With the Save the Corks program, ABC is teaming up with Nomacorc to upcycle and recycle the corks through TerraCycle. Natural and synthetic wine corks are accepted. In addition, for every cork turned in, 2 cents is then contributed to charities.  In one month alone, ABC rose over $750 for charity.

In the annals of startup lore, Tom Szaky's story is one to remember. He started his company, TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> , after harvesting worm poop in his Princeton dorm to create an organic fertilizer so he could, as he says, "grow better pot." Why not make "sustainable and affordable" products from waste materials? he thought. Since 2007, TerraCycle has convinced more than 7 million people in 60,000 locations to collect over 1 billion pieces of trash. TerraCycle "upcycles" this waste into a variety of high-quality products, from fertilizer and fire logs to tote bags and kites. Szaky, who immigrated at age 8 from Hungary to Canada, continues to have fun thinking of ways to "manipulate waste" and help save the planet.

As global director of product at Royal Robbins, Scott Hamlin was responsible for eliminating the outdoor-clothing company's "fabric liability" -- mountains of surplus cloth. "It wasn't quite enough to make a production run, and it was more than what was conscionable to just throw away," he says. "So we would write the check to the textile factory and the factory would take over from there, and nobody ever asked where that fabric went." He knew, though, that much of it would end up in landfills. So did his industry peers Gary Peck and Jim Stutts. So last year, the three joined forces to launch a company to "upcycle" excess fabric into hip apparel for outdoor enthusiasts. TerraCycle pushed upcycling into the consumer lexicon by making new products out of post-consumer packaging. Looptworks -- the name is a take on closed-loop, zero-waste manufacturing -- is among a new wave of startups that are tackling the other end of the garbage problem: pre-consumer waste.

As part of an ongoing effort to be environmentally responsible citizens, the students at Central Elementary School in Simsbury joined Terracycle's Juice Pouch Brigade and have collected over 8,000 juice pouches since 2008. The pouches are sent to Terracycle and they make new products from them, since they can not be recycled, and they give Central two cents for each pouch. Central has just received a check from Terracycle for $117.02, and has donated it to the Audubon Nature Institute, who through the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program (LMMSTRP), are the primary responders for the state of Louisiana for the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine mammals and sea turtles impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Similar pop-ups by other neighborhood business improvement groups are happening throughout the city. The Port Authority currently has a month-to-month lease agreement with the Fashion Center business improvement district and the Times Square Alliance. The retail space, a storefront at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 41st Street and Eighth Avenue, has been called Blank SL8. In April and May it was home to TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based store that sells products made from waste materials.

A large-scale drive at C. Richard Applegate School will ensure that almost 6,000 drink pouches never hit a landfill, thanks to a band of fifth-graders who wanted to help their community. David Lundy, 11, and a group of classmates -- Jordan Cerio, 10; Kelly Preston, 11, and Ella Kemp, 11 -- recently organized a large drive in which students were encouraged to donate used Capri Sun, Kool-Aid and Honest Kids drink pouches.    The pouches would then be given to the "upcycling'' company Terra Cycle, which collects trash such as drink pouches, candy wrappers and even used writing instruments to make backpacks, laptop cases and other products. What's more, Terra Cycle pays for the waste material they take in -- for example, two cents for every drink pouch they receive.

We've blogged about TerraCycle before but they're continuing to make headlines. If you're unfamiliar with TerraCycle, they donate cash to charities in exchange for your cigarette butts, razors, expired pills, plastic food wrappers, etc, find new uses for them, and sell those products for a profit. See how they're doing all this while turning an enormous profit, after the jump.   TerraCycle already has their trash collecting and recycling operations in six countries and plans to launch in 11 more. TerraCycle is currently a $40 million company but owner Tom Szaky hopes they can become the "Google of garbage", according to an article in the Telegraph.

For instance, if you head to the Terra Cycle you will see that they are always actively seeking to develop “brigades”. These are groups that commit to collecting very specific materials such as candy wrappers, drink pouches, or soda bottles. <http://www.gogreenitems.com/Recycled_Handbags_Eco_Friendly_Purses_at_Go_Green_Items_s/146.htm>  The group that collects and submits the materials will get paid for each item (usually around two cents each) and will even be able to enjoy free shipping on each package they submit.  This means that a classroom, school, or neighborhood might get together to “harvest” every juice pouch used by the kids. These are quickly rinsed, flattened and submitted to the upcycling group, and then a check  or contribution is made in return for their efforts. It is a win-win scenario and comes with plenty of rewards apart from the money.

For Tom Szaky, it started with a dream, the environmentalist itch, and a little weed. Fast-forward to a decade later, and it’s clear that Szaky (silent ‘s’) has come a long way. As a Princeton University freshman in 2001, Szarky was shocked at how much waste he saw on the Ivy League campus.  Not just the lack of recycling opportunities, but also the waste of food in cafeterias and the overall loss of resources.  That, combined with a fall break trip to Montreal where he learned about using worm compost to grow better pot, and an idea was born. Szaky is now the founder of Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net> . The company “makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials.”

“When you think of a really powerful group in the community, you have got to think about our middle school students,” Berryman said. “They’re a powerful group that makes a difference in our community and in the climate of our community and building.” Four of the eighth students –– Paige Bartkowiak, Sara Wortmann, Kourtney Koch and Amelia Sadler –– led their class with service hours. Bartkowiak clocked in with 150 hours to qualify for the Presidential Service Award and 175 total hours. Wortmann recorded 100 presidential service hours and 120 total hours. Koch had 100 presidential service hours and 119 total hours. Sadler recorded 150 presidential service hours and 167 total hours. Bartkowiak said the hours fill up quickly. “You don’t have to do huge projects,” she said. “You just do a little bit here and there.” Bartkowiak along with Wortmann and Koch helped organize a bottle recycling project and a partnership with TerraCycle at the middle school as part of their Girl Scout service to the community.