Balfour Beatty Communities is participating in the TerraCycle program to help keep waste out of landfills and support Crestview Elementary School

Terracycle is a company that collects previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste and converts it into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks. They do this by creating waste collection programs, which are referred to as “Brigades”, for each particular waste item. The LIU Post Recycling Program is currently a member of 9 Brigades. These Brigades include: -Drink Pouch Brigade: Accepted waste includes aluminum drink pouches and plastic drink pouches such as Capri Sun, Kool-Aid Jammers, and Honest Kids. -Candy Wrapper Brigade: Acceptable waste includes individual candy wrappers, large candy bags, and multi-pack candy bags. -Cookie Packaging Brigade: Accepted waste includes cookie packaging like Oreos, Chips Ahoy, and Keebler Cookies. -Chip Bag Brigade: Accepted waste includes chip bags, tortilla chip bags, pretzel bags, etc. -Paired Shoe Brigade: Accepted waste includes pairs of women’s, men’s, and children’s shoes, which may include athletic sneakers, cleats, flats, high heels, dress shoes, boots, and fashion or casual sneakers. Unacceptable waste includes ski boots, roller skates, roller blades, ice skates, completely broken or ruined footwear, single shoes, rubber flip flops, and slippers. -Writing Instruments Brigade: Accepted waste includes pens, pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers, highlighters, and permanent markers. Pencils are NOT accepted. -Elmer’s Glue Crew Brigade: Accepted waste includes Elmer’s glue sticks, Elmer’s glue bottles, and Elmer’s glue tops. ONLY Elmer’s brands are accepted. -Scotch Tape Brigade: Accepted waste includes all plastic tape dispensers and plastic tape cores. -Solo Cup Brigade: Accepted waste includes specially marked plastic #6 cups. Please bring these items to the collection boxes located at the Hillwood Information Desk. For each item that is collected, Terracycle will donate 2 cents to LIU Post. This money will be added to LIU Post Recycling Scholarship. If you have any questions regarding our Terracycle collection efforts, please contact Raheem Barnes, the Student Coordinator of the LIU Post Recycling Program, at LIUPostRecycling@gmail.com For additional information about Terracycle, you may visit http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/

Students will now have a way to keep their environmental consciences clear when throwing parties by recycling red cups through the Red Cup Cleanup campaign.

The campaign, multilaterally coordinated by the Campus Center for the Environment (CCE), the Dining Services Sustainability Office and the ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission, will enable students to easily recycle red Solo cups by disposing of them at the South Silo drop-off point every Monday between 9 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m.

The scheme operates with TerraCycle, a company dedicated to recycling products that are not usually recycled and would otherwise be sent to landfill.

“TerraCycle’s purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste,” TerraCycle’s website stated.

Red cups are made of grade-6 plastic, deeming them non-recyclable within Davis up until the scheme was brought in.

Third-year nutrition science major Sarah Azari and third-year environmental science and management major Teresa Fukuda, the two interns in charge of the Red Cup Cleanup, initiated the campaign in 2011 by collecting cups from UC Davis fraternities and sending them to TerraCycle. The cups are subsequently melted down and transformed into other usable products, which are sold in chains such as Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. Two cents per cup recycled is then donated to a charity of the program’s choice.

To date, over $500 has been raised by the CCE through the Red Cup Cleanup campaign. The hope is that by implementing the weekly drop-off, students can actively bring their used cups to be recycled in a sustainable way, increasing both the number of cups collected every week and the amount of money raised for charity.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the scheme [among] the fraternities. They’re really on board,” Azari said. “Hopefully it will be well-integrated into Greek life so that we can get it implemented into other campus organizations.”

The campaign initially targeted fraternities in Davis due to their large-scale and prolific use of the cups when hosting social events.

“Fraternities are an important place to start because of the sheer volume [of red cups] consumed. It’s important to start in a place where you have a lot of returns when you want to put a scheme like this in place,” said Cameron Scott, a fourth-year international relations major and active member of the Theta Chi Fraternity.

Fukuda agreed fraternities could be influential in the program.

“They [the fraternities] set a great example for the rest of the school population,” Fukuda said.

The charitable aspect of the program, furthermore, is integral to the fraternities’ participation, as it helps them fulfill their philanthropic activities.

“There’s already a philanthropic element to the scheme in that you’re working [toward] a more sustainable future, so I think it’s a double-edged sword where there’s two positive aspects to the effort,” Scott said.

