It may be a polyester costume, but note the upcycled Terracycle bag!

Recycle and Earn Did you know billions of drink pouches are thrown out each year? TerraCycle collects these discarded pouches and turns them into cool products. Sponsored by the drink pouch makers themselves (CapriSun and Kool-Aid) these groovy pencil case holders will be the talk at the lunch table. You can get your school involved too. Collect drink pouches, turn them in and collect cash for your school. Go to www.terracycle.net and find out more. Pencil cases starting at $2. (TerraCycle makes lunch boxes too. See page XXX)

This is like the ultimate way to be green… having NO trash. I like to think we’re pretty green – we recycle, we compost, we barely have any trash. But we do have trash. Look at this way: in nature, there is no trash. What is waste from one, becomes food or shelter for another. Everything is used. Why can’t we do that? That’s where TerraCycle comes in! They take what cannot be recycled and they “upcycle” it to make products you can use. TerraCycle is fairly new, but is quickly spreading around the world. They pay schools, daycares, families, anybody! 2 cents to send in waste that would otherwise sit in a landfill. How do you get involved and help save the earth?

Unfortunately, just like in most towns, there’s a limit on what sort of materials they accept. Which is why whenTerraCycle emailed about their program I was so excited! TerraCycle is a small (but growing!) company that takes normally non-recyclable products and turns them into cool and useful stuff.

Around here we are doing our best to minimize waste, buying things with less packaging, using more cloths than paper towels to clean up, and frankly, eating the kind of food that doesn’t come wrapped in plastic (amen?) but there will always be left overs. The food we feed OBaby’s when we’re traveling comes in pouches. Yes for heaven’s sake we eat chips from time to time. And cereal. But TerraCycle came up with innovative and adorable ways to reuse whatought to be waste. I absolutely love this idea. TerraCycle diverts packaging waste from landfills and helps raise consumer awareness about reducing, reusing and recycling.  By encouraging people to rethink ‘what is waste,’ TerraCycle is making it simple for consumers to have a positive impact on the environment. YOU can actually be on the recycling end of the equation by sending them your used packaging, including empty baby food pouches to be upcycled into baby-related items such as diaper wallets, bibs, backpacks and totes. Neat, huh? Participation is free and all shipping costs are paid.

The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park is collecting non-recyclable items as part of a promotion to reduce waste and to raise money for various programs. Items being collected are: candy wrapper packaging from Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury; empty drink pouches from Honest Kids, Capri Sun and Kool-Aid; and empty Elmer’s glue bottles and sticks. For each item sent in, the Friends receive 2 cents. Those interested in volunteering should contact the group for further instructions at 718-601-1460, or go to www.vancortlandt.org. The program is done in conjunction with Terracycle, an eco-friendly group that “upcycles” the collected materials into new, ecofriendly and affordable products. For more information, go to http://www.terracycle.net.

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!

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.