When it comes to our kids teeth we want the best and safest product available. That’s why we trust Tom’s of Maine to bring all of our family these great products and I love that 10% of Tom’s of Maine’s profits go back to human and environmental goodness. This is a brand that we can feel good about purchasing for our own well being and know that they care about all of our well being too. Here is some information I received about this great product.

Let their first healthy habit come naturally. New parents want to know what’s inside their child’s first toothpaste. At Tom’s of Maine we think little ones deserve an oral care routine that is free from artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors and preservatives present in many conventional toothpastes. The new Tom’s of Maine natural Toddler Training Toothpaste gives parents an effective natural option for children 3-24 months. Safe if swallowed, the new fluoride-free gel toothpaste gently cleans tiny teeth and gums and is free of sodium lauryl sulfate and gluten. Its appealing mild fruit flavor and no-mess nozzle makes brushing with this tooth paste hassle-free.

* No animal testing or animal ingredients * The Packaging recyclable through TerraCycle in the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade * Available at tomsofmainestore.comand health and specialty stores.

Don’t forget to enter below because Tom’s of Maine is giving away one tube of toddler training toothpaste to one of our lucky readers!

Dive Brief:

• TerraCycle has partnered with Recycle Across America and Participant Media to create standardized messaging for public recycling receptacles throughout the U.S. The goal of the revamped images is to increase the amount of materials diverted from landfills.
• The intention of the new labeling system is to aid the public in understanding exactly what types of materials are acceptable to discard in waste and recycling containers.
• The newly-designed labels have found their way to 2,000 schools across the country, and were also placed on bins in Europe and Canada. Corporations are also taking part, using the stickers on company receptacles to help employees distinguish what materials correspond to the proper bin. A total of 5,000 labels have been distributed so far.

Dive Insight:

The intiative, called “Recycle Right,” also provides tips and an informational video used to help the public increase their awareness of recycling. Part of the launch of the labeling system includes a new comedy show: “Human Resources,” created on behalf of Participant Media, features a storyline about a company in New Jersey that makes it a goal to reduce waste worldwide. The show begins running on August 8, 2014, on the Pivot Channel. The standardization effort is not without precedent. In November 2013, the state of Vermont released a new series of waste and recycling symbols. Officials said the purpose behind the new labeling system was to promote a consistent and easily-identifiable image for consumers. The goal of the project is to increase recycling and reduce waste.

BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City has been educating children for two years, but it's missing one thing: a playground. The school, which opened in September 2012, has not been able to get funding for a playground, but that might change soon. With the help of ShopRite and Colgate, TerraCycle is currently running its Recycled Playground Challenge, an online contest for schools in the Mid-Atlantic region throughJune 30. The eight runner-up schools will receive various prizes from Colgate and ShopRite. TerraCycle collects and recycles typically hard-to-recycle waste and turns it into new, innovative products. BelovED has been leading the contest, but parents, teachers and students are doing all they can to make sure it stays that way. "We're doing all we can through this last week to make a final push to make sure we win," said Parent Teacher Organization President, Elijiah Wells. Wells said BelovED, which is located on Grand Street just west of the New Jersey Turnpike, has held a two-month campaign surrounding the contest for the playground, including a YouTube video. His 8-year-old twin daughters, Amira and Kayla, were out with their dad Thursday morning handing out fliers to commuters at the Journal Square PATH station. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop stopped by to lend his support. "In times of tough budget situations, we need to find ways to supplement money and resources," said Fulop. "This costs tax payers nothing -- just a vote." "It's not seen as a necessity," added Bret Schundler, the former Mayor of Jersey City and supporter of BelovED. Schundler, who also passed out fliers last week, said that after funding school necessities, there's not much left in the budget for a playground. The students have been using a park near the school to play and a blacktop area at the school, but having a playground is the ultimate goal. "We've been trying to get a playground since we opened," said physical education teacher John Taylor. Another way schools can gain "playground credits" or contest points is by sending in empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and floss containers to TerraCycle. One credit will be added for each shipment. The winning school will be announced on July 18 and the playground will be installed during the back-to-school season of the 2014-2015 school year. Click on the following link to vote for BelovED: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/colgateshopriteplayground.html

TerraCycle Inc. is working with two other organizations to increase recycling and improve the economics of sustainable packaging and manufacturing. The Trenton, N.J.–based recycling firmTerraCycle is partnering with nonprofitRecycle Across America, which has developed a standardized labeling system for recycling bins, and Participant Media, an entertainment company that has launched the television show “Human Resources” on its Pivot network. The program, which premieres Aug. 8, follows the efforts of TerraCycle to eliminate waste. It inspired the recycling effort, called the Recycle Right! campaign, according to anews release. The Recycle Right! Campaign offers informational videos, tips and practical solutions to increase recycling. The label standardization will be the centerpiece of the project. The campaign aims to double the amount of standardized labels used by the end of the year to one million.

