Every year we celebrate Earth Day on April 22, but there are many daily efforts we can participate in year-round to promote more sustainable, Earth-saving behaviors. It can often feel like an impossible and heavy burden to make instant changes and to save the Earth right this moment. Just as in transitioning personal habits towards using healthier, cleaner products or food takes time, so do our efforts in contributing to a healthier Earth.

Franklin’s newly formed Green Team is hitting the ground running with the help of their PTA. The school has updated its Recycling Rally Program and is teaming up once again with New Jersey-based TerraCycle.

Ugh. I hate clutter. It actually hurts my brain. However, even if I were Mari Kondo fancy, and could afford to throw away everything in my house that I don't love, my inner-tree-hugger would feel guilty about putting perfectly usable items into the landfill. So, what's an environmentally responsible person to do with their clutter?   7. Recycle I know many people who live in homes that resemble recycling centers because they care about the environment. While it is a good thing to keep resources like glass and paper out of the landfill, you are not actually doing the world any good by turning your house into a mini dump. Companies as diverse as Terracycle and Madewell have recycling programs for hard to recycle items like denim, instrument strings, and Solo Cups.

Students at the University of Virginia are making a difference on their campus by educating fellow students on the importance of recycling. The TerraCycle program was also featured in their campus recycling outreach.

Students should consider working with the sustainability office to send these cups to a company such as TerraCycle which will accept No. 6 plastic for free. Even if this program is already being used by a small number of students, it should be standardized.

Farmington residents Danielle and Randy Hall started collecting trash about two years ago and cashing it in through TerraCycle to help the Farmington Pet Adoption Center, their favorite charity. It requires a collective effort to accumulate enough trash for a sizable donation so they’ve turned to social media to spread the news, recruit volunteers and collect a lot of trash. The Halls collect accepted waste and ship it to TerraCycle to earn points, which are then redeemed for cash and donated to FPAC.

If you are one of the many people who use PUR or Brita filters for your water, there is exciting news! Both companies have partnered with TerraCycle to create recycling programs

Chatter filled Wassom Middle School’s cafeteria Aug. 28 as members of the Ecology Club worked together to sort, clean and compile the recyclable goods the school has been collecting since the start of the semester. The 24 club members, with ages ranging from 10 to 13, rolled chip bags, stacked Lunchables trays and bunched Capri Sun pouches in order to compress as many of them into prepaid boxes to meet the weight requirements to earn money for their club and their school.

TerraCycle is a New Jersey-based upcycling firm that collects “difficult-to-recycle packaging and products” from organizations like schools and repurposes the waste into new sellable products, according to its website. The Georgetown University Student Association Senate passed a bill establishing a Georgetown TerraCycle collection program.

Making recycling fun, rewarding and lucrative might be a few keys to reducing the amount of trash dumped in landfills. To that end, TerraCycle, a company in New Jersey, put on its Solo Summer Celebration contest, inspiring Cheryl Collins of Santa Rosa to collect over 21,000 plastic #6 cups. As a victor and a collector, Collins was able to raise about $1,200 for the Forestville based charity, Paws As Loving Support (PALS), an organization that provides assistance dogs for children with Autism. “I think what TerraCycle does is pretty awesome,” said Collins about the nationwide recycling contest she won.