TerraCycle is an inspired company that began with the simple concept of eliminating everyday waste. Ten years ago, emboldened by this idea of “outsmarting waste,” Princeton student Tom Szaky started selling cartons of worm casting in plastic bottles. Now, a decade after its humble humus-based beginnings, TerraCycle is a multimillion dollar company with a global waste recycling program that turns common trash items into products like purses and swing sets. In partnership with companies such as Kraft and Nabisco, Tom has seemingly done the impossible— he has gotten some of the biggest corporations in the world to sponsor the upcycling and recycling of their own trash. Here’s how it works: Everyday people throw away consumer packaging and other odds and ends that could easily be reused and recycled into something else. TerraCycle works by providing the means for anyone to collect and recycle these products. Schools, neighborhoods, or even individuals can sign up for a “Brigade,” or recognized cotillion of trash collectors. Each Brigade is provided with Collection Kits for goods like juice pouches and yogurt cups. Once their kit is full, a Brigade sends the box back to TerraCycle, earning money to donate towards the charity of their choice. From there, TerraCycle takes each waste item and upcycles or recycles them into products like kites, backpacks, and benches. These products are available online and from retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Wholefoods, thus bringing the whole circle back around. The same juice pouch purchased from Wal-Mart the previous year can now sit on the self as a CD case.

Mandee Newgent, PTO president, said collection of the wrappers is vital to help buy items for the school. This year the PTO has begun collecting candy wrappers and packages that are sent to TerraCycle, where they are recycled into items common items used by many.

Dinosaurs Rex and Rita get their fill of recycled bags at Madison Avenue Elementary. Now they're looking for their fill of votes to win a recycling contest. The school's bins used to accept chip and drink pouches during lunch period are among the 10 finalists in TerraCycle's The Box that Rocks Contest. The winner gets 100,000 points - which translates into $1,000 - from the the New Jersey business that "upcycles" or turns typically non-recyclable materials into new products.

In order to teach students a fun way to protect the Earth and earn money for their school, Oakwood Elementary is participating in a national recycling program. TerraCycle Inc. has partnered with brands including Kraft, Nabisco and Frito-Lay to recycle and “upcycle” packaging including Capri Sun juice pouches, Lunchables containers, chip bags, and more. The items can be used to make products including notebook covers, backpacks and pencil cases. Through TerraCycle, Inc., the school is able to collect food packaging which is difficult to recycle, ship the items at no cost to various warehouses across the country, and receive points. The points can be used toward buying a charity gift or be converted to money for a charity or the school itself.

Check out these picks for organic Halloween goodies from Corey Colwell-Lipson, founder of Green Halloween. “My favorites meet at least one, and ideally all three, of our “3-G” criteria: good for people, good for planet, good for communities. There's also a fourth “G”: good for animals and habitat.” That translates into products that are organic; contain no GMOs, preservatives, artificial colors/flavors, palm oil, or corn syrup; are fair trade (especially important for chocolate, she says); and are made with whole, real foods. Honest Kids drink pouches. All-fruit drinks that are perfect for a party or if you get only a few trick-or-treaters. The packs are recyclable through a partnership with TerraCycle.

• Bad Axe Elementary, Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools and Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic School for taking part in the TerraCycle Brigade program, which recycles many different food packaging items used by students and helps keep trash out of landfills.

Dear Parents, Our TerraCycle brigade has been going well! Instead of going into the landfill, these hard-to-recycle items are being turned them into affordable green products! For more information about the TerraCycle program and products, visit www.TerraCycle.net. Thank you, everyone, for your collection efforts!

Hello Green Thinking Blog readers! I am Kelly Drummond and I am the new president of Recycling Club and the recycling coordinator for the campus. I have been a member of the club for a year now and have an active interest in the environment, recycling, and sustainability. I am working towards making positive changes on this campus and I am very excited to be the new recycling coordinator. This semester I have already begun with evaluating the recycling rooms in all of the residence halls on campus. I plan to have each one contain important and easy to read recycling instructions and make sure each bin is properly labeled. Recycling Club and I have also started a Terracycle program and will be distributing collection boxes in Hasbrouck dining hall, the Student Union building, and Backstage Cafe at Parker Theatre within the next two weeks. We are thrilled to start this program because we will be collecting chip bags which are normally just thrown away. We collect the chip bags and send them off to Terracycle where they will become handbags, backpacks, binders, picture frames, and more! By collecting these bags we will both be reducing the waste produced on campus and putting that material to good use. To learn more about Terracycle please go to: www.terracycle.net to read all about it!

Last month my fascination with how values and purpose can drive corporate culture, products and brand took me to Trenton, New Jersey to visit a company called Terracycle [www.terracycle.net ]. Terracycle, it turns out, is an incredible example of how staying true to your values and purpose can translate into a robust business. Terracycle has pioneered a business model that is not only helping solve our garbage crisis; it's also fueled their exponential growth over the last several years. Now with revenues of $20 million a year, they are rapidly creating a new asset class—garbage.