Looking to help save the planet, one piece of would-be trash at a time, and possibly earn a few dollars for their school and for special causes, a trio of Mercer sixth-graders made a pitch that’s caught on like wildfire.
The team of Olivia Bentley, Jesse Carson and Kate Murphy formed the EcoEagles. The focus of the EcoEagles is the creation of two “brigades” through TerraCycle. One is a Drink Pouch Brigade and the second is a Candy Wrapper Brigade. Both are officially registered through TerraCycle and can earn points and/or money for the waste that they collect. The waste being collected is exactly what the brigade titles suggest, juice pouch wrappers and candy wrappers.
Used beauty products, aka trash, can now be put to better use post application through a partnership established between
L’Oréal-owned beauty brand
Garnier and green company
TerraCycle, which makes consumer products from post-consumer materials. The companies are working together to collect used personal-care and beauty packaging through the
Personal Care and Beauty Brigade.
One of the dirtiest and most demonized portions of the municipal waste stream may soon be diverted from landfills.
Developing a recycling solution for used disposable diapers, a biological amalgam of complexity, has been a top priority of the global research and development team at TerraCycle Inc., a Trenton-based company whose mission is to create innovative solutions for waste streams.
TerraCycle’s team of scientists, led by Ernie Simpson, global vice president of research and development, is about to put a clothespin on its formula that will render dirty diapers into a material suitable for plastic lumber, pallets and outdoor furniture.
Albe was one of my very first guests when I started Mrs. Green. We’ve come a long way baby! The tagline on their website? Eliminate The Idea of Waste. Love it! You also know I love numbers so ponder these and plan to join us: Number of people collecting trash through partnerships with Terracyle – 26,511,927. Waste units collected: 2,262,684,595. Dollars donated to charities: $3,491,776.12. Counting the days. This show sponsored by Environmental Development Group
Dear Parents and Fellow Roadrunners,
Have you heard of 5th grade’s G21 project that is underway? Here’s our plan:
We are recycling three different brigades:
1. Empty glue sticks and glue bottles
2. Empty disposable tape dispenser rolls
3. Empty beauty product bottles/packaging (This one is a biggie–it includes the following: lipstick cases, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, shampoo bottles, conditioner bottles, bronzer cases, foundation packaging, body wash containers, soap tubes, soap dispensers, lotion dispensers, shaving foam tubes (no cans),
In an effort to make recycling more practical, Recycling Operations Manager Barry Wilkins will be working with TerraCylce, a New Jersey-based waste collection company, to collect used chip bags for its Chip Bag Brigade “upcycling” program.
TerraCycle, founded in 2001 by then-Princeton University student Tom Szaky, works with schools and companies to collect previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste materials and helps remake these materials into new items.
Social media is popular for various reasons including the fact that it’s easy to reach people and that it’s free. Media such as advertising and marketing often is not free, so for many companies it is hard, if not impossible, to find room in the budget. For companies who don’t mind taking a leap of faith, there’s another option, one that TerraCycle relies heavily upon: owned media.
I say “leap of faith” because sometimes you have to shell out some cash to create the owned media, and then be patient and wait for the fruit of your efforts to materialize. Here at TerraCycle, we just started a bi-weekly podcast that documents eco-tips, eco-news, and features interviews with key players from our partners such as Elmer’s, Dropps, and Garnier as well as leading voices from the sustainable industry.
All-natural treat makes classroom parties sweet
I hate to admit it, but I still have candies from last Valentine ’s Day. Having 3 children and 18 students, we were way overstocked after this especially sweet holiday. And then came Halloween and Christmas and that basket that usually has only a few pieces in it is overflowing now. I am not a big fan of candy and I certainly don’t feed it to my children. Eating candy is a special treat in our house and it is hard to control the little sugar loving minds when they know it is around (so as far as I know they are unaware of the location of that basket). I also have a son who is highly allergic to dairy, soy, and nuts – pretty much three ingredients that are in most common candies. You know, the feeling of grabbing a piece of candy out of your child’s hand to possibly save his life … hmm, not a good one. Needless to say, I am very happy to find a healthy and safe alternative to the Valentine sugar rush that will please all three of my children and their little Valentines. Angie’s Kettle Corn Valentine’s Snack Packs are a sweetheart of an all-natural treat, packaged in portable and convenient packs for classmate and friend treat exchange.
Fourth grade students at Winton Woods Elementary School are helping the environment through the school’s Recycling Club.
In addition to recycling cans and paper throughout the building, students recently took on the sticky job of bundling recycled juice bags to send to Terracycle, a company whose goal is to make the non-recyclable recyclable. The juice bags will be “upcycled” into school products like pencil bags, totes and backpacks.
The school receives 20 cents for every bundle of 10 bags, and a recent bundling session earned $34 for the school.
Just because you can't put something in the recycling bin doesn't mean it can't be recycled - send it to New Jersey's TerraCycle Inc., which specializes in unconventional recycleables.
For retailers, getting customers in the door is the goal. The more touch points retailers can have with their customers, the more reasons customers have to visit.
