I speak for many of our eco citizens and dedicated environmentalist when I say that it pains me to throw anything away, but unfortunately, there are just some things that just can’t be recycled. Chip bags, candy wrappers, tape dispensers and used pens all have to go into the trash… or normally would… Thanks to the company TerraCycle, hard-to-recycle items like those listed above are not trashed, but are actually recycled, or even upcycled. TerraCycle partners with the companies that produce these items, and works with them to create an environmentally friendlier end of life- which means that for many of them, they are turned into something completely new-for example, pens and sharpies are turned into dry erase marker holders, and cookie wrappers are turned into backpacks. Awesome, right? Wait- it gets better.

FARMINGTON — The plastic No. 6 Solo cup that holds an icy cold beverage this summer can become a 10-cent donation to the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area. Through a special summer promotion by TerraCycle's UpCycle recycling program, the local United Way gets donations for each cup. It has already received $62.60 for its first shipment of 626 Solo cups, Lisa Laflin, executive director, said. Normally the cups might bring a cent or two but through August, they are worth 10 cents, she said. When Sarah Martin visited the United Way looking for ways to give back to the community, conversations led to ways to support the organization, Laflin said. Martin is also a member of the Sustainable Coalition at the University of Maine at Farmington. After talking with Laflin and meeting with the coalition, Martin volunteered to organize the recycling program and named the United Way as the beneficiary, Laflin said.

The Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester was featured on the local news for its recycling efforts.

A recycling revolution is going on through the halls of North Andover Middle School. Students, teachers and other staffers have cut the volume of trash from the cafeteria by more than half, according to Craig Richard, one of the teachers who helped get the program going. The three lunch periods at the school used to produce around 30 bags of trash per day, Richard said. "Now it's around a dozen," he said. Tod Workman, school custodian, pointing to a cart that was about half full of trash bags, said it used to overflow with refuse from the cafeteria. The recycling renaissance was spearheaded not by adults, but by two eighth-graders, Douglas Starrett and Harry Ustik, who wrote a letter to the school's online newspaper NAMS Knightly News, in which they took the school to task for throwing away too much trash.

Melanie Ziomek has always been an avid recycler and is so adamant about it her sister jokingly calls her “super recycling nerd.” “I told her I was going to make her a recycling nerd cape,” said her sister, Tammy Kozicki. Ziomek recycles everything she can at Normal’s drop boxes, but was concerned about all the products that can’t be recycled. “I realized how many ink cartridges my church (Word of Faith) and the company I work for (Central Illinois Grain Inspection) were going through,” Ziomek said. She started collecting them in hopes of finding an outlet — and she finally did last fall. It’s called Terracycle, a Trenton, N.J., company founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, someone equally passionate about finding uses for items that can’t be recycled.

Tang invita a los chicos a conocer el colorido “Bicibus”, los días 1, 2 y 3 de junio, en el Parque de la Costa. El divertido y original “Bicibus” estará exhibido en el Parque de Diversiones. Los chicos podrán sacarse fotos y aprender más acerca de cómo fue construido este vehículo que refleja el logro de todos los que participaron del “Programa de Reutilización de Envases de Bebidas en Polvo” desarrollado en forma conjunta por Tang y Terracycle durante el 2011. Además, promotoras de la marca invitarán a los chicos a sumarse a las brigadas de recolección de sobres de Tang, que continuarán trabajando durante el 2012. La alianza de Tang y TerraCycle hace posible que los sobres dejen de ser basura y puedan ser reutilizados y reciclados en nuevos productos amigables con el medio ambiente. Acerca de Tang-Kraft Foods Kraft Foods es la segunda empresa de alimentos y bebidas a nivel mundial, con operaciones en más de 160 países, produciendo alimentos para miles de millones de consumidores. Es líder en chicles, caramelos duros, galletitas, bebidas en polvo y premezclas. El portfolio de productos que se comercializan en Argentina incluye marcas líderes como Tang, Beldent, Oreo, Clight, Milka, Halls, Mantecol, Tita, Rhodesia, Terrabusi Express, Club Social, Cerealitas, Cadbury, Pepitos y Royal, entre otras. Actualmente, Kraft Foods Argentina, brinda empleo a más de 4.200 empleados y posee cuatro plantas industriales en Argentina: una en Gral. Pacheco, donde se producen las categorías de galletitas, pastas y chocolates, otra en Victoria donde se elaboran caramelos, chicles y chocolates, un molino harinero en Tres Arroyos, Provincia de Buenos Aires, y la planta de producción de bebidas en polvo y postres para preparar en Villa Mercedes, San Luis. Kraft Foods (http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com; NYSE: KFT) es miembro del Dow Jones Industrial Average, el índice Standard & Poor's 500, el Índice Dow Jones de Sustentabilidad y el Índice Ethibel Sustainability.

A nova campanha do Parque O Mundo da Xuxa, do mês de junho, além de divertir a criançada, chamará a atenção dos baixinhos para um tema de extrema importância. Além de trabalhar com a conscientização, por meio de brincadeiras, o parque disponibilizará oficinas práticas de sustentabilidade, além de proporcionar, também, atrações culturais e educativas. Para alcançar esses objetivos, o parque realizou parcerias com a Abeaço – Associação Brasileira da Embalagem de Aço, Terracycle, Tang e Sabesp, empresas que apoiarão as quatro novas atividades especiais desse mês: Oficina de Plantio de Mudas; Teatro “A Incrível Viagem ao Mundo Escuro”; Fábrica de Produtos Recicláveis Terracycle & Tang e o Simulador de Consumo de Água - Sabesp. A Oficina de Plantio permitirá que as crianças realizem o plantio de mudas de árvore em latas de aço, junto a um monitor do espaço. Na saída, as crianças receberão um kit brinde com uma cartilha e um porta-lápis da Abeaço.

Brigadas Tang y los chicos en el comercial BiciBus en campaña para reciclar. La empresa Kraft Foods y su marca de jugos en polvo, lanzó el comercial ?BiciBus? que reúne imágenes de los chicos que se sumaron a la propuesta de reciclado durante el año 2011. Por su éxito, el programa tiene continuidad durante 2012 para seguir almacenando los sobres vacíos y luego reutilizarlos y generar distintos productos ecológicos.

“From a corporate perspective, you want to align your brand with organizations that have a good track record but also align closely with your ideals." Turner wanted his gaming company to make money, but he also wanted it to benefit society as a whole. To make this happen, Guerillapps decided to team up with corporations, such as TerraCycle, Carbonfund.org, TreeHugger, and Kraft, who were already encouraging recycling. The company combined their two passions: recycling and gaming and the end result is a product called Trash Tycoon, which integrates real-life recycling with the advancement of the online game.