Given the positive response among fraternities, the CCE hopes that momentum for the program will grow throughout Davis.

“There’s a lot of potential to get individuals outside the fraternities involved in the scheme,” said Tessa Artale, a fourth-year sociology and Spanish double major and CCE director. “Eventually we want to use our Facebook campaign and distribute flyers to roll out the scheme to the broader public. We feel individuals will be incentivized by the charitable element.”

The CCE is also hoping to attract grants from private organizations in order to provide further incentives for individuals to get involved in the program. The grants will be used to purchase items — such as trash cans resembling red cups and reusable cups — that will be distributed in exchange for used cups.

The trash cans, which will be designed by first-year art student Carmel Dor, will help students distinguish between recyclable and non-recyclable waste.

“Our biggest priority is getting the trash cans up and running so that students know where to recycle their cups,” said Issy DeMillan, a fourth-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major and participant of the scheme.

The prospect of reusable cups, however, has a split opinion among the fraternities, with some more willing to embrace the departure from red cups than others.

“The problem with buying our own set of cups is that it’s expensive. The fact we have this scheme, which we’re more than willing to help out with, and that we could get a set of reusable cups will save us money and saves waste,” said Juan Chavarin, the sustainability chair of Sigma Nu, one of the first fraternities to embrace the scheme.

Scott, on the other hand, said that the appeal of the red cups is the very fact that they are disposable.

“There’s comfort in the fact that someone wasn’t responsible for washing that cup. It came out new. People know where it’s been. A more popular approach would be to carry on using the cups and disposing of them in a sustainable way,” Scott said.

While eating lunch with her children at school, Tracy Romzek was shocked to see how much of the meal was thrown out. Not just the food, but the things that could be recycled, like milk cartons. Romzek, 38, a Town of Menasha mother of two who has a master’s degree in environmental engineering, decided to research the best way to recycle the materials. Then, she talked to the school principal and school district officials. “I just saw something that could be done and chose to take action,” she said. Romzek admitted she didn’t know what it would take to get a milk carton recycling program started. But once she took action at Clayton, it opened the door to other recycling possibilities and, ultimately, other schools in the district. “It started as a carton thing but what it really turned out to be was cafeteria recycling,” she said, noting the program is currently implemented in all but one of Neenah’s elementary schools and at Horace Mann Middle School. She hopes to bring the program to Jefferson Elementary and Fox River Academy in Appleton. She signed up for recycling brigades with TerraCycle, a free waste collection program for hard-to-recycle materials. Clayton now collects dairy containers like yogurt tubs, drink pouches, Scotch tape dispensers, paper products, Solo cups, granola bar wrappers, cheese packaging and Lunchables containers, among other items. “That is waste being upcycled,” she said. “These are things that are not traditionally recycled.” Romzek also was awarded an environmental education grant from SCA Tissue, which allowed her to purchase containers and things needed for the recycling programs. She hopes to encourage the schools to get away from bagging the recyclables. The milk cartons, she noted, cannot be tied up in a plastic bag or they will rot. She also sought a local facility, Fox River Fiber in DePere, to take away the materials. “It’s pretty cool we have a local company that wants them,” she said. She sees recycling as a cost-saving measure for the district. “A third of the lunchroom waste is going into recycle rather than the garbage,” she said. “Recycling is cheaper to pick up than the garbage.”   Andrew Thorson, director of facilities and an engineer in the district, said he appreciates all Romzek has done.   “She’s very dedicated and she has a lot of energy to handle these things,” he said. “It’s very helpful to us that she can spend her time on that. We have the need but not necessarily the ability to do as much as she does.” Romzek also thinks the recycling programs educate the children. “A lot of these kids, once I showed them what can be recycled, they love it and they really try and they want to do the right thing,” she said, noting that by getting them “involved early on, they will care later.”

TerraCycle is a company renowned for turning trash into treasure. Here's an inside look at the graffiti-clad warehouse in Trenton, N.J. where much of the upcycling magic happens.Late last week, I had the pleasure of touring the Trenton, N.J. offices of TerraCycle, a “waste solution development” firm with the most admirable mission to "eliminate the idea of waste."

