Looking for an easy way to green-up school lunches or your classroom? Terra Cycle is a program designed to collect hard-to-recycle items and turn them into new products. Terra Cycle is what the CYCLE in RECYCLE is all about!

On June 14, hundreds of L’Oreal USA employees will participate in a major restoration project designed to rebuild a local New York community garden, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Located at 237 East 104th Street, the Union Settlement Association is East Harlem’s oldest and largest social service agency, servicing 10,000 city residents including senior citizens, preschoolers and community members. When the restoration project is complete, the garden will be turned over to Union Settlement community members and GrowNYC who will grow and maintain food, flowers, and herbs in dozens of newly-installed garden beds made out of recycled beauty materials. The garden is estimated to yield 1,500 pounds of vegetables a year. Garnier spokesperson Bridget Moynahan will be present for the ground-breaking ceremony and activities, as well as representatives from Garnier, L’Oreal USA, TerraCycle, an international upcycling/recycling company that takes difficult-to-recycle packaging and turns it into innovative new products, and GrowNYC, a hands-on non-profit that provides environmental solutions throughout New York. The beauty waste to be used in Garnier’s Green Garden was collected by Garnier’s Personal Care and Beauty Brigade Program, a free fundraising effort that pays for every piece of waste collected and returned to TerraCycle. The collected beauty waste, which would otherwise be destined for landfills, consists of non-recyclable haircare, skincare and cosmetic packaging. These products have since been recycled by TerraCycle to create many of the plastic components being installed in the new garden. “We are delighted that Garnier is furthering its commitment to beautifying the planet and local communities with the Garnier Green Garden,” said Tom Szaky, TerraCycle CEO. “Not only does Garnier support schools and community organizations on an on-going basis through the Personal Care and Beauty Brigade, the garden will be a permanent testament to the impact recycling can have on a community and in our world.”

Habitat for Humanity of Evansville is partnering with TerraCycle to make our community a better place to live! Habitat for Humanity of Evansville is currently collecting previously non-recyclable or hard to recycle waste. For each piece of garbage that you are able to recycle through Habitat, TerraCycle will provide a donation that will go directly to our mission of providing homes, communities and hope. Habitat is currently collecting the following items: Cheese Packaging, Colgate Oral Care, Dairy Tubs, Energy Bar Wrappers, Hot Cereal Packaging Material, Tom’s of Main Natural Care Items, and Personal Care and Beauty Products. ·         Did you know that many of the items you use on a daily basis can be recycled at Habitat to help build homes? Learn more about our TerraCycle program today and learn how you can recycle and build homes, communities and hope! http://www.evansvillehabitat.org/terracycle

Did you know that many of the items you use on a daily basis can be recycled at Habitat to help build homes? Habitat for Humanity of Evansville is partnering with TerraCycle to make our community a better place to live! Habitat for Humanity of Evansville is currently collecting previously non-recyclable or hard to recycle waste. For each piece of garbage that you are able to recycle through Habitat, TerraCycle will provide a donation that will go directly to our mission of providing homes, communities and hope. Learn more about our TerraCycle program today and learn how you can recycle and build homes, communities and hope! http://www.evansvillehabitat.org/terracycle

According to Keep America Beautiful, 65 percent of all cigarette butts are disposed of improperly and cigarette waste accounts for 38 percent of all U.S. roadway litter. But Gail Wedding from Laytonville and Russell Minor from Potter Valley are doing their part to keep their cigarette waste out of the local landfill by sending it to recycling pioneer TerraCycle. Russell Minor collects his cigarette butts at home and stores them in an old "oil rag" can until it is time to send them to TerraCycle.  To spread the word, he shows his friends how easy it is to collect at home. "I feel the more people divert from landfills, the better off our planet will be," said Minor. "It's important that as much waste as possible gets diverted from the landfills into a new life as something useful." Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and do not break down quickly.  They, and other related tobacco waste, are the number one item recovered during the annual Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day, with more than 52 million cigarette filters collected from beaches in the past 25 years. The Cigarette Waste Brigade accepts extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling paper, and ash. TerraCycle does not accept the cardboard packaging of cigarette boxes since they can usually be recycled through municipal recycling programs. Visit www.terracycle.com to learn more about TerraCycle or sign up for the Cigarette Waste Brigade.

