The third most preferred option on the Waste Management Hierarchy is ‘Recycling’. Recycling involves the collection of waste materials and processing these into new products – therefore keeping these items out of landfill. For recycling to be effective we must know how to recycle properly. While recycling is great and we are lucky to have defined systems in place in Australia, we should still view this as the third option after we have exhausted any avoidance or reuse strategies. The recycling process of many items often uses less energy than starting the whole manufacturing process from virgin sources –  but it does still use energy – something we can save if we ‘avoid’ or ‘reuse’. For waste products you cannot reuse here are some tips on how you can recycle properly and effectively. There are even some items that you may not be aware can be recycled… 10 tips on how to recycle properly 4. Did you know that some coffee pods can be recycled? Nespresso and Nescafé dolce gusto both offer recycling schemes  – check out the details along with other recycling programmes you might not be aware of through Terracycle.

Encouraging recycling  Consumers face a choice when they unwrap or finish a product: recycle or dispose. Australian consumers are generally good at recycling the basics - aluminium cans, glass and plastic bottles - but need prompting when it comes to other forms of packaging. TerraCycle, founded in the US in 2011, helps consumers recycle the difficult-to-recycle. It runs brand sponsored collection programs for different types of waste from chip bags to juice pouches. Brigades, comprising community groups, schools or individuals, collect packaging for a particular stream and TerraCycle uses innovative recycling and upcycling processes to keep waste from going to, well, waste. Since its launch, TerraCycle has grown to 21 countries including the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand. "The recycling programs are hugely successful," TerraCycle Australia & New Zealand PR and Marketing Manager Gemma Kaczerepa said. "There are currently 60 million people collecting for TerraCycle worldwide. Since 2006, we have diverted more than 3.7 billion units of waste from landfills and incinerators, and raised more than $15 million for charity. Further, there are now over 60 types of non-recyclable waste that can be recycling through our programs." Different programs are run in each country, depending on support of brands. In Australia some of the successful programs include:

• Beauty products recycling program with L'Oréal - more than 138,000 products (including shampoo and hairspray bottles, eye-shadow palettes and lipstick tubes) have been diverted from landfill since the program's launch in 2014
• Kids Pouch & Snack recycling program with Whole Kids - more than 20,000 products have been diverted from landfill since the program's launch in 2015
• Nescafé Dolce Gusto Capsule recycling program - more than 600,000 capsules have been diverted from landfill since the program's launch in 2014
• Oral Care recycling program with Colgate - more than 203,000 products have been diverted from landfill since the program's launch in 2014.

This program also features the Bright Smiles, Bright Futures oral care recycling contest - a nationwide recycling competition for primary schools primary schools offering a $1,000 prize and, in the latest round, a recycled park bench made of oral-care waste. Mz Kaczerepa says there are program taking place overseas that she'd like to see implemented in Australia, such as recycling programs for stationery, pet food and treat packaging, and contact lenses and blister packs. Internationally, TerraCycle also works with retailers to create in-store recycling promotions and awareness campaigns to communicate the recyclability of the brand's products. "This can include in-store competition whereby shoppers are encouraged to return products to enter the prize draw; in-store collections whereby customers can redeem their used products for a discount off new ones; and shelf-talkers and other marketing collateral to promote the brand and its recycling efforts," Mz Kaczerepa said. "We hope to launch a similar initiatives in Australia in 2017."

Australians drink more than a million and a half cups of coffee a day – which equates to around 2.4kg of coffee grounds per person each year (according to Australian Bureau of Statistics research). We rarely consider it, but that coffee is accompanied by tonnes of packaging. Nestlé, producer of Nescafé, has overcome this challenge and partnered with TerraCycle to develop a process to collects used capsules, shreds them and re-uses the various components.

Coffee capsules and pods have been panned by many as being a wasteful product that focuses too much on single-use items, so TerraCycle and NESCAFE partnered to create these outdoor table benches from them.

Waste Reduction Options

Nespresso pods are made from aluminium and are easy to recycle. A postage-paid Recycling Satchel can be used to return Nespresso pods for recycling. The satchels can be purchased for $1.90 from your retailer (they hold up to 130 capsules) and then dropped into any Australia Post office or box free of charge. Nespresso pods can also be dropped off in their Boutiques and a network of florists across the country. TerraCycle run a free collection program for NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Capsules and a paid program for other pods.