FARMINGTON -- Gloved hands sifted swiftly through bags of trash Wednesday, finding paper, disposable cups, foil-lined granola-bar wrappers and uneaten food that could have been recycled.   For the fifth year, members of the Sustainable Campus Coalition at the University of Maine at Farmington rummaged through bags of garbage collected over a 24-hour period in campus residence halls.   They separated recyclables from trash and for the first time, garnered items such as business folders that the on-campus Everyone's Resource Depot could take for resale.   They also looked for Solo cups, pouch drink containers and granola wrappers that can be "upcycled" -- converted to new materials of better quality or better environmental value -- and sent to TerraCycle where they are used to create usable items. TerraCycle provides free waste collection programs for hard-to- recycle materials and turns the waste into "affordable green products," according to its website.   Students are looking for things such as backpacks, bags, newspapers, pencils and plastic picnic tables, said Joe Digman, an intern with Sarah Martin, an adjunct professor at UMF.   Martin is also volunteer coordinator of TerraCycle for the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area. UMF is working with the United Way to start upcycling on campus, with all donations used to benefit the local region.   Cups, wrappers, beauty products and packaging, oral care products and pouch drinks are collected and shipped to TerraCycle, which pays a stipend to benefit the agencies supported by the United Way. A purple collection bin for such items sits outside the United Way door on Broadway.   "It's a win-win," Martin said.   Items that would normally add to landfills are reused, producing less trash and less impact on the environment. The effort also produces a modest, steady income for the United Way, which helps local people, she said.   Digman has helped set up three bins on campus. Adding more bins is being considered, he said, manning a table that displayed items that can be upcycled.   Sustainable Campus Coalition members were finding a lot of foil- lined granola wrappers, No. 6 plastics and Solo cups, senior Sarah Lavorgna said as she helped separate trash.   Students Samantha Ritson, Jasmin Heckler and Emily Vitone staffed a table for Everyone's Resource Depot where they displayed artistic items created from materials found at the depot.   The trash day, sponsored by the SCC, has shown a decrease each year in items that can be recycled, said Kaisha Muchemore, a UMF senior and co-coordinator of the campus group.   The decrease indicates the exercise is effective, Muchemore said. Last year, about 30 percent of the trash could have been recycled, she said. The group was hoping to lower the percentage to 20 percent or less this year, SCC coordinator Luke Kellett said. Members have met with Sandy River Recycling Manager Ron Slater to better understand which items the facility can recycle. They also are working on a food event set for Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Farmington Grange Hall involving local farmers and local food sources, Kellett said. The group also intends to hold another Fiddlehead Festival in May.

FARMINGTON - The scene on the green today at the University of Maine at Farmington was all about finding things that were thrown away that should have been recycled. The annual event was expanded further this year to include a new program that also generates support for local charities.   At the event sponsored by the UMF Sustainable Campus Coalition, trash generated in residence halls over a 24-hour period are collected to determine how much could have also been recycled.   The coalition has been working with the Sandy River Recycling Association to pull  items for recycling at the transfer station and, at the same time, items  for possible use by Everyone's Resource Depot on campus.  ERD, a non-profit organization, takes recycled goods and offers them for creative reuse, such as art projects and various teaching tools. A nominal fee is charged to support the program.   Another new recycling effort at UMF was added last spring. Items like chip and candy wrappers, solo plastic cups and shampoo bottles are collected and sent to TerraCycle, which turns them into usable products like backpacks and park benches. In turn, TerraCycle pays 1 or 2 cents per item, with all profits coming back to UMF going to the local United Way.   Since the program began, $215 has been raised for United Way of the Tri Valley's charitable agencies and organizations it supports.   Sarah Martin, an adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health and Recreation, came up with the idea of UMF students working with TerraCycle to not only expand the recycling effort on campus, but to also benefit a local charity. UMF student Joe Dignam, a third-year environmental policy and planning major, is an intern working with Martin and United Way's executive director, Lisa Laflin to coordinate the program.   "When I heard about TerraCycle, I thought, wow, we have to do this," Martin said.   The students and faculty sorting trash today found all kinds of recyclable items that were pulled and resorted into categories that will be sent to ERD, the transfer station and there was a good-sized bag that will go to TerraCycle.   "We want to see the percentage of items that could have been recycled," said Luke Kellett, who is UMF's part-time sustainability coordinator and lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.   At last year's event they found that 25 percent of the trash could have been recycled. Displaying the trash for all to see at noontime on the campus green helps bring awareness of the recycling effort to the forefront.   "We hope to see progress this year and be below 20 percent," Kellett said. Find out more about TerraCycle here. Find out how you can donate your items to United Way of the Tri Valley Area here.