Russell Minor collects his cigarette butts at home and stores them in an old "oil rag" can until it is time to send them to TerraCycle.  To spread the word, he shows his friends how easy it is to collect at home. "I feel the more people divert from landfills, the better off our planet will be," said Minor. "It's important that as much waste as possible gets diverted from the landfills into a new life as something useful." This recycling program is a joint effort between Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. and TerraCycle, which teamed up to create The Cigarette Waste Brigade, a national program to collect and recycle cigarette butts and other cigarette-related waste, according to Jeff Kranz of TerraCycle. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and do not break down quickly.  They, and other related tobacco waste, are the number one item recovered during the annual Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day, with more than 52 million cigarette filters collected from beaches in the past 25 years. The Cigarette Waste Brigade accepts extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling paper, and ash. TerraCycle does not accept the cardboard packaging of cigarette boxes since they can usually be recycled through municipal recycling programs. Visit www.terracycle.com to learn more about TerraCycle or sign up for the Cigarette Waste Brigade.  

What you can do with cigarette butts Maybe you smoke or maybe you don’t; perhaps you know someone who does. Naturally, quitting would be the best thing any smoker can do, but one of the next best things is to recycle your butts.  Yes, cigarette butts can be useful and can be recycled, according to Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, Inc., a company that has developed solutions for difficult-to-recycle items, including cigarette butts. TerraCycle has teamed up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco, which sponsors the Cigarette Waste Brigade®. In a New York Times article from April 2012, Szaky explained that the ash, paper, and tobacco are separated from the filters and the organic materials are composted. The remaining cellulose acetate is sanitized and molded via injection into plastics that are used to make plastic pallets and beams. Albe Zakes, VP of Media Relations for TerraCycle, said in a phone interview that efforts to recycle cigarette butts extend beyond US shores. TerraCycle currently also partners with Imperial Tobacco in Canada and soon will have a program in Europe a well. Individuals and groups who are interested in helping clean up the environment of unhealthy cigarette butts and getting them recycled can sign up for TerraCycle’s Cigarette Waste Brigade (or check out other waste brigades). It costs nothing to sign up and nothing to ship the butts, and you could help make a difference in the health of the planet.

According to Keep America Beautiful, 65 percent of all cigarette butts are disposed of improperly and cigarette waste accounts for 38 percent of all U.S. roadway litter. But Gail Wedding from Laytonville and Russell Minor from Potter Valley are doing their part to keep their cigarette waste out of the local landfill by sending it to recycling pioneer TerraCycle. This recycling program is a joint effort between Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. and TerraCycle, which teamed up to create The Cigarette Waste Brigade, a national program to collect and recycle cigarette butts and other cigarette-related waste, according to Jeff Kranz of TerraCycle. Participation in this nationwide Brigade is limited to adults, aged 21 and older.  It is free, and all shipping costs are paid by Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company.  For every pound of cigarette waste TerraCycle receives, one dollar is donated to Keep America Beautiful. The collected cigarette butts are recycled into a variety of products, primarily plastic pallets for industrial uses. Any remaining tobacco or paper is composted. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and do not break down quickly.  They, and other related tobacco waste, are the number one item recovered during the annual Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day, with more than 52 million cigarette filters collected from beaches in the past 25 years. The Cigarette Waste Brigade accepts extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling paper, and ash. TerraCycle does not accept the cardboard packaging of cigarette boxes since they can usually be recycled through municipal recycling programs.

It’s common knowledge that smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of lung cancer, that secondhand smoke is a health hazard, and that cigarette use is linked to dozens of other diseases and illnesses. But there is at least one good thing about cigarette butts: they can be recycled into useful products. Don’t cigarette butts disintegrate? Although any cigarette paper and tobacco that are tossed away break down, the butts themselves are not biodegradable, and they stick around for a long time. That’s because 95 percent of cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic, made into super thin fibers to create a filter. Yes, cigarette butts can be useful and can be recycled, according to Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, Inc., a company that has developed solutions for difficult-to-recycle items, including cigarette butts. TerraCycle has teamed up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco, which sponsors the Cigarette Waste Brigade®. In a New York Times article from April 2012, Szaky explained that the ash, paper, and tobacco are separated from the filters and the organic materials are composted. The remaining cellulose acetate is sanitized and molded via injection into plastics that are used to make plastic pallets and beams.