Cub Scout Pack 140 and Elizabeth Lane Elementary School are teaming up to raise money for the school with discarded candy wrappers. Mars, Wrigley and Cadbury candy companies have launched TerraCycle, a recycling project that gives schools 2 cents for every wrapper collected. The Cub Scouts and the Elizabeth Lane Green Team ask that students – and community members – bring candy wrappers from M&Ms, Snickers, Starburst, Swedish Fish, Twix and Skittles to the receptacle located in the school’s main lobby, located at 121 Elizabeth Lane in Matthews. The fundraiser will run through Nov. 4.

The Bluffton Middle School is accepting certain trash for its upcycle program, a recycling-like initiative and fundraiser that earned the school more than $1,750 last year and about $700 so far this year. Unlike traditional recycling, upcycling, a term first created in 1994, does not break down products to incorporate them into other materials. Instead, upcycling is designed to essentially change the used product into a new product without breaking it down. Consider these examples from the TerraCycle website. homework folder lunchbox backpack stereo clip board

One school that's already recycling is now taking the extra step to reduce even more waste. News 4's Kristen Cornett goes to visit to see how they're going green.

TerraCycle offers collection programs that regularly collect waste from more than 14 million people in 11 countries and convert it into more than 1500 new products and materials. Many of the collection programs are free and focus on waste that is not recyclable via traditional methods. The items are then sold at a variety of retailers, including Walmart and Whole Foods Market. The program was founded in 2011 and aims to eliminate the entire concept of ''waste'' by proving that everything we throw away is actually reusable. Tom Szaky began TerraCycle when he was just a 20-year old college freshman attending Princeton University and started by producing organic fertilizer that was packaged in used soda pop bottles.

  To help celebrate Earth Month, Earth Day, Easter and Cinco de Mayo, TerraCycle is launching several campaigns that put a new spin on recycling, making it more creative then ever and easy for everyone to get involved. On April 11, TerraCycle will join with the Garnier Brand to provides the first comprehensive solution for all cosmetic packaging waste. Billions of pieces of waste are expected to be collected by Garnier which will dramatically reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.  Through the sponsorship of worldwide Cosmetics Brigade, cosmetic packaging will be collected and shipped to a TerraCycle facility. All kinds of cosmetic waste that would otherwise end up in our trash can now be recycled or reused. This is huge. Not too long ago I was discussing reusing and recycling cosmetic waste. Now Garnier and TerraCycle offer a fabulous solution.

Americans bought 120 million pounds of candy last Easter. By the time the sugar high wears off, millions of candy wrappers have been discarded and end up in landfills. It doesn't have to be that way. TerraCycle has partnered with Mars/Wrigley and Cadbury to create a second life for used candy wrappers. Conscious consumers are invited to join the Candy Wrapper Brigade by saving the wrapper from a Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury candy product. Collected wrappers can be sent to TerraCycle, where they'll be upcycled into purses, backpacks, coolers and other products. Participation in the Candy Wrapper Brigade is simple and free -- all costs and shipping are covered. Eligible products include M&Ms, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Twix, Snickers and Swedish Fish.

• Colorful, functional boombox
• Upcycled from waste candy wrapper material
• Universally compatible with Ipods, Mp3 players, cd players, computers, and more!
• Runs on your devices power supply
• Made by TerraCycle, the ultimate eco-friendly brand!

Sustainability is a vital ingredient in the effort to preserve our planet. That’s why TerraCycle has teamed up with Merkury Innovations to bring you a line of speakers, boomboxes, and other accessories made possible by upcycling, a process that transforms materials that would otherwise go to waste into usable products. These foldable cardboard boomboxes are universally compatible and run on your device power supply. These boomboxes are packed and shipped flat to reduce pollution. Assembly is required. Dimensions: 11.82 x 1.18 x 9.84

Garbage is irresistible to some of the most devoted eco-entrepreneurs. Already old hat are the many crafts industries producing purses and totes made out of tossed-out potato chip packages and bottle pop tops. Always looking for new notions, recycling firm TerraCycle has a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in New Jersey stuffed with old Skittles bags to fabricate into kites, Capri Sun juice pouches for backpacks and chip bags converted into coolers. The company makes pet toys and garments out of emptied dog food bags and is seeking constructive uses for expired pills, old pill bottles and razor blades.