LOWELL -- The YWCA Green Team started without a name. As a small group of committed youth and staff volunteers, they piloted recycling efforts at the 2000 Lowell Folk Festival. Today, 12 years later, the group is about to surmount the half-million mark in recycled beverage containers -- plastic soda, water, sports drink and juice bottles, as well as metal soda cans and plastic No. 6 PS drinking cups. Working closely with Lowell's Solid Waste and Recycling Office, the Green Team formalized its name in 2008. Now, in addition to the Lowell Folk Festival, the Green Team assists with recycling at a variety of events, including the Textile River Regatta, National Night Out and the Bay State Marathon. The Green Team has also forged relationships with approximately 20 local nonprofit, municipal and private organizations. The partnerships establish recycling drop-off stations and provides on-call pick up of their recyclables -- like toner cartridges, cellphones, button-cell batteries and bottles and cans. Some of the valuable partners include Merrimack River Valley House, the American Textile History Museum, Community Team Work Inc., various Lowell municipal offices, The Boys and Girls Club, Miracle Ear and the Lowell Teen Coalition. Most recently, the Green Team has started collecting and recycling yogurt/dairy tubs. One of the most prized partnerships has been forged with Coca-Cola of New England in Lowell. The local Coke facility has generously accepted all collected noncarbonated No. 1 PET plastic (nonnickel) bottles -- including those of a competitor bottling company -- that the Green Team has collected at the Lowell Spinners baseball home games, nearly 10,000 bottles and cans from this season alone.

Now that Summer has ended….and we are putting up the Summer clothing and shoes and breaking out our Fall and Winter items….it is a great opportunity to get rid of your old, worn-out flip flops. Instead of just tossing those in the trash, check out Flip-Flop Brigade  and you can earn you a FREE pair of NEW Flip Flops (so you’ll be ready for next Summer) as well as some HOT Old Navy coupons….   Through TerraCycle’s partnership with Old Navy, consumers can do the right thing for the environment and their wallets and recycle their old flip flops for free through the Flip Flop Brigade. For every 25 pairs collected, participants receive a coupon for free flip flops and a packet of coupons for $10 off an Old Navy purchase to share with those that helped in the collection efforts. These might come in handy for Back-to-School shopping! The program is open to anyone, free to join, and all shipping costs are paid. For more info, please visit http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/oldnavy.html. Aside from this program, flip flops are not widely recyclable and usually have no end-of-life solution besides the landfill. It is estimated that 1.3 million tons of flip flops are thrown away each year. After a couple of hundred years, when flip flops finally start to break down, they can leach chemicals into the ground and the air. TerraCycle and Old Navy had a month-long flip flop collection program in 2011 and the year-round collection program was instituted by popular request. In addition to the Flip Flop Brigade, TerraCycle collects about 45 different kinds of products and packaging including personal care and beauty waste, household cleaner packaging, Solo cups, chip bags, drink pouches, writing instruments and much more. TerraCycle awards points for each one of these items sent in. These points can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to a favorite charity or school. Since 2007, we’ve kept 2.3 billion pieces of waste from ending up in landfills and paid over $4 million to schools and non-profits. People who are interested in signing up for these or any other TerraCycle programs should visit www.terracycle.com.

Here at UC Davis we recycle bottles and cans, cardboard and Styrofoam, CDs and DVDs, fluorescent bulbs and sticky notes, toner and inkjet cartridges, batteries and electronics, and even wine corks. And paper, of course.   But what about our pens? Starting today (Sept. 14), we can recycle those, too, and other, selected writing implements — adding more “cool” to UC Davis’recent ranking as the nation’s “Coolest School” in Sierra magazine’s evaluation of sustainability in higher education.   Materiel Management, a longtime champion of campus sustainability efforts, is spearheading our newest recycling opportunity, by joining up with theTerraCycle Writing Instruments Brigade.   “Writing instruments?” Why not just call them “pens?”   Because TerraCycle Inc. takes any type of plastic-encased device: pens, mechanical pencils, markers and highlighters (the caps too!). And those correction tape dispensers that we sometimes use to erase what we wrote! But nothing encased in wood or metal. TerraCycle wants only the plastic for reuse in the company’s line of consumer products — storage bins, for example.