In honor of National Campus Sustainability Day on October 24, Mount Holyoke is starting a new tradition, Sustainability Week! This year, students, faculty, and staff have come together to celebrate with several special events going on from October 20-27. I’ve written about some of the highlights below. If you’re interested in doing more, check out the college’s additional offerings on the official Sustainability Week page.   First up, the Eco-Reps are launching a TerraCycle Campaign. We will be in Blanchard tabling about it from 4:30-5:15 on Monday, October 22. TerraCycle is a nonprofit organization, which takes items that are often thrown in the trash and recycles or upcycles them into wallets, binders, picnic tables, and more. Here at MHC, you can help by thinking before you throw away food packaging such as Frito-Lay & Deep River chip and pretzel bags. There will be collection bins in Blanchard starting Monday and in Kendade the following week; you won’t be able to miss them. Each collected bag earns $0.02 for Gardening in the Community, a youth-focused urban agriculture project which offers kids the chance to learn how to grow food in the city, providing access to healthy produce in Springfield, MA.   Tired of junk food? Don’t worry. You can still participate in Sustainability Week and get fed, too. On Tuesday, October 23, the Food Justice Society is teaming up with Dining Services to throw an Iron Chef Competition in Torrey Dining Hall. The competition will showcase student talent and local ingredients. Cooking will take place from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The most important part, tasting, will be from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Email Maxine Getz with questions. Despite all the tempting treats, Sustainability Week isn’t just about food; it’s about all aspects of green living in a college community. On Wednesday, October 24, from 4:15-5:30 p.m., come to Blanchard’s second floor and lounge area to check out Mount Holyoke’s environmental initiatives. Participating groups--The Environmental Action Coalition, Office of Environmental Stewardship, Facilities Management, Food Justice Society, Miller-Worley Center for the Environment, Dining Services, Library and Information Technology Services, Parking and Fleet Services, and Campus Police--will showcase videos, demonstrations, and tips for how you can keep the college green. Did I say Sustainability Week wasn’t all about food? I was kidding. There will be sweets.   Later that day (Wednesday, October, 24 from 7:30-9:00 p.m.), the Eco-Reps and Food Justice Society are hosting Eco-Jeopardy in Blanchard’s Great Room. Tim Farnham, chair of the Environmental Studies Department and Director of the Miller Worley Center for Environment will stand in for Alex Trebek. Other professors and students will be on teams, testing their eco-knowledge in a range of categories. The winners will receive baskets stuffed with things like fair trade chocolate, natural lip balm, and framed photographs of MHC's campus in the fall. Everyone who attends gets to watch with a mug of hot cider and my favorite donuts from Atkins Market. I suggest you donate $2, which will help local nonprofit Gardening in the Community continue their fantastic programming, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Bring your friends and your reusable mugs. For more information, visit the Event Page or contact the Eco-Reps with questions.   Lastly, on Thursday, October, 25 7:30 p.m., the Miller Worley Center for the Environment will present their Environmental Leadership Lecture in Gamble Auditorium. Robin Mann, former Sierra Club president and MHC class of 1973, will discuss where the environmental movement is headed and talk about her experience with one of the most powerful environmental organizations in the country.   I hope to see you out celebrating and learning more about environmentalism at MHC. Let’s make Sustainability Week yet another MHC tradition to remember!

