BROOKLYN, Mich. -- One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. At least that’s what the employees of Michigan International Speedway say. The staff of the track, in partnership with TerraCycle, have pledged to upcycle paper and plastic goods that would normally be thrown into the garbage. In return, TerraCycle will pay MIS Cares, the track’s charity component, up to two cents for every piece collected so the wrappers can be turned into cool, every-day products such as pencil bags, laptop cases, flower pots and toys. “We have pledged to do everything we can, not only as a business, but as individuals, to minimize our effects on the environment and set a positive example that ‘every little bit counts,’” speedway President Roger Curtis said. So what can be upcycled? Drink pouches, potato chip bags, candy bar wrappers, cookie wrappers, energy bar wrappers, pens, markers and highlighters — you name it. Just about anything can be upcycled by TerraCycle.

The words “waste” and “garbage” have always had such negative connotations.  “You’re a waste of space.”  Schoolyard taunts about smelling like a garbage picker.  The phrase “garbage in, garbage out,” which refers to something made with low quality materials that will also yield a low quality final product. Tom Szaky, the 28 year old CEO of Terracycle, sees waste differently.  While he has brought garbage into his company, it seems that the outputs have been nothing short of valuable.  Szaky started Terracycle as a 19 year old Princeton student.  His idea?  Taking food waste from Princeton’s cafeterias, having worms digest it, and producing fertilizer on the other end.  The products were contained in old soda bottles.  After nearly going broke, he was helped out by an investor, which led to the company getting orders into two major retailers.

THE REVIEW:  nom nom nom.  This is an easy lunch box, soccer practice or in the car snack.  The individual portions help control how much snack is eaten.  Overall, the double chocolate was the favourite (close second: oatmeal chocolate chip).  6% of the daily intake of iron per package along with 2g of fibre.  It is definately a treat - but a safe peanut free indulgence.  Added-Value:  Kraft Canada has partnered with http://www.terracycle.ca/ to "upcycle" the trash from these products.  Schools and groups can collect the packaging and send them to TerraCycle (they get paid about .2 cents per package) - then TerraCycle turns them into a recycled product (bag, pencil case, yoga mat holder, etc...) for re-sale.  = Less landfill waste!

The words “waste” and “garbage” have always had such negative connotations.  “You’re a waste of space.”  Schoolyard taunts about smelling like a garbage picker.  The phrase “garbage in, garbage out,” which refers to something made with low quality materials that will also yield a low quality final product. Tom Szaky, the 28 year old CEO of Terracycle, sees waste differently.  While he has brought garbage into his company, it seems that the outputs have been nothing short of valuable.  Szaky started Terracycle as a 19 year old Princeton student.  His idea?  Taking food waste from Princeton’s cafeterias, having worms digest it, and producing fertilizer on the other end.  The products were contained in old soda bottles.  After nearly going broke, he was helped out by an investor, which led to the company getting orders into two major retailers.

Price: $14.99 These iPod speakers are made with wrappers from food conglomerate Mars that would have gone to waste. The speakers come in different designs, either M&M wrappers, Skittles or Starburst (pictured here). The speakers don’t require batteries or need to be plugged into an outlet, making them safer for the environment.

The Terracycle fertilizers caught my eye on Gardeners.com. They are packaged in recycled soda bottles, first of all. The fertilizers are made from worm poop. These worms are fed an all natural, organic diet. It doesn’t smell at all and is safe to use. I bought the All-Purpose Fertilizer and Orchid Fertilizer and have been using both with success. They are $7.95 each.

It looked like a cleaner form of dumpster diving as fifth graders at San Clemente's Truman Benedict Elementary School gathered juice pouches and chip bags from two big recycling bins. While other students played handball just yards away, the fifth graders boxed up trash that would soon be turned into backpacks, kites and other products. The process is called upcycling and it's part of a new Orange County Department of Education initiative to encourage schools to reduce waste. Schools across the county have been recycling for years, but the new Project Zero Waste OC initiative aims to pump up the volume on those programs, said Lori Kiesser, a Department of Education representative.

Pennsbury In a continuing efforts to "go green" at Makefield Elementary School, students and teachers have been working extra hard to recycle. Led by teacher Roberta Stafford, the Recycling Club's goal is to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible. The kids spend time each week collecting water bottles, soda cans, paper, cardboard and composted scraps from the cafeteria. The school has also shipped more than 3,200 Capri Sun packages, 100 Kashi packages and 75 chip bags to TerraCycle, a company that reuses packaging to make new products such as book bags that are sold at major retailers.

So, you've picked all the low-hanging eco-fruit. You've changed out your light bulbs and done a variety of home energy saving retrofits. You've put in tap aerators and shortened your showers. You walk and ride your bike instead of drive as much as you can. You've even started using the clothesline in your laundry room to cut your dryer use by two-thirds...now what? Go eco-shopping to celebrate. Here are thre great products that you can use to "pitch in."

TerraCycle produces very cool consumer products from recycled food packaging. But for businesses trying to grow revenues in this “soft recovery” the coolest thing about TerraCycle is its creative business strategies for generating top-line revenue results with attractive profit margins. How it engage its customers is what makes TerraCycle’s strategy unique. For example, it “up-cycles” Capri Sun wrappers to create products like pencil holders that target the very school children who are the principal consumers of Capri Sun juices. Its customer engagement program involves encouraging school children to collect the wrappers as a fund raiser for their school and a path for learning about recycling. Beyond this being a brilliant social marketing example it also makes money. From a production-cycle perspective, TerraCycle takes a zero-cost waste stream and converts it into a product with attractive margins.