There’s a new campaign under way to help standardize messaging on public recycling containers in an effort to boost the amount of material, including plastics, diverted from landfills. TerraCycle, known for its work in finding new life for hard-to-recycle materials, is working with non-profit group Recycle Across America and Participant Media in a program to distribute standardized recycling labels in the United States. The hopes are that standardized messaging will boost recycling rates. As part of the Recycle Right campaign, the standardized recycling labels are designed to boost recycling rates by providing a clear message about what is accepted at each container. News of the campaign comes as TerraCycle is promoting the debut of “Human Resources,” which is described as “a half-hour comedy that documents the nonstop, deadline-driven world of TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company whose mission is to eliminate waste on a global scale.” The show debuts Aug. 8 on the Pivot channel, which is part of Participant Media. The Recycle Right campaign also includes informational videos, tips and what organizers calls practical solutions, including the standardized labels, to help boost recycling. RAA Founder Mitch Hedlund, in a statement, had this to say about the labels. “It’s a deceivingly simple solution that creates exponential progress, and I think we’re all ready for some progress.” Use of the stickers already has taken hold at 2,000 schools in the United States, including all public schools in Washington, D.C. Companies including Hallmark, Kohler, NBCUniversal, Procter & Gamble and SanDisk also are using them. Estimates are that approximately 500,000 of the labels already are in place in the United States, Canada and Europe. The goal is to double that amount by the end of the year. More information about the cost of the labels as well as the upcoming television show is available atwww.takepart.com/humanresources.

This is a result of the Yahoo! Finance story. TerraCycle on RADKFWB_06-10-2014_14.22.17

By collecting and sending in traditionally non-recyclable packaging that would otherwise be destined for a landfill, churches could earn points toward charity gifts or a cash donation through a new program from TerraCycle.  This free to join program is open to any individual or Christian school/church, and all shipping costs are pre-paid. Churches like St. Michael Lutheran Church in Greenville S.C., North Moreland Christian Baptist Church in Wheelersburg, Ohio, and St. Joseph Church in Dexter, Mich. collect a variety of items such as drink pouches, cereal bags, toothbrush tubes and toothbrushes, and cosmetic packaging.  These programs are made possible through TerraCycle’s partnerships with Capri Sun, Malt-O-Meal, Colgate and Garnier. Some religious organizations have enjoyed incredible fundraising success through TerraCycle’s Brigade program.  In just three years, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia earned over $6,000 though the program.  Last summer, the Hickory Church of Christ in Hickory, North Carolina won the Kraft Cheese Barbecue Bash to earn prizes and a $2,500 donation – doubling the money they had already earned through the Brigade program. “The money we earn through the TerraCycle Brigade program goes to our food pantry,” said Tracie Perkins, the Brigade coordinator at Hickory Church of Christ.  “Our members collect wrappers at home and from coworkers, neighbors and even local businesses.” You can learn more about TerraCycle’s Brigade programs by visiting www.terracycle.com.

Stadium and venue owners and managers are constantly on the look out for new ways to make their facilities cleaner, more efficient and more environmentally-friendly. With the help of recycling pioneer TerraCycle, facility managers across the US can now recycle their cigarette waste. Instead of the butts going to landfill, TerraCycle composts the paper and leftover tobacco and recycles the filters into plastic for industrial uses, such as pallets. According to Keep America Beautiful, cigarette butts are the most frequently littered waste item. 65% of cigarette waste is disposed of improperly and accounts for 30% of litter at “transition points” where smokers must discontinue smoking before proceeding. Contrary to popular belief, cigarette butts are not biodegradable. To address the desire to rid facility grounds of cigarette waste in an environmentally-responsible way, the Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena have recently joined TerraCycle’s Cigarette Waste Brigade^®. Chris Parker, Executive Vice President of the Predators, said he was “proud of both the building and the community for being one of the first organisations to actively rid its venue of cigarette waste”. Parker added that he “hopes this movement catches on with other stadiums”.   Arena staff collect the discarded cigarette butts on the sidewalks outside of the Arena and in plaza areas where smoking is permitted following Predators home games and Bridgestone Arena concerts. With postage paid by TerraCycle, the boxes of butts are then shipped to a plant in New Jersey for recycling. Managers looking for additional ways to reduce waste can also utilise TerraCycle’s new Zero Waste Boxes. These boxes enable stadiums and venues to recycle everything from cleaning supplies, plastic cups, fluorescent light bulbs, Styrofoam^® and plastic cups, plates and utensils, and chewed gum. All Zero Waste Boxes can be purchased at zerowasteboxes.terracycle.com for a variety of prices. When a box is full, it is simply shipped to TerraCycle for processing. Since 2007, TerraCycle has used innovative recycling processes to repurpose otherwise landfill-bound consumer packaging waste into useful materials and products, such as recycled plastic lumber, industrial shipping pallets, and park benches. Between the Cigarette Waste Brigade and Zero Waste Boxes, there are almost no limits to what can be recycled.