This September, Stuyvesant’s Environmental Club began to take part in the Brigade programs of TerraCycle, an organization that engages consumers in the collection of recycled packaging and products. With each collected item, TerraCycle offers points that can later be redeemed for charitable monetary compensation.   Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton University freshman, TerraCycle began with the production of organic fertilizer by packing liquid worm fecal matter in old soda bottles. Since then, the company has grown into one of the world’s fastest-growing green corporations. According to the organization’s official website, “with more than 20 million people collecting waste in over 20 countries, TerraCycle has diverted billions of units of waste and used them to create over 1,500 different products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market.”   TerraCycle’s Brigade programs offer any organization or company the opportunity to make use of their waste stream. Aimed at eliminating the idea of waste, each Brigade program involves the collection a specific commodity—whether it is bottles, writing utensils, or electronics—previously regarded to be non-recyclable or difficult-to-recycle. Once an organization has selected a specific “Brigade” and has begun to collect waste, TerraCycle offers free shipping of the waste to the TerraCycle facility as well as points for each item collected. TerraCycle points can be redeemed for charitable gifts or a payment of $0.01 per point to a non-profit organization or school of one’s choice.   President of the Environmental Club senior Geyanne Lui first became aware of the importance of recycling when she took AP Environmental Science in 2011. “I noticed that a lot of people didn’t care about recycling—people threw all types of garbage in trash cans labeled specifically for cans and bottles or paper only,” Lui said. “I thought that it was important for there to be a program to show Stuyvesant students how easy it is to recycle as well as how significant it is.”   Looking for a way to bring a more organized recycling system to the school, Lui and the members of the Environmental Club consulted their faculty advisor and biology teacher Marissa Maggio for advice. Maggio had already been aware of TerraCycle, first becoming familiar with the organization through one of the students taking her online Environmental Biology course. In fact, last year, she introduced the Brigade program to her Stuyvesant freshman biology classes and offered extra credit to those that took part in bringing recyclable products from home for TerraCycle. After her students cumulatively raised approximately $150, Maggio thought that the Stuyvesant student body as a whole would be able to raise significantly more money.   With Maggio’s guidance, the members of the Environmental Club decided that TerraCycle would be a great organization to become involved in. In choosing Brigades they believed Stuyvesant students would most efficiently and conveniently contribute to, the club decided on the Chip Bag Brigade due to the sale of chips from the cafeteria vending machines, the Electronics Brigade, and the Flip-Flop Brigade for the summer season that just passed.   “Many schools in the city haves similar recycling programs,” said senior and Environmental Club member Kenneth Zheng. “The elementary school across from Stuyvesant, P.S. 89, is going to have their own TerraCycle program, and we are planning on collaborating with them to ship more recyclable waste together. We are also starting a mentoring program in which members of the Environmental Club volunteer during lunch periods to go over to P.S. 89 to teach the elementary students about recycling.”   However, before the club branches out to help other schools with their environmental cause, its members have been working to establish a structured system of recycling within Stuyvesant. Bins labeled for specific items have been placed in the cafeteria, and during lunch periods, certain club members help to engage other students in Stuyvesant’s TerraCycle Brigades and promote the conservation of resources. Moreover, the Environmental Club has created a recycling drive to collect cell phones, graphing calculators, ink cartridges, keyboards, cameras, and flip-flops.   The Environmental Club has decided to donate the money that is earned from the TerraCycle points to the Sierra Club, an organization that strives to successfully transition into a clean, green energy economy that better serves people and nature. The club members look to raise approximately $5,000 by the end of the school year.   Lui ultimately hopes that Stuyvesant’s TerraCycle Brigades will have both short and long term effects. “For starters, as we are collecting more waste to send out, we are raising more money for our charity that we are going to donate to. But, in the end, I hope that Stuyvesant students will become more accustomed to recycling in school, will not litter the streets, and value the environment more,” Lui said.   Maggio agrees and believes that the new recycling program will set the standard for not only Stuyvesant but also the broader scale of New York City. “Stuyvesant High School has always fostered rigorous academics and has really set the bar for scholarship in schools throughout the region, if not nation. Our [TerraCycle Brigades] can be another instance of how we excel—not just to benefit ourselves, but the environment as a larger whole.”

Just in time to get things under control before the holidays, Emmet County Recycling and Crystal Clear Organizing are offering an organizing class. The class, titled "Organize and Recycle," is part of an initiative by the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers and the Michigan Recycling Coalition, bringing together organizers and recycling programs to offer these classes. A Terracycle laptop computer case made from recycled billboard material and a set of stackable recycling bins will be given away as door prizes. Both presenters will include ideas for keeping recyclables organized.

