At my company, TerraCycle, we wanted to know if it could also motivate people to reduce packaging waste. For years, we have used social media as a tool to help shift commonly held perceptions about product and packaging waste. Whether that means sharing pictures of “upcycled” art made with product packaging, promoting the sustainability efforts of a recent partner or sharing with our users intriguing “Eco-Facts” about their waste, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have given us a variety of platforms (and access to different audiences) to inspire change and motivate people to recycle traditionally difficult-to-recycle waste streams.

Waste reduction efforts were in full force this past Earth Month. My company TerraCycle, for example, worked with our longtime partners at Tom’s of Maine to help support theLess Waste Challenge. Throughout April, we challenged individuals through social media to reduce one pound of waste from their lives per week.

At my company, TerraCycle, we too have continually seen the value social media can bring to our partners’, and our own, sustainability and eco-activism efforts. Just this April, we worked with our longtime friends atTom’s of Maine to help support the Less Waste Challenge. This Earth Month social media campaign challenged Tom’s of Maine consumers and TerraCycle participants to reduce from their lives one pound of waste per week.