All of us take things for granted as we become accustomed to our lifestyle. We often aspire for more, or better, or higher quality. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing; but when we live our lives without considering the lives of others, we may need to stop and reconsider our lifestyle. This is not said to place guilt, but to help us put in perspective what we have, even what we take for granted, that others are praying for — simple necessities: clean drinking water, shoes, a daily meal. What if your throw-aways could provide these basic necessities for others? The U.S. has the most pounds of trash per person per day: 4.6 pounds of trash per person, 1.5 pounds of recycled materials per person — not that all of us make the time to sort the trash from recyclables. But since TerraCycle hit town, we can recycle many more items, and even trash the idea of garbage. All TerraCycle rebates are sent directly to Feed My Starving Children to provide life-sustaining meals. Simple lifestyle changes on our part to provide necessities for others while keeping trash out of landfills. Thanks to the gift of warehouse and processing space from Blake and Deanna Martin, Coyote Howling's Recycle/TerraCycle commitment can expand to include other recyclable options, including aluminum and technology waste. Coors pioneered the use of aluminum cans in 1959 — that makes the aluminum can younger than many of us reading this column. Since then, everything from sodas, energy drinks, sparkling waters to craft brew beers are sold in aluminum cans. Many take for granted a chilled can of beverage in the hot summer. What to do with the empty can? Aluminum can be recycled forever with NO loss of quality — good thing since we use more than 80,000,000,000 aluminum cans each year. The cost to recycle a can is less than manufacturing a new can. The average can contains 68 percent recycled metal. So, resist the urge to crush it or toss it; rinse your can, snap off the tab, and bring both to Coyote Howling Shop for a Cause. Purchases of tab jewelry and aluminum craft at Coyote provide more meals for children. With more space, Coyote Howling's commitment to responsibly recycling is expanding through another recycling ally, Dell Reconnect. Tech and e-waste that is not eligible for TerraCycle or general re-use can now be recycled to keep it from the landfills: computer monitors, mice, and speakers; keyboards and printers; VCR and DVD players; personal electronics and stereo equipment. People who donate on TerraCycle Tuesday (every Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) are also awarded a 10 percent savings on a regular-priced item of their choice. To check out what counts for TerraCycle, review the posters at www.CoyoteHowlingShopForaCause.com, or call (575) 808-8320 and learn how to take your trash back from the landfills and use it to fund meals for children.

Kimberly-Clark Professional, a provider of clean room and laboratory contamination control garments, has helped divert 137,000 pounds of disposable garments and 45,000 pounds of nitrile gloves from landfills, according to the company, through its innovative large-scale recycling program called, "RightCycle by Kimberly-Clark Professional." The RightCycle by Kimberly-Clark Professional program allows cleanroom employees to conveniently deposit used gloves, hoods, boot covers and hairnets in collection boxes where they are then delivered to recycling pioneer and partner, TerraCycle. TerraCycle transforms these otherwise landfill-bound items into useable products such as composite decking, park benches, and Adirondack chairs. "By recycling more than 90 tons of garments and gloves since the program began, we have helped our customers achieve or exceed their Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability goals," said Randy Kates, director, Global Scientific Business, Kimberly-Clark Professional. "At Kimberly-Clark, our mission to create Exceptional Workplaces that are healthier, safer and more productive is inseparable from our commitment to protecting the environment. This program addresses both of these goals." Since 2011, the Kimberly-Clark Professional and TerraCycle partnership has made it simple and convenient for companies to recycle these previously non-recyclable waste streams, helping them meet their zero-waste goals. The overwhelming success of the RightCycle by Kimberly-Clark Professional program is part of a larger goal by Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the parent company of Kimberly-Clark Professional, to send zero manufacturing waste to landfills by 2015. The company's Global Nonwovens Division has already worked to keep more than 99 percent of its manufacturing waste out of landfills. As the environmental and economic costs of landfilling and recycling manufacturing waste continue to rise, alternative recycling options are becoming increasingly important to both industry leaders and consumers. Through this pioneering program, Kimberly-Clark Professional is not only providing a more long-term solution to its own waste-generation, it is helping to pave the way for a more sustainably conscious corporate world. For more information visit http://www.kcprofessional.com/home.