The entrepreneur: Tom Szaky The company: Founder, TerraCycle "What happens in the world that is outside of our control. Europe has been hammered by austerity, China may be slowing slowing down (we don't really know), Japan is now into its second lost decade. "What happens when China stops buying our debt? What about poor economic conditions around the globe that leave foreign markets unable to afford to buy our products? Domestically, housing is the most important concern and should get more focus."

FARMINGTON -- Gloved hands sifted swiftly through bags of trash Wednesday, finding paper, disposable cups, foil-lined granola-bar wrappers and uneaten food that could have been recycled.   For the fifth year, members of the Sustainable Campus Coalition at the University of Maine at Farmington rummaged through bags of garbage collected over a 24-hour period in campus residence halls.   They separated recyclables from trash and for the first time, garnered items such as business folders that the on-campus Everyone's Resource Depot could take for resale.   They also looked for Solo cups, pouch drink containers and granola wrappers that can be "upcycled" -- converted to new materials of better quality or better environmental value -- and sent to TerraCycle where they are used to create usable items. TerraCycle provides free waste collection programs for hard-to- recycle materials and turns the waste into "affordable green products," according to its website.   Students are looking for things such as backpacks, bags, newspapers, pencils and plastic picnic tables, said Joe Digman, an intern with Sarah Martin, an adjunct professor at UMF.   Martin is also volunteer coordinator of TerraCycle for the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area. UMF is working with the United Way to start upcycling on campus, with all donations used to benefit the local region.   Cups, wrappers, beauty products and packaging, oral care products and pouch drinks are collected and shipped to TerraCycle, which pays a stipend to benefit the agencies supported by the United Way. A purple collection bin for such items sits outside the United Way door on Broadway.   "It's a win-win," Martin said.   Items that would normally add to landfills are reused, producing less trash and less impact on the environment. The effort also produces a modest, steady income for the United Way, which helps local people, she said.   Digman has helped set up three bins on campus. Adding more bins is being considered, he said, manning a table that displayed items that can be upcycled.   Sustainable Campus Coalition members were finding a lot of foil- lined granola wrappers, No. 6 plastics and Solo cups, senior Sarah Lavorgna said as she helped separate trash.   Students Samantha Ritson, Jasmin Heckler and Emily Vitone staffed a table for Everyone's Resource Depot where they displayed artistic items created from materials found at the depot.   The trash day, sponsored by the SCC, has shown a decrease each year in items that can be recycled, said Kaisha Muchemore, a UMF senior and co-coordinator of the campus group.   The decrease indicates the exercise is effective, Muchemore said. Last year, about 30 percent of the trash could have been recycled, she said. The group was hoping to lower the percentage to 20 percent or less this year, SCC coordinator Luke Kellett said. Members have met with Sandy River Recycling Manager Ron Slater to better understand which items the facility can recycle. They also are working on a food event set for Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Farmington Grange Hall involving local farmers and local food sources, Kellett said. The group also intends to hold another Fiddlehead Festival in May.