I was so delighted to hear about a company called TerraCycle who is doing just that, taking a product that many thought could not be recycled and providing a FREE service to take your pods and using flash as technology recycling these and reducing yet another product that could otherwise massively impact our already overloaded waste systems. I have attached a little vid here to explain how it all works.  Basically Nescafe Dolce Gusto users are encouraged to sign up to the programme, use their own box, keep all the capsules in it, download a free shipping label and send the box in via NZ Post – this is another option outside of the public drop-off points. More info can be found here – http://www.terracycle.co.nz/en-NZ/brigades/capsulebrigade Thanks to Nescafe for hooking me up with these awesome products, I have been truly spoilt and I am delighted to be able to share the love and have this huge giveaway as I clearly don’t need all this delicious coffee!! Check out TerraCycle too, I think what they are doing is just awesome.

Terracycle provide a great service that allows you to recycle your pods. You will need to collect them, clean them and send them through the post, alternatively depending on the brand you use, you can take them back to the store and have them recycle them for you. Nespresso pods can be taken directly to a Nespresso store that offers the recycling service. Nescafe Dulce Gusto pods can be sent to Terracycle for recycling.

As a social business with a triple bottom line of ‘planet, people and profit’ TerraCycle’s motivation from its beginning as a worm fertiliser start-up to a global recycling company is to ‘eliminate the idea of waste’. Through nationwide collection programs called Brigades, that are free and accessible, TerraCycle’s purpose is to recycle ‘unrecyclable’ waste streams that others deem challenging, impossible or unsavoury and provide a cyclical solution through reuse, upcycling and recycling. TerraCycle does not believe in linear solutions such as incinerating waste or waste-to-landfill.

Recycling has even become a worldwide business with TerraCycle, a company that recycles hard-to-recycle items, launching in Australia in 2014. It started in the US in 2001 and is now in 21 countries. “The TerraCycle philosophy is to eliminate the idea of waste,” TerraCycle communications manager Ausseela Thanaphongsakom said. In Australia it allows people to recycle yoghurt pouches, used mail satchels and other dental products for free. While the company has only just established itself in Australia, in other countries it even offers recycling of things like chewing gum. “I think (the companies) perceive, rightly so, that consumers would appreciate and are demanding such programs,” TerraCycle founder and chief executive officer Tom Szaky told news.com.au. Pretty much everything is recyclable, Mr Szaky explained, but the problem is making it into a product that people wanted to buy. This is because most products, especially plastics, can only be “downcycled”. A plastic toothbrush can’t be recycled into a new plastic toothbrush, for example. This is in contrast to metal, which can be recycled endlessly, and paper, which can be recycled seven times. Most plastics are recycled into things like park benches and garden materials. Part of TerraCycle’s business is creating a market for these recycled products. Mr Szaky said he thought Australians had less opportunity to recycle things, compared with other countries, because of a lack of infrastructure. This applied even to more profitable materials such as glass and paper. But he acknowledged that the ideal situation was not to consume. “That’s the fundamental answer, don’t buy this stuff to begin with. But if you chose to buy, as many do, the best thing is to buy things that you can reuse.” TERRACYCLE RECYCLING PROGRAM Items that can be recycled for free include: Colgate Oral Care Brigade: used toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss containers and outer packaging Nescafé Dolce Gusto Capsules Brigade: only Nescafé Dolce Gusto are accepted. Whole Kids Snack and Pouch Brigade: snack wrappers and yoghurt pouches. Australia Post Mailing Satchel Brigade: Mailing post satchels. Natures Organics Cleaner Packaging Brigade: nozzles, triggers, on cleaning, beauty and laundry products, beauty wipe packaging Nespresso Capsules Brigade: only Nespresso capsules are accepted and can be dropped off at participating florists and garden centres. Loccitane Recycling Program: Its products can be dropped at participating stores. For more information on the free recycling program go to: www.terracycle.com.au/en-AU/brigades You can also purchase zero waste boxes to recycle other items: www.terracycle.com.au/en-AU/zero_waste_boxes

It's fair to say that in most personal relationships the decision to move for one partner's career doesn't always pan out for the both parties. Luckily, that wasn't the case for Anna Minns. The former criminal lawyer had already switched to working on environmentally focused projects by the time her first child was born. Then, her focus was the Daily Lime website, a project Minns founded (and won awards for) to provide readers with green tips including from high profile contributors such as Kevin Rudd and Tim Flannery.