continue running smoothly while we look ahead to add even more. Special Carnival Collection: Bring us clean, dry, empty packaging from your drink pouches and "squeeze-pack" foods for TerraCycle collections! (FYI - You can always drop these off at SCRAP.) - See more at: http://www.weta.org/local/calendar/scrap-dc-summer-carnival-fundraiser-148054#sthash.xvp3NIha.dpuf

Outdoor apparel manufacturer and retailer, The North Face, announced that it has recycled 1.5 million polyethylene bags, or 62,000 pounds of plastic, in the past two years with the aid of upcyclying and recycling company, TerracCycle. The two companies collaborated to create a program called, “The North Face Polybag Brigade,” which was implemented in 25…

A local organization is mixing faith, and recycling. "Well we truly believe that God calls us to care for creation, and part of caring for creation is caring for the earth,” said Karen Neder with Earthkeepers. Karen helped found Earthkeepers back in 2007. It's a group open to any religion, but all with the same mission: to be more environmentally friendly. "As a way for churches in the Quad Cities area to get together and exchange ideas about greening their congregations,” said Karen. And Karen has gone above and beyond to make her church, Trinity Lutheran, a greenhouse of worship. She started by cultivating the crop of her fellow parishioners. Putting up a display teaching what can, and can't be recycled in the church's own recycling program. Karen said sometimes, it's been a challenge. "It's amazingly confusing for people,” she said. But then, just a couple of months ago, Karen took things to the next level. She discovered an online recycling program called Terracycle. “Terracycle is a program that I started here to encourage recycling of non–recyclables," said Karen. It's as easy as taking things that you didn't know you could recycle; makeup, Chapstick, a Brita filter, putting them into a box, and sending them off. "It's a website that you go to and you can join a specific brigade that's sponsored by a company,” said Karen. A brigade is a specific group of items you're recycling. For example, Kraft sponsors a cheese brigade, where you gather empty cheese wrappers. When enough are collected, Karen puts them in a box and ships them off to the company, where they're recycled. And you even get money for doing it. "Whatever you collect, when you send it into Terracycle, they will give you whatever you collect and the points can be turned into a small amount of money for a charity or a school,” said Karen. Karen chose Trinity Lutheran's preschool, Blessed Beginnings. "The response was so great from parents,” said Karen. A one woman show, Karen is merging faith and recycling into a perfect harmony for the future.

According to the latest census, there are roughly three times as many reality TV shows as there are people, so pretty much every job you could possibly imagine has a show. There are shows about the high stakes of baking; programs devoted to the thrilling world of long-haultrucking (which somehow has not had a single episode about meth); series on goldfish caretaking; heck, every other gun shop inAmerica has a show (which is a lot of gun shops). Toddlers in tiaras have their own show as do toddlers who used to wear tiaras. But the reality TV field has been sorely lacking on the green front … until now. Pivot TV is launching Human Resources based on the wacky crew atTerraCycle, a New Jersey-based upcycling company. Breaking into the world of reality TV may seem like a specious victory for the green movement, but it’s a step. So much media portrays environmentalists as fringey weirdos who knit their own formal wear out of svagnum orawkward nerds so in love with ferns they are no longer capable of normal human relationships. It’s nice to see some of our kind given the good old-fashioned reality TV treatment. There are reasons to believe the show will be awesome: One is this beard, which Pivot had the sense to put on TV. So the show is in good hands. And while reality TV can be pretty formulaic, TerraCycle is used to turning old crap into valuable stuff, so maybe they can work their magic with TV. Human Resources premieres on Aug. 8 at 10 p.m. ET on Pivot.