30-year-old social entrepreneur says movement’s time has come Friday November 19, 2012 -- Kristian Partington Being true to a core strength is the biggest lesson entrepreneur Tom Szaky has learned in his business life and that’s the advice he offers others who are eager to dive into the world of social enterprise. “A social business needs to work as a business first and foremost,” he says. “Really focus on what makes you special, and hold onto that. Outsource everything else around you, other than what makes you exceptionally special.” When you stay true to the core principles of a green business, “karma is on your side,” Tom says, and in a world that demands green choices, success is totally attainable. Tom founded TerraCycle in 2001 based on cycling waste into plant fertilizer, and the company has grown steadily since. It is considered by many today to be a leading example of a business that lives and breathes environmental and social sustainability. The company now offers a range of affordable, eco-friendly products created from waste. At 30, Tom represents a new generation of social entrepreneurs that is keenly aware of the public’s demand for consumer choices that allow them to feel good about the companies they support through their spending. TerraCycle’s dedication to environmental stewardship is generating loyal customers and supporters. “For us it’s very simple,” Tom says. “We have very strong customer service in-house, we have very strong social media, and things like that really help foster a relationship with the consumer.” His company and his team are committed to the core principles of sustainable development and growth, he says, and this creates loyalty among consumers. There’s no question in Tom ’s mind that the shift to a more socially-conscious approach to business is a movement whose time has come, and he points to the fact that media and consumers are making green issues a central topic as cornerstones of this growing momentum. “Media has picked up that ‘green’ is an issue that people care about and resonate with, and because of that it’s made it much easier for social businesses to get credit and to be seen as an important aspect of the economy,” he says. Governments are now making green jobs a priority and investing in an ecology of sustainable business enterprise, Tom points out, and that’s because society now demands it. “The topic has gone out there and become mainstream, and I think when you mainstream a topic, that’s when things get very exciting for a movement.” Tom will be speaking at SVN's Fall Conference November 14-17. Resister now www.svn.org/fall2012. If you have questions, comments or a story to share, please contact kristian(at)axiomnews.ca. Axiom News provides Stakeholder News to SVN. To read more news stories, click here.

TerraCycle is very excited to be working with one of its largest and longest-standing partners, Malt-O-Meal Cereals. Malt-O-Meal is a company that has reduced its packaging by 75% through its Bag the Box campaign. Bag the Box, a concept that simplified cereal packaging by losing the unneeded cardboard box and simply using a bag, has saved trillions of BTUs of energy, countless tons of fuel and hundreds of millions of pounds of waste since 2001. This waste-reducing concept made Malt-O-Meal and TerraCycle’s partnership a case of “eco-love at first sight!” The partnership created the Cereal Bag Brigade, which has since collected over 337,000 units and counting. Thus Malt-O-Meal is utilizing all 3 of the Environmental “R’s” – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Like TerraCycle, Malt-O-Meal knows its way around managing waste and we have enjoyed working with them for so many years. We like thinking, talking and living green and that is why from now until November 2nd, the Malt-O-Meal Facebook page is hosting an ongoing chat with our team members here at TerraCycle to give you our expert advice on any sustainable questions you have! Whether you have a burning question about what to do with an item you don’t want to trash, but don’t know what to do with, you’re curious about environmental waste issues, you’re looking for sustainable living tips, or you’re just there to have an eco-friendly chat, the TerraCycle Team is available for whatever your needs are for the next two weeks. We have become a go-to resource for recycling, upcycling and managing waste – both the ordinary and the hard-to-dispose-of varieties, and we are here to share our wisdom with you. We’re passionate about creating an open exchange of sustainability ideas, and we know you are too. So join us, get involved and click here to post your questions or follow our chats!

A happier, healthier hearth: Handmade and DIY fire starter alternatives Avoiding chemical starter logs and gels but not in the mood to go out and gather pine needles? As fireplace season approaches, consider these fume-free fire starters as well as a few DIY options for craft-minded pyros. Thu, Oct 18 2012 at 4:16 PM EST  3 Photo: Digitalshay/Flickr Happy time-to-throw-a-bunch-of-wood-and-wadded-up-balls-of-newspaper-into-that-sooty-box-under-the-mantlepiece season! Whether using a wood-burning fireplace for heating purposes or strictly for the cozy ambiance, everyone has their own special technique when it comes to nurturing that tiny spark into a roaring blaze. Pinecones, palmetto leaves, and dried moss are always a highly flammable — and also free — way to go, but why hunt and gather for tinder when you're at home? Save it for camping! Below are a few effective, chemical-free tinder and kindling options of the non-survival nature (so yes, you'll need fireplace matches). All are made in the U.S., most from recycled and non-toxic materials, and are appropriate for indoor wood-burning fireplaces. All are far easier to manage and less dangerous than using last week's Wall Street Journal. And if you happen to have a stockpile of sawdust and candle wax at home (because who doesn't?), check out the DIY fire starters tutorials at the bottom of the page F-Bomb Firestarter by Shift Studios @ Etsy ($2/each)

