We’ve all heard it – “save the planet”, “go green”, “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Here’s an easy way to do just that and potentially earn money for your group or charity through TerraCycle.
Are there lots of broken and stubby crayons collecting dust at the bottom of your kid’s pencil box? What about dried up markers? Instead of throwing them out and sending them to the landfill you can recycle them. Crayons can be recycled at home, while markers can be recycled through several mail-in programs here in the U.S.
Markers, unfortunately, can’t be recycled and reused at home (beyond wetting the tips to try to get more ink out of them). However, they can be mailed in to a recycling program that will use the plastic housing to make new products. We have two mail-in programs available to us through Prang and TerraCycle.
Another mail-in option hosted by TerraCycle is called the Writing Instrument Brigade, which will accept markers, permanent markers, highlighters, pens and mechanical pencils. Go to
www.terracycle.com and click on the menu item called “Send Your Waste,” then click on “Collection Programs.” At the bottom of the list you’ll find the brigade for writing instruments, click on that and you’ll see the instructions for registering and printing out the pre-paid shipping label.
Just like the Prang Power Recycling Program, the Writing Instrument Brigade requires 7 pounds worth of writing instruments, about 250 items before shipping. However, you can send a variety of brands. It may be best to partner with friends, family or your kids’ classroom to gather enough pieces. After the items are received by TerraCycle they will credit you with points that can go towards a nonprofit or school of your choice.
Students today know the importance of recycling, reusing and repurposing at home, but are they getting the opportunity to put the lesson into practice at school? A company called TerraCycle helps schools implement what they teach while also earning money for the school.
Several local schools already have TerraCycle programs, including Corpus Christi in Wheeling, Hilltop in Marshall County and North Elementary in Brilliant.
Students and teachers can collect supplies such as pens, markers, glue containers, tape dispensers, keyboards and mice, along with lunchroom waste such as drink pouches and chip bags. For each piece of waste collected and sent in for free, the collector earns points toward a donation to the school or charity of their choice.
The materials are then made into a variety of eco-friendly products like trash cans, playground surfaces and watering cans.
TerraCycle also provides free sustainability curricula, DIY and craft projects, and art and product design contests that teachers can use to engage their students.
Back to school, means back to packing a lunch for lots of families around the Tennessee Valley. It also means lots of Capri Sun, granola bar, and chip bag wrappers that can't be recycled. Oops, uh, check that last statement.
" Nexus Energy Center, we participate in a program through a company called Teracycle, based in New Jersey. What they do is take all sorts of random items that are typically un-recyclable, we're talking about granola bar wrappers, chip bags, pens, yogurt containers, things that we can't put in our blue recycle bins at home," said Daniel Tait, of the Nexus Energy Center in Huntsville.
The items are shipped off to Teracycle and turned in to all kinds of cool things like backpacks, purses, toys and lawn furniture just to name a few.
Today, I have some exciting news to share with you. Have you heard of Terracycle? Well, they are a company devoted to upcycling, so in other words, they find “trash” and turn it onto new products. Perhaps you’ve seen kites made from Skittles wrappers or bookbags made from Capri Sun pouches. Several schools and organizations participate across the country, and they actually receive money from Terracycle for collecting and sorting their trash! Just recently, they started a new recycling brigade with Sanford Brands, a division of Newell Rubbermaid,to collect used writing instruments like Paper Mate & Uniball pens, Sharpie Markers, and Expo dry erase markers, and here’s why: Americans alone purchase over 106 billion ballpoint pens every year, and eventually, every single one ends up in a landfill. Not to mention the billions of markers that dry out every year and get tossed. That’s a LOT of plastic, but Terracycle found a way to create a second life for writing instruments. TerraCycle will convert the depleted Paper Mate, Uniball, Sharpie, and Expo® writing instruments into other fun and innovative products.
To help, one company is offering consumers a way to reduce their household garbage while earning money for local schools or charities. Through free collection programs called Brigades, upcycling pioneer TerraCycle is collecting and paying for packaging waste from household staples -- from the bathroom to the kitchen to the classroom.
Many major brands are getting on board with upcycling. Scott tissues and Huggies are sponsoring programs to collect plastic packaging waste from paper products and diapers. And since most oral hygiene products aren't recyclable, Colgate and TerraCycle have partnered to collect used toothbrushes and toothpaste cubes.
