By Meagan McGone BREVARD - What is green, lots of fun and benefits needy children in Brevard? Recycle Brevard's second annual "Recycling Fun: Toy Swap/Drop Off," which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Viera Regional Park.   Organized in honor of America Recycles Day, an event to spread awareness about environmentally friendly practices nationwide, the "Recycling Fun: Toy Swap/Drop Off" aims to get residents of Brevard excited about the "three R's": reduce, reuse and recycle, said Marcia Booth, creator of Recycle Brevard.   "Our America Recycles Day event focuses on the reuse concept through a toy swap," Ms. Booth said.   Participants will be able to exchange new or gently used toys with one another, as well as donate toys to Nana's House, a nonprofit, private Christian home for neglected, abused, needy and abandoned children in Brevard County.   Additionally, Friends of Children of Brevard County, another nonprofit dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth, will be there to collect gently used clothes, shoes and duffle bags to give to children.   The event will also feature lessons about recycling from Keep Brevard Beautiful and Brevard County Solid Waste Management Department.   Ms. Booth said various collection stations will be set up so attendees can bring an array of items that would be normally be discarded, such as candy wrappers, cheese wrappers and lotion bottles. For a full list of specific items, visit www.recyclebrevard.org and click "Terracycle."   Ms. Booth started Recycle Brevard last year, after touring a local landfill with her daughter and learning that 30 percent of Brevard County residents recycle.   "My goal is to make more information available on reducing, reusing and recycling to try to motivate more residents to embrace the three R's," she said.   For more information about the event, visit www.recyclebrevard.org or go to Recycle Brevard's Facebook page.

Have you ever thought what happens to your Snickers bar package after you finish eating it. Most probably it will end up in a bin and from there it´s a one way ticket to the trash yard, right? Well there is a company that might take your snickers bar package and turn it into... well why not  a backpack. That company is called Terracycle, and snickers bar packaging is only a small piece of their story. It all started with worm poop The revolution began in 2001 when two freshmen at Princeton University Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer submitted a business plan to a contest sponsored by the Princeton Enterpreneurship Club. The following summer Szaky and Beyer made arrangements with Princeton Dining Services to take the dining hall waste and process it in their prototype „Worm Gin“. By 2002, the company had created a continuous flow process to take garbage and have it processed by worms into fertilizer. The products then were packaged worm poop used in soda bottles. Since then TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world. According to a company´s spokesperson Stacey Krauss TerraCycle believes that trash does not exist in nature and that it is their purpose to eliminate waste. „By collecting and finding ways to reuse traditionally non-recyclable materials, Terracycle is changing the way the world views waste,“ said Krauss. Terra is defined as The planet, Earth or land, whereas Cycle is recognized with recycling and upcycling and defined as any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated. By recycling or upcycling items that would normally be sent to landfills, TerraCycle finds a way to help the environment and create a sustainable solution to waste. Upcycling is making trash valuable A backpack made of Snickers packaging has more value than the original packaging, once the product inside is gone. „Once the packaging has served its purpose and the candy has been safely delivered to a hungry consumer, the packaging is usually discarded, because it is not believed to have any value. At TerraCycle we find value in packaging as-is and can reuse it in almost its original state,“ said Stacey Krauss.

