There’s nothing like shelf placement by a mass market retailer to bring an eco-friendly product from the fringe to the mainstream. When Target started carrying Method cleaning products in 2004, the biodegradable and nontoxic household cleansers stood out like a sore green thumb against the bleach- and chemical-filled landscape; now, every brand name from Clorox toWindex comes in a natural, plant-based version.

Students at Woodward Elementary School are learning the meaning of the adage, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." In the students' case, the trash consists of discarded juice pouches. For one New Jersey-based company, the little unwanted pouches represent the treasure. TerraCycle, a company founded by Princeton University students Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer in 2001, has matured from a small start-up showing people how to compost with earthworms to a global leader that takes garbage and "upcycles" it into usable products. Students earn two cents for their school for every empty juice pouch donated to TerraCycle. But they say one of the best parts is having the chance to see their used pouches transformed into backpacks.

Every year BILLIONS of drink pouches end up in dumpsters and landfills across America. TerraCycle, Capri Sun and Honest Kids are working together to put an end to this awful loss of resources. As an eco-friendly innovator, TerraCycle is going to convert the used drink pouches into unique fashion bags, tote bags, and pencil cases for kids and adults! TerraCycle is proud to team up with the largest producer of drink pouches in the country, Capri Sun, and a young organic entry into the market, Honest Kids, to help address this problem from all angles! Together with your help we CAN make a difference!

Thanks to one of the Mega Sales at Kroger, our school is now raking in the pennies. How? By doing something that's good for the environment:  recycling. It all started when I bought five packages of Capri Suns at Kroger to fulfill part of a rebate I was working on. On the back of the package was information about Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> , a company that has kept over 1.2 billion pieces of trash out of landfills while fashioning super cool backpacks, pencil cases, tote bags, trash cans, even cork boards! Even more amazing to me was that they would donate $ .02 per pouch collected, to the school or charity of my choice!

New Jersey-based TerraCycle, founded by Princeton dropout Tom Szaky, sponsors donation boxes at Macy's in their state, asking for people's used jeans and sneakers so they can re-purpose them into messenger bags, laptop sleeves, and high-end items. TerraCycle already makes bags out of plastic juice and yogurt containers. Some of the recycle-made items include a backpack made out of empty Capri Sun pouches for $12.99, a messenger bag made of used Lay's Brand wrappers that retails for $14.99, and a children's lunchbox made out of Kool-Aid wrappers that sells for $7.99.

TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky has turned garbage into a revolutionary new industry.

Have you heard about TerraCycle?  It's a really cool concept for those items that you throw in the trash that can't be recycled.  TerraCycle upCYCLEs it.  They turn it into eco-friendly products that are reasonably priced. The backpack featured is only $12.99.

I just came back from the Terracycle Green Up Shop and boy am I inspired.

Conveninently located next to the Port Authority on 41st Street & 8th Avenue, it is an awesome display of  eco friendly items to be used at home, in class, on the go or even the runway.

Yes darlings, there is an entire dress made from m&m candy wrappers that is fabulous, and tons of other clothing items made from bamboo and salvaged fabric.

I am super inspired to keep making my bags and branching out into other items.Maybe next year you will see “smartalecky” in the Green Up Shop!

Next time you purchase a box of Capri Sun drinks, a tube of Colgate toothpaste, a Clif bar etc.. consider hanging on to your trash and sending it to Terracycle! TerraCycle takes a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials and then makes affordable, eco-friendly products. Terracycle is hoping to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Consider what happens when your kids finish drinking a Capri Sun…they toss the empty juice box in the trash which eventually ends up in a dumpster or landfill. Instead of adding the drink pouch to a pile of other pouches at the landfill, TerraCycle converts the used drink pouches into unique fashion bags, tote bags, pencil cases, and other items for kids and adults (check out the adorable Skittles bag below made from recycled Skittles wrappers)!