The big game is right around the corner The PUPPY BOWL! (Speaking of which, fun fact! Last year, 9 of the pups came straight from Pennsylvania SPCA shelters!)  (Oh, and that other game for those football fans.) With Puppybowl and Superbowl translates into dips, appetizers and parties! And with all those dips come chips! Herrs, Lays, Sun, Tortilla, and many other chips! Oh, chip heaven is on the way for me!

ot only do I get to save time by ordering my goods online and having it show up at my door, but I also get to feel good about myself for supporting a company who believes in sustainability.  They base their approach on the United Nations’ definition of sustainability: “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

• At least 50% of their products are locally sourced and 100% of their produce is either certified organic or local and sustainably produced.
• There is very little non bio-degradable waste.  A cute, crunchy guy showed up at my door with two packed cardboard boxes – which they take back to their warehouse to be re-used, and almost no plastic.
• They have an up-cycling program to collect and re-use hard to recycle items throughTerraCycle.
• They compost whatever food waste they have.

Since many of these items cannot be recycled in your state and need to be mailed to the recycler, diehard recyclers may be faced with the moral dilemma of whether it’s worth the expense and resulting carbon emissions to ship an item off for recycling. Rather than delve into complex algorithms to solve this dilemma, I recommend reserving items like bras, medals, and trophies for recycling drives or bulk shipping. However, if you’re looking to replace a broken vacuum cleaner or worn out yoga mat, then some recyclers will offer you a discount on a new one. For you Clark Griswolds out there, you can upgrade your old incandescent Christmas lights for a discount on energy-saving LED lights. Sometimes recycling doesn’t just help the environment and your pocketbook. Just as thrift stores provide the opportunity for items to be reused while benefitting others, eyeglasses can be donated through most eyeglass retailers and through your local Lions Club for people in need. Similarly, if you’re in the mood for a new hairdo, your ponytail can be donated to a child with long-term or permanent medical hair loss. A great program for schools and community groups to raise funds while recycling difficult items such as chip bags and drink pouches is TerraCycle. They take these items and either recycle or upcycle them into new products that can be purchased at many large retailers. Terracycle has even incorporated their unique approach to recycling into their office design:  

In a program started in May in Canada and now running from the United States to Spain, TerraCycle collects cigarette butts from volunteers and turns them into plastic, which can be used for anything, even ashtrays themselves. The discarded cigarettes, which litter countries around the world, are first broken up, with the paper and remaining tobacco composted. The filter, made of a plastic called cellulose acetate, is melted down and turned into an ingredient for making a wide range of industrial plastic products, such as pallets -- the trays used to ship heavy goods. It seems that for once smoking benefits everyone. The tobacco industry, happy to get some decent publicity, pays TerraCycle. Volunteer collectors win points per butt, which can then be redeemed as contributions to charities. Sidewalks start looking cleaner. And TerraCycle, which sells recycled products to retailers like Walmart and Whole Foods, gets more business.

Recycling has come a long way from just simply separating paper, plastic and aluminum.  Today almost all materials can be recycled; from old cell phones and computers to tires and used car batteries.  Whether it’s making a swing from an old tire or using prescription bottles to store buttons, you can usually find a new use from something old. We’ve come across some unique organizations that are upcycling or turning old into new that we’d love to share with you: TerraCycle Terracycle has created various waste collection programs that take previous waste items and convert them into new products ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks.  Terracycle collects everything from candy wrappers and chip bags to flip flops and Elmer’s Glue.  Check out the awesome things they are accomplishing through recycling.  www.terracycle.com

As an employer of more than 100 people, I find dealing with the question of raises a constant challenge, one fraught with more negatives than positives. And yet, it’s an inevitable issue that crosses my desk constantly. While I can understand why employees would like to make more money, I also have other issues to consider. The challenge I face is reconciling the objective value a job creates for the organization with the subjective value of the individual filling that job. At TerraCycle, in 2012, we allocated $250,000 for raises on a total payroll of $5 million. In the hope of creating a coherent policy, we formed a compensation committee, consisting of five senior employees, to help figure out how to divide up the money we allocated. The group decided to give about half of the money to cover the rising cost of living, basically to adjust for inflation. As a guideline, we turned to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which releases (typically in September) annual inflation numbers to calculate each year’s cost-of-living adjustment. In 2012, it was 3.6 percent, and this year it is projected to be around 1.5 percent. The committee decided to give everyone who had been with TerraCycle for more than 12 months a 5 percent raise, which is of course greater than the cost of living adjustment. The rest of the money was used for “adjustment raises,” for those whose jobs had grown beyond the roles originally envisioned. Even though we believed we had a well thought out and fair process, no one came to me to thank me for a raise. Instead, about half a dozen people complained that they thought they should have gotten more. I empathize with my team, even those who complained, because it’s not easy to grapple with one’s own value to an organization. Here are some excerpts from a letter I wrote to one such person in an effort to explain how raises work at our organization and how employees can elevate their roles to command higher salaries.

TerraCycle is on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. They do this by creating waste collection programs (each one is called a “Brigade”) for previously non-recyclable, or difficult-to-recycle, waste. The collected waste is then converted into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks. You can help make an impact in the world by becoming a member of one of these Brigades and sending in your waste to TerraCycle.

In a program started in May in Canada and now running from the United States to Spain, TerraCycle collects cigarette butts from volunteers and turns them into plastic, which can be used for anything, even ashtrays themselves. The discarded cigarettes, which litter countries around the world, are first broken up, with the paper and remaining tobacco composted. The filter, made of a plastic called cellulose acetate, is melted down and turned into an ingredient for making a wide range of industrial plastic products, such as pallets -- the trays used to ship heavy goods. It seems that for once smoking benefits everyone. The tobacco industry, happy to get some decent publicity, pays TerraCycle. Volunteer collectors win points per butt, which can then be redeemed as contributions to charities. Sidewalks start looking cleaner. And TerraCycle, which sells recycled products to retailers like Walmart and Whole Foods, gets more business. TerraCycle has a similarly creative view on all manner of other refuse that has tended to be bracketed as impossible to recycle and is instead sent to the landfill. Juice sachets, plastic bottles, pens, coffee capsules, candy wrappers, toothbrushes and computer keyboards are all grist for TerraCycle's mill.

At TerraCycle, in 2012, we allocated $250,000 for raises on a total payroll of $5 million. In the hope of creating a coherent policy, we formed a compensation committee, consisting of five senior employees, to help figure out how to divide up the money we allocated. The group decided to give about half of the money to cover the rising cost of living, basically to adjust for inflation. As a guideline, we turned to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which releases (typically in September) annual inflation numbers to calculate each year's cost-of-living adjustment. In 2012, it was 3.6 percent, and this year it is projected to be around 1.5 percent. The committee decided to give everyone who had been with TerraCycle for more than 12 months a 5 percent raise, which is of course greater than the cost of living adjustment. The rest of the money was used for "adjustment raises," for those whose jobs had grown beyond the roles originally envisioned.

Balfour Beatty Communities is participating in the TerraCycle program to help keep waste out of landfills and support Crestview Elementary School