Students from Scott Elementary School aren't only going green, they're getting green. As if the need to take care of the planet isn't enough, a New Jersey-based company is willing to pay cash for the kids' trash.
"So many recyclable and reusable products are sent to landfills, and we are running out of space for our garbage," said Teri Lodesky, teacher and coordinator of Scott Elementary School's environmental club. "A bonus of the program is that TerraCycle pays two cents for every item collected."
Founded in 2001, TerraCycle is one of the fastest-growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Its free national collection program pays not-for-profit organizations and schools for their non-recyclable waste materials, like lunch staples Capri Sun drink pouches and Frito-Lay chip bags.
OK I admit it. I LOVE trash! I love seeing that Upcycle It! barrel filled to the brim at the Farmers Market. It certainly shows Westford's support and commitment to sustainability.
Many of us are parents. Seems like the “green bug” bites a little harder when you look at those tiny faces. TerraCycle has a few new Brigades ideal for parents. Which would you like to see us join?
1) The AVEENO Beauty Brigade – ANY brand and ANY type of personal care beauty tubes. Examples include lotion, sun tan lotion, face wash tubes, body wash tubes. A tube is a container that is crimped at one end and has an opening at the other.
2) The SCOTT Brigade – the outer plastic from ANY brand of paper towel, napkin, toilet paper or similar paper products – no paper wrappings
3) The HUGGIES Brigade – the outer plastic on ANY brand of diaper/personal product packaging; excluding boxes and bins (from baby wipes). Examples would be the overall outer plastic package wrapping on diapers, depends, pull ups, pads, etc. Does not include the clear plastic wrapping inside a box of diapers.
4) The Home Storage Brigade – This brigade includes ANY size storage bags (freezer, storage, regular, sandwich) and containers. We would need to remove any crumbs and pieces of food, but stuck on ingredients (i.e. peanut butter) are acceptable.
5) The Neosporin Tube Brigade – Any size Neosporin brand antibiotic and ointment tubes
6) The Sprout Brigade – Sprout baby food pouches; excluding glass baby jars.
Terracycle realizes that Moms are the main shoppers, organizers, and most involved in the school activities. Because of this, they have new, Mom focused brigades. Parents want to make their children's world greener. Unfortunately, daily life can get in the way of that with limited time and budget, but going green doesn't have to be difficult, time-consuming or expensive. In fact, a smart and savvy parent can go green and even earn green at the same time!
TerraCycle <
http://www.terracycle.net/> has the best business model — “Send us your trash… we’ll make it into cool products!” If you despair of all the waste generated by things like Capri Sun pouches, sign up your school or nonprofit organization for various TerraCycle “brigades.” <
http://www.terracycle.net/brigades> Collect used pouches, candy wrappers, and other items, send them in to TerraCycle, and get paid a couple cents for each. (Given the amount of these products kids go through, that can add up pretty quickly…)
*How great that the top 3 schools in VA that collected the most waste with this program are from the area! What a great way to pay it forward :)
Top 3 Schools in Virginia (based on amount collected this past school year):
Cedar Forest Elementary School in Fredericksburg – 42,685 pieces of waste diverted and $853 earned
Signal Hill Elementary School in Manassas – 37,566 pieces of waste diverted and $752 earned
St. Leo the Great School in Fairfax – 25,581 pieces of waste diverted and $512 earned
Terracycle <
http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html> is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! They are always coming up with fun and cool ways to recycle, but they also have come up with a way (actually 6 ways) Moms can go green, reduce waste at home, AND raise money for their kids school and/or favourite charity.
Terracycle <
http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html> is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! They are always coming up with fun and cool ways to recycle, but they also have come up with a way (actually 6 ways) Moms can go green, reduce waste at home, AND raise money for their kids school and/or favourite charity.
TerraCycle is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! They are always coming up with fun and cool ways to recycle, but they also have come up with a way (actually 6 ways) Moms can go green, reduce waste at home, AND raise money for their kids school and/or favorite charity.
Terracycle <
http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html> is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! They are always coming up with fun and cool ways to recycle, but they also have come up with a way (actually 6 ways) Moms can go green, reduce waste at home, AND raise money for their kids school and/or favourite charity.
Terracycle <
http://www.myatlantamommy.com/2009/12/terracycle.html> is a fantastic organization which takes used wrappers and turns them into some super cool stuff! I am happy and proud to announce Terracycle recently invited me to join their Blogger Club! Yay! AND they have offered to do a cool Back to School giveaway for My Atlanta Mommy readers, which I will let you know about very soon!