FARMINGTON - The scene on the green today at the University of Maine at Farmington was all about finding things that were thrown away that should have been recycled. The annual event was expanded further this year to include a new program that also generates support for local charities.   At the event sponsored by the UMF Sustainable Campus Coalition, trash generated in residence halls over a 24-hour period are collected to determine how much could have also been recycled.   The coalition has been working with the Sandy River Recycling Association to pull  items for recycling at the transfer station and, at the same time, items  for possible use by Everyone's Resource Depot on campus.  ERD, a non-profit organization, takes recycled goods and offers them for creative reuse, such as art projects and various teaching tools. A nominal fee is charged to support the program.   Another new recycling effort at UMF was added last spring. Items like chip and candy wrappers, solo plastic cups and shampoo bottles are collected and sent to TerraCycle, which turns them into usable products like backpacks and park benches. In turn, TerraCycle pays 1 or 2 cents per item, with all profits coming back to UMF going to the local United Way.   Since the program began, $215 has been raised for United Way of the Tri Valley's charitable agencies and organizations it supports.   Sarah Martin, an adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health and Recreation, came up with the idea of UMF students working with TerraCycle to not only expand the recycling effort on campus, but to also benefit a local charity. UMF student Joe Dignam, a third-year environmental policy and planning major, is an intern working with Martin and United Way's executive director, Lisa Laflin to coordinate the program.   "When I heard about TerraCycle, I thought, wow, we have to do this," Martin said.   The students and faculty sorting trash today found all kinds of recyclable items that were pulled and resorted into categories that will be sent to ERD, the transfer station and there was a good-sized bag that will go to TerraCycle.   "We want to see the percentage of items that could have been recycled," said Luke Kellett, who is UMF's part-time sustainability coordinator and lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.   At last year's event they found that 25 percent of the trash could have been recycled. Displaying the trash for all to see at noontime on the campus green helps bring awareness of the recycling effort to the forefront.   "We hope to see progress this year and be below 20 percent," Kellett said. Find out more about TerraCycle here. Find out how you can donate your items to United Way of the Tri Valley Area here.

Hale takes on Craig for Owen school board seat Four seats on the Buncombe County Board of Education are on the ballot this year, and county voters will be able to cast ballots for each of the four races, regardless of the district in which they live.   For the Owen district, incumbent Chip Craig is challenged by Dan Hale. In the Roberson district, incumbent Steven Sizemore will face Amy Churchill. In the North Buncombe district, incumbent Ann Franklin will face challenger Brian Freelan. Incumbent at-large member Dusty Pless will face three other challengers, Alan Ditmore, Jerry Green and Chico Januszkiewicz.   The Citizen-Times will run statements from each of the district's candidates every day this week, ending with the at-large seat race.   Dan Hale, challenger "I'm running for the Board of Education because I want to be a clear voice for the children of our public schools.   "I see a great need to get more money to the classrooms, and I believe that the school system is not in perfect condition and does need improvements.   "From the board meetings that I have attended, I feel that there is a real need for transparency and improved communication. In spite of continual budget cuts, I think money can be better managed so that teachers won't have to pay out of pocket for materials or field trips.   "I see a failure in policy procedure and enforcement that has a direct negative effect on children and staff.   "Every decision that I make on any issues in our school system will always be for the betterment of our children. I believe in managing with direction, with high quality, caring staff, there is no need for 'micro-managing.'   "Because of negative events happening in the schools, we need more parents getting involved to help our schools improve, that is why I'm getting involved."   Hale and his wife, Yvonne, are the parents of two daughters who attend Black Mountain Primary in the first and third grades.   For three years, Hale has been active in the school's successful TerraCycle recycling program. He also said he has assisted his wife, Yvonne, with her responsibilities as incoming PTO president and is active in his daughters' Girl Scout troops.