Trash to Treasure partners with the Broward College and TerraCycle  to collect nontraditional items for reuse and recycling.  TerraCycle pays for these materials and Broward College uses the revenue to fund the Michelle Lawless Scholarship which provides tuition for a student majoring in Environmental Science.

The Environmental Awareness committee at Canyon Creek Elementary is introducing TerraCycle's Classroom Recycling program from January thru April 2011.  This is a great way to help by saving: Elmer Glue Sticks, Papermate and Sharpies writing instruments and Scotch tape dispensers for recycling. Parents need to send these items with their kids for collection in the classrooms. This is similar to their successful Box Top Contest.  The winning classroom will be rewarded with ice cream!  Even if you don't have students you can drop items off at the school to be distributed equally throughout the classes or to a designated

I love crafty ideas and making your own candy wrapper napkin rings is one sweet idea. TerraCycle explains how to make these unique napkin holders.

Anna, who is TerraCycle?  They definitely have a cool name.

I love the name too.  In fact, I gush about TerraCycle so much on the website, you would think I worked for them.  Why do I love them?   Schools and other organizations are paid by TerraCycle to collect certain trash.  Yep. 2 cents per item!  Believe me.  It adds up. Plus, the items collected are up-cycled into new products.

Now onto the Candy Wrappers

All you need is an Elmer glue stick, ruler, scissors, pencil, and candy wrappers that everyone swears they didn’t eat the candy.  (You know what I am talking about.  Don’t play shy with me.  Been there. Done that.) Once you have your supplies, check out the candy wrapper to napkin ring video below.  Like the old fashion written instructions?  TerraCycle has you covered with their handy upload napkin ring PDF.

Saintly Recyclers mail in their trash. Terracycle.net will recycle (usually postage is free) and donate to charity your candy wrappers, yogurt cups, drink pouches, cookie wrappers, Flavia Freshpacks, Frito-Lay chip bags, energy and granola bar wrappers, Bear Naked wrappers, Kashi packages, cell phones, Huggies and Scott tissue wrappers, Aveno tubes, Scotch tape dispensers, corks, cereal bags, Sharpies and Papermate writing instruments, Neosporin tubes, coffee bags, lunch kits (like Lunchables), Colgate tubes and packaging, Ziploc bags and containers, Inkjet cartridges, and Sprout and Revolutions food containers. Preserveproducts.com recycles your No. 5 plastics (same company that has the receptacles at Whole Foods) and water filters into toothbrushes and razors.

With kindergarten teacher Karen Dunlap as their leader, the Norristown school collects drink pouches, chip bags and cookie wrappers — hard-to-recycle waste — and sends them away to be upcycled into eco-friendly products. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials, and it’s what the Trenton, N.J.-based company TerraCycle does with candy wrappers, energy bar wrappers and other consumer products, while at the same time paying the schools and charitable organizations that collect the used packaging.

With kindergarten teacher Karen Dunlap as their leader, the Norristown school collects drink pouches, chip bags and cookie wrappers — hard-to-recycle waste — and sends them away to be upcycled into eco-friendly products. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials, and it’s what the Trenton, N.J.-based company TerraCycle does with candy wrappers, energy bar wrappers and other consumer products, while at the same time paying the schools and charitable organizations that collect the used packaging.

With kindergarten teacher Karen Dunlap as their leader, the Norristown school collects drink pouches, chip bags and cookie wrappers — hard-to-recycle waste — and sends them away to be upcycled into eco-friendly products. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials, and it’s what the Trenton, N.J.-based company TerraCycle does with candy wrappers, energy bar wrappers and other consumer products, while at the same time paying the schools and charitable organizations that collect the used packaging.

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.

HAWKS ... Starting April 5th, and for a limited time only during April, nearly 60 TerraCycle products will be available in every Walmart across the country in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Usually you have to order them online, so this is super cool. These are the products that they're making with the stuff YOU save. So keep on bringing all of your empty drink pouches, chip/cookie bags, candy/energy bar wrappers, Lunchable containers, Kashi product packaging, Elmer's Glue bottles and sticks, Scotch tape cores, Aveeno tubes, and Colgate toothpaste boxes! OUR contest (to earn your teacher a bag, your class a recycled art activity, and three top collecting students a pencil bag) will go through the second week in May. The Terracycle products will only be in Walmart THIS month!