Nicole Mailloux’s seventh grade writing students at Carl H. Kumpf Middle School in Clark are actively participating in a service learning project to utilize persuasive writing techniques in order to motivate other middle school students to take part in an international recycling program, Terracycle. This unit was designed to help students find practical, everyday uses for persuasive writing as well as to teach Kumpf students to be more conscious of waste and simple ways to “go green.”

Beginning next week, the CCHS Environmental Field Studies Group has teamed up with Terracycle, a global program that aims to eliminate waste with recycling and upcycling. The EFSG is collecting the following items: all brands and sizes of candy wrappers, Kashi products and wrappers, cereal bag liners, writing Instruments such as pens, markers, sharpies, dry-erase markers, pencils, mechanical pencils that are dry and do not work. All of the items collected will be sent to TerraCycle, which takes items, previously thought to be unusable again - such as a cereal box liner - and converts them into useful products. In addition, two cents is earned for each item collected, with the money earned by the CCHS EFSG Club will help a charity of the club’s choice. The charity has not yet been determined. Collections begin this week, so gather your candy wrappers and old pens so you can drop them off at one of the many TerraCycle boxes set up around the campus when school reopens Monday.

Both Chemung and Tioga counties recycle much material, including plastic grocery bags in Tioga. There are some things, however, neither county takes, such as plastic bowls or tubs for yogurt, margarine, Cool Whip, deli foods and the like. I always cringe when I throw those items away. If you'd like to reduce the quantity of waste going into the landfill and at the same time do something for the planet by donating items that will be refashioned into something else, it's now easy in Spencer-Van Etten. Following is a list of many items that you can recycle locally, as long as they are clean and free of food bits: juice pouches, empty chip bags (all sizes), candy bar wrappers from Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury, Lunchables lunch kits (all parts), plastic wrappers from Scott brand paper products, all Kraft cheese bags and cream cheese tubs, Scotch tape rolls and dispensers, shampoo and conditioner bottles, energy and granola bar wrappers, cookie bags and wrappers with the plastic trays, Colgate toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and cardboard packaging, plastic butter tubs, plastic Solo cups, Elmer's glue sticks and bottles, yogurt cups, cell phones, MP3 players, ink jet printer cartridges, laptop computers, computer keyboards, computer mice and digital cameras.

TerraCycle, the Newark, N.J. based brand has evolved into a $20 million-a-year operation, since it was founded in 2001 by Princeton University dropout Tom Szaky. In a few short years, the company has pivoted but not abandoned its original focus on "worm poop" fertilizer -- the innovative organic plant food, packed in recycled bottle, that was brewed from worm-rich compost piles -- towards a broader focus on packaging reduction and reuse. Partnering with schools and numerous major consumer packaged good companies, TerraCycle is capturing both pre- and post-consumer packaging waste to upcycle it: such as converting Capri sun bags into satchels, pencil cases, and other merchandise.

Help score some extra points this playoff season for the Almost Home Animal Shelter by saving all those empty chip bags from your sports parties and get-togethers and send them in to Haddon Township’s Green Team. TerraCycle will upcycle these bags into new products and donate 2 cents to the shelter for every bag. Collection locations include the Haddon Township Municipal Building, Public Works facility and at Scissors & Suds in Collingswood! To date, the Team has recycled over 60,000 items of trash which would have been landfilled! For details contact bprince@haddontwp.com or call 856-854-1825. The Chip Bag Blitz runs from January 1st, 2012 and end on February 28th, 2012 .

The Girl Scouts of the USA will turn 100 years old on March 12, and are celebrating Green Forever. The Girl Scouts Tioga Service Unit has teamed with terracycle.com to minimize the waste stream to earn its Celebrating 100 Forever Green Patch. Members will collect personal and beauty products such as shampoo bottles and makeup cases to be recycled on March 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 899 Yosemite Parkway.

Two of the reasons for the superior taste in their cereal is they use all natural ingredients as well as packaging every cereal in a “freshness saver” bag. There are no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors and no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. With their clever “freshness saver” bags the cereal’s quality is kept intact and there is no need for a box. This less packaging saves natural resources. Here are some stats from their packaging:

Garfield Elementary School students learn about recycling

CEDAR RAPIDS — A new “Star Wars” lunchbox is in 6-year-old John Maloy’s future, but the space enthusiast’s lunchtime excitement Monday centered around a closer-to-home initiative to benefit planet Earth. “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” the Garfield Elementary School kindergartner recited after dropping his milk carton and plastics in recycling bins in the school cafeteria. “It usually goes in the trash,” he said about the materials being recycled with the help of Green Iowa AmeriCorps. Monday was a test project of AmeriCorps’ Garbage Gabbers program at Garfield, 1201 Maplewood Dr. NE. Seven members of Green Iowa AmeriCorps, who promote energy savings through weatherization and environmental education, directed students on where to properly place their recyclables during the school’s lunch hour.

Both Chemung and Tioga counties recycle much material, including plastic grocery bags in Tioga. There are some things, however, neither county takes, such as plastic bowls or tubs for yogurt, margarine, Cool Whip, deli foods and the like. I always cringe when I throw those items away. If you'd like to reduce the quantity of waste going into the landfill and at the same time do something for the planet by donating items that will be refashioned into something else, it's now easy in Spencer-Van Etten. Following is a list of many items that you can recycle locally, as long as they are clean and free of food bits: juice pouches, empty chip bags (all sizes), candy bar wrappers from Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury, Lunchables lunch kits (all parts), plastic wrappers from Scott brand paper products, all Kraft cheese bags and cream cheese tubs, Scotch tape rolls and dispensers, shampoo and conditioner bottles, energy and granola bar wrappers, cookie bags and wrappers with the plastic trays, Colgate toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and cardboard packaging, plastic butter tubs, plastic Solo cups, Elmer's glue sticks and bottles, yogurt cups, cell phones, MP3 players, ink jet printer cartridges, laptop computers, computer keyboards, computer mice and digital cameras.

CLARK — Nicole Mailloux’s seventh grade writing students at Carl H. Kumpf Middle School in Clark are actively participating in a service learning project to utilize persuasive writing techniques in order to motivate other middle school students to take part in an international recycling program, Terracycle. This unit was designed to help students find practical, everyday uses for persuasive writing as well as to teach Kumpf students to be more conscious of waste and simple ways to “go green.”