• And Office Depot will be accepting used writing equipment for vouchers off new merchandise. The used pencils, pens and markers will be sent to TerraCycle which will turn them into new office supplies.

Solo Cup Co. has launched a new national recycling initiative, teaming up with Keep America Beautiful and TerraCycle. Lake Forest-based Solo and TerraCycle have created the “Solo Cup Brigade.” Schools, nonprofits and individual consumers who use Solo’s squared plastic cups can collect the cups when finished and return them to TerraCycle for recycling. For each cup collected by Terracycle, Solo will donate 2 cents to Keep America Beautiful or the non-profit or school of the collecting brigade member’s choice. The first $5,000 donated to Keep America Beautiful will be directed to the Keep NYC Beautiful Coalition.

National retailers are hosting events in honor of Earth Day, April 22. Target, the discount chain, plans to give free reusable bags to its first 1 million shoppers Sunday. Last year, the retailer warned, most stores ran out within a few hours. Office Depot and Old Navy are encouraging consumers to recycle their old stuff. From Sunday through April 23, consumers can take their used pens, markers or mechanical pencils to Office Depot to receive a coupon toward a new product by Sanford, which makes Sharpie, Expo and PaperMate brands. TerraCycle, a recycling company, plans to turn the used writing tools into trash cans and desk organizers. From April 22 to May 21, shoppers can drop their old flip-flop sandals in collection bins at Old Navy stores for the Flip Flop Replay. The rubbery flip flops will become playground equipment that TerraCycle plans to donate to communities nationwide.

Your Solo party cups can have a second life under a new national recycling initiative launched today by Solo Cup Company. As part of the Keep America Beautiful- Great America Clean Up event today in New York City’s Times Square, Solo announced it is joining forces with TerraCycle to create the ‘Solo Cup Brigade’ - individuals, schools and non-profits that will collect used Solo Squared plastic cups and return them to TerraCycle for recycling. The recycled material will be used to make other items such as equipment for playgrounds, park benches and outdoor furniture.

Do you have a bunch of old flip flops collecting dust in your closet?   Old Navy stores will be collecting any brand of old flip flop (4/22-5/21) to be recycled into playgrounds by TerraCycle.  Terracycle  <http://www.terracycle.net/> is a great company that takes products that normally can not be recycled and finds new ways to use them.  Check www.oldnavy.com <http://www.oldnavy.com/>  for a store near you!

To help celebrate Earth Month, Earth Day, Easter and Cinco de Mayo, TerraCycle is launching several campaigns that put a new spin on recycling, making it more creative then ever and easy for everyone to get involved. On April 11, TerraCycle will join with the Garnier Brand to provides the first comprehensive solution for all cosmetic packaging waste.

This year, Monterey Road Elementary School has stepped up efforts to teach students about recycling and get students more accustomed to recycling at school every day. The school has been using a service called Terracycle, which hauls recyclables for free and then pays schools two cents for every item collected. While it's great for fundraising, the kids are also getting a fresh perspective on the positive reasons to recycle.

Alternatives, a non-profit agency serving individuals with disabilities throughout Central Massachusetts, demonstrated its concern for the environmental health of the Blackstone Valley by utilizing green technology in its renovation of the Whitin Mill in Whitinsville. One of the agency's latest environmental initiatives is a Terracycling partnership with the Balmer Elementary School in Northbridge. Working with individuals served by Alternatives, students recycle their Capri Sun and Honest Kids drinks containers. The containers sent to Terracycle, where they are recycled into a variety of products. For each recycled container, the school receives $.02.

L’Oreal’s personal care brand Garnier is taking steps to reduce the amount of landfill waste generated by its products by partnering with TerraCycle to recycle packaging into playgrounds. Personal care and beauty products account for one-third of all landfill waste.

Beginning Sunday, April 17 and running through Saturday, April 23,  customers can trade in their used writing instruments, regardless of  brand, to any Office Depot retail store location nationwide. In exchange  for ten pens, pencils or markers, customers will receive a coupon toward  a new product from Newell Rubbermaid Office Products, maker of Sharpie®,  EXPO®, Paper Mate® and more. The collected instruments will be sent to  TerraCycle, the pioneering upcycling and recycling company, to be turned  into new office supply products ranging from trash cans to desk  organizers.