A startup selling surfboard bags created from old billboards is perhaps the latest social enterprise to use recycled material in products. Called Rareform, the Ventura County, Cal., company was founded recently by Alec Avedissian and two fellow surfers, Ryan Judy and Sho Rust.  How Avedessian came up with the idea is quite a story. When he graduated from Westmont College in Santa Barbara in 2008 with a degree in economics and business, Avedessian decided to work for a fishing cooperative in El Salvador helping fishermen sell their catches. He lived and worked in a poor community and he noticed many residents used material from old billboards for roofing, because it was waterproof and mildew-proof. And he started pondering the question: Was there a product he could make using the same material back home? When he returned to LA after a year, he realized there were billboards everywhere. And then it clicked. A lifelong surfer–he says he started surfing when he was a kid–he saw the material would provide the makings of the perfect surfboard bag. Plus, because they would be made from different billboards, each would feature its own, unique design, So, he started calling up billboard companies, asking if he could have their used material. He found a lot of takers. Then came the process of figuring out to take 14 by 48 foot billboards, wash them, and turn them into bags.  Avedissian’s first attempt at finding a manufacturer was to approach a car upholsterer; the finished product, he says, wasn’t what he wanted. He went back to looking for manufacturers and, at the same time, figuring out how to improve the prototype. To that end, he added a zipper to the tip, for easier removal of surfboards, for example. “We wanted to make it eco friendly and a superior product,” he says. It took about a year to find the right manufacturer and, in fact, he ended up finding two in Ventura County. Avedissian had worked full-time as a market analyst for a renewable energy company, spending weekends and evenings on his business idea. About five months ago, he left to devote himself to his startup and, about two months ago, officially launched it. The product now is in 10 retail stores in California and also is available online at swell.com, a platform for action sports. According to Avedissian, he’s about to start working with a distributor in Australia. Sales, in fact, have been so good, he’s been able to change his financing plans. The startup was going to sign on some angel investors but it looks like “we don’t need to take anybody’s money,” he says. Ultimately, Avedissian figures that aiming at surfers has a few benefits. For one thing, many of his comrades, he says, are very aware of environmental issues. Plus, surfers tend to set styles in fashion. If he can get them to adopt his product, then that could start a wave of adoption elsewhere. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). Surfboard bags, also, are the first step. He plans to make other products, like a backpack and tote bag already in the works. “Our goal is to make creative products that sustain the environment,” he says. Rareform certainly isn’t the only social enterprise selling products made from recycled material. One of the best known may be Terracycle, which got its start selling fertilizer from worm poop and now has all sorts of backpacks and the like created from recycled juice pouches and other used stuff. Uncommon Goods includes in its online catalog a lot of products made from recycled material. So, Rareform is in good company, so to speak.

From flirtations in the copy room to after-work drinks that lead to a walk down the aisle, office romances can be an exciting, if risky, proposition. Some bosses say they’re not worth pursuing at all. “It’s always better, if you can fall in love with someone, fall in love with someone from a different company. It’s distracting, it’s disturbing, people don’t like it, and it’s not good for a company,” Donald Trump said in a recent interview with “20/20.” Still others say that dating in the office may actually be good for business, particularly when such relationships make workers happy. “I think happy employees equal higher profitability,” said Tom Szaky, the CEO of the New Jersey-based recycling company Terracycle. “Isn’t that what every CEO is in the business of?” If you do decide to mix business with pleasure, here are some tips on how to do it while minimizing the impact on your career, from workplace author Caitlin Friedman: 1. Do take it seriously — a workplace romance can have serious consequences for your reputation. “It just makes people uncomfortable,” Friedman said. “Even if they say they are O.K. with it, they’re not.” 2. Don’t have public displays of affection. “Trust me, nobody wants to see it,” Friedman said. 3. Don’t travel for business together — it can lead to troubling questions. “Your receipts for the dinner out is questionable. How much you spent on a bottle of wine during that dinner out is questionable. You just don’t want to go there,” Friedman said. 4. Don’t talk about your relationship with your colleagues. Although from a gossip perspective, your co-workers want all of the details but no matter what you say, you will be judged. 5. Do think about who will be impacted if the relationship goes south. Are there clients you both work for? People who report to you who would feel their loyalties tested if you broke up? 6. Don’t change your public persona when your partner is in the room, especially during meetings. Everyone will be watching your dynamic, especially in the early stages of your relationship … so try to behave consistently. For instance, don’t suddenly start agreeing with your partner if you hadn’t done so before. 7. Do check in with each other as the relationship progresses to see if it’s time to make a professional change. If you are in this for the long haul, then maybe one of you should consider looking for a new job? 8. Don’t date someone who reports directly to you. Even if it is consensual, you will be vulnerable to a sexual harassment suit. 9. Do consider keeping it secret for as long as possible. It can be really satisfying and really fun to have a relationship that is just between the two of you. 10. Don’t move too fast. Sure, you have lots in common already — you share a company and colleagues. But on an emotional level and on a personal level, you are still getting to know each other. Would you ever pursue an office romance? Tell us how you feel by voting below and watch the full story on “20/20: Workplace Confidential” Friday at 10 p.m. ET.

Welcome to the It's in the Bag Giveaway Hop hosted by Life With Two Boys and With Our Best! This is a "what's in your purse?" themed giveaway hop and will feature a variety of products that women find in their purse. Here at How Was Your Day?, we're offering up one of these amazing Upcycled Mail Sack Tote Bags from TerraCycle.  Made from real US Mail bags, these Upcycled Mail Sack Totes bags have that already lived-in look.  Each bag is different and totally unique!  ARV $79! Look for my full review coming soon.

