In addition to the retail recycling option, Nespresso consumers can send their used capsules directly to TerraCycle by joining the Nespresso Brigade on www.terracycle.com. Illy consumers can recycle directly through illy by using the pre-paid return shipping label provided to them when their capsule orders are shipped out.

Terracycle accepts shipments of approved candy wrappers to be recycled, including most of the fun-size wrappers handed out on Halloween. Other types of wrappers, like the foil from a Hershey's Kiss, can be recycled in a curbside bin along with other recyclables.

Coffee drinkers with single-serve Nespresso or illy iperEspresso machines now have a way to keep their used coffee capsules out of the local landfill. Sur La Table stores nationwide have recycling receptacles for both brands, while Williams-Sonoma accepts Nespresso at select locations. All capsules are sent to recycling pioneer TerraCycle where the leftover coffee inside the capsules will be sent to an industrial composting facility while the actual packaging from the capsule will be recycled into a variety of new products.

There are a couple of places that collect and make stuff out of the candy wrapper material. TerraCycle does this. They actually have a program set up for candy wrappers specifically.

“We need to raise our consciousness and take more responsibility for what we throw out,” said Albe Zakes, global vice president of communications for TerraCycle, an “upcycling” company. TerraCycle works with more than 100 companies to collect difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes them into affordable and innovative products. It’s free, and for every chip bag or drink pouch it collects, TerraCycle will donate 2 cents to the school or charity of your choice, Zakes said.

For instance, Frito-Lay has a'zero landfill' initiative where the company partners with TerraCycle for recycling purposes. Customers are encouraged to collect, and send, used bags of Frito-Lay chips to TerraCycle for recycling after consumption.

The leadership students plan to hold a recycled art contest and work with a company called TerraCycle, which offers programs for collecting and recycling typically discarded items such as chip bags, Lunchables trays and Elmer’s glue bottles.

Rick Wilson, left, and Jeff Parker display the Recycle Tricycle they constructed with recyclables brought to them by their third-grade students at Mesquite Elementary School in Casa Grande. The tricycle will be entered in the Box That Rocks contest sponsored by TerraCycle, an international recycling company.  

He sends the butts to a New Jersey company, TerraCycle, which completely recycles them, without incinerating them and adding to pollution. “This concept breaks the cycle. It keeps them out of the water; Casco Bay is safe. It’s just a neat way to do it,” said Roylos, whose inventions are available for “adoption” for $39 each by emailing info@adoptabuttler.com.

Her salon now participates in the TerraCycle’s Beauty Brigade, where up to 40 different types of beauty products can be collected and sent in. They include: shampoo and conditioner bottles, soap tubes and dispensers, foundation packaging, body wash containers and much more.