TerraCycle mentioned by KWSB for new cigarette recycling program.

'We need to hear more serious ideas' The expert: Tom Szaky The company: Founder, TerraCycle "Mitt Romney, as an entrepreneur who has built a growing business over the past 10 years, I am increasingly annoyed by your comments that you know how to get this economy moving again because you worked in the 'real' economy. "Other than telling me that you will cut taxes, which I am not convinced you can pay for, you have given me absolutely no reason to believe you have a real plan. Sitting in the real economy, where my company actually does create jobs, I am entirely unmoved by your rationale for why you should become our next president. One thing is clear to me: you will say anything to anyone to get elected. "President Obama, I know you inherited a mess, and I applaud your first term in office as one that has gotten the country headed in the right direction. That said, I want to hear more from you on how government can create the conditions that will allow entrepreneurship in America to thrive again. "We need to hear more serious and thoughtful ideas, beyond altering the tax code or hiring more math and science teachers, on how capital can more easily get into the hands of those who will use it best to start more businesses, hire more workers, and help strengthen their communities."

Now that TerraCycle is almost a decade old and operating in 22 countries, I have realized how much sales styles differ throughout the world, especially in Europe. While the American style of sales is typically gung ho – energetic and positive — the European style is quite different, much more conservative.   This hit me when, after a sales pitch in Germany, our client said, “Tom, we’d love for you to present TerraCycle to our leadership team, but please be less American. Please don’t be excited and just present the facts.” I thought to myself, Wow, how do you sell without being passionate about the product or service you are selling?   Whether you are selling to a new client or persuading an existing client to continue buying, sales is the critical driver of your business’s growth. Naturally, when selling, we spend most, if not all, of our time highlighting the positive attributes of our product or service. The golden rules of successful selling are to solve an existing problem for your client with a compelling proposition. Then communicate that proposition clearly, simply and passionately. And always be closing! But this raises a question: How much negative information should we volunteer?   When selling hamburgers, should the restaurant owner note that the meat came from a slaughterhouse and disclose any associated health issues? When selling public relations services, should a P.R. agency discuss its failed campaigns or only the good ones?   After a decade of successful sales, I do think that there is a place for disclosing negative information. But it should be done wisely and in moderation. Here are three things to keep in mind: If you think the client may know of something negative, own it. The way to do this is to address it up front in your meeting, before the client raises it. And you should address it more aggressively than your client would, if he or she were bringing it up. When you do this, it’s best to have a solution ready to offer. Such action will show your client that you don’t shy away from challenges; you take responsibility for them. At TerraCycle, every time I have done this, it has been successful and built trust. Always talk about your competition positively. Competition, while negative to your business, is a fact of life. My suggestion is to be fair and positive. This will play well with your clients as they see that you are looking out for their best interests. This, too, will build credibility and trust. TerraCycle doesn’t have competitors the way most businesses do, but there are other services that our clients perceive to be in the same “bucket” as TerraCycle.   One example is RecycleBank, which manages recycling rewards programs. Whenever we are asked about RecycleBank,we always say positive things — they are indeed our friends. But we also try to explain the differences between our two propositions (we help brands recycle previously nonrecyclable products or packaging). Then we let the client decide. Look, clients can always get this information themselves; it builds credibility when, after a sales meeting, they do their own research and come up with the same facts. Sprinkle some negatives during your pitch. We consider TerraCycle a premium service. For that reason, we always highlight that our cost is higher than other solutions — such as sending waste to landfill. But then we emphasize that the benefits of working with us may be worth the expense. Of course, there is a fine line — you can volunteer too much negative information and kill the deal. Negative information is like salt on one’s food. It should be applied in moderation.   In the 22 countries where we operate, I have found a wide range of approaches to handling negative information. While most of our sales teams do a great job with the first two points, they often struggle with the third. This is especially true of people with less sales experience, and the most striking example is in Europe. There, our sales teams typically volunteer too much negative information in their pitches. They cross that fine line, and when they do, their closing rates decline.   We’re trying to coach them to be a little more American in their approach.

What do you think of this week's spotlight crafts? Do you have a favorite? Pieces Together Plaque Craft - Kelly explains how to make a unique gift using crafts sticks and puzzle pieces. M & M Candy Wrapper Gift Bag Craft - Follow these instructions, provided by TerraCycle, and learn how easy it is to recycle your empty candy wrappers into a fun gift bag.