Be Green We were so excited to be contacted by TerraCycle to inform you of the opportunity to help your local community and environment while celebrating July 4th. At Birmingham Holiday Examiner, we are passionate about our environment and our community. As we prepare for outdoor fun and feasts, remember that there is another option for your trash and waste. TerraCycle aims to change our idea of waste by teaching us that much of what we determine as useless waste can benefit us all as a recycled item. The great thing about TerraCycle is that you can recycle these items for absolutely free. They provide boxes and labeling so you can just mail your contributions directly to them.

TRENTON, N.J., May 23, 2011 – Summer is the season for outdoor parties and picnics, and it’s important to take care of the outdoors as you are enjoying it. Instead of filling up your trash can with empty food wrappers and plastic cups after guests leave, you can reuse the packaging yourself or send the waste to TerraCycle, where you can earn money for your favorite charity and keep things out of the local landfill at the same time. Terracycle, an innovative upcycling and recycling company, partners with brands such as Frito-Lay, Nabisco, Kraft Cheese, Solo and Scott to reduce the amount of wast being thrown away. Some of the wrappers can also be used for do-it-yourself projects. An easy , crafty summer project is the do-it-yourself chip bowl, which can be made from a Frito-Lay chip bag, and then used for your next party! Or, you can turn your used Solo cups into herb planters for the porch or kitchen. For those who'd prefer to send their waste back to TerraCycle, they'll earn two cents per item for a charity of their choice.

The Fourth of July is the holiday of holidays for the US-of-A (or at least should be) considering the infinitesimal impact the Declaration of Independence had on the formation of our country and venerable status in which we hold those revolutionary patriots and our Founding Fathers. But, I don’t mean to give everyone a history lesson on the birth of our country and ramble on about the philosophical, societal, and political significance of those events (although some could use a brush-up concerning the facts and events leading to the formation of our country, mostly just those self-aggrandizing and media-flunky politicians who often misquote and miscomprehend). Sorry, I watched too many news channels this past week.

THE TERRACYCLE RECYCLING PROGRAM FOR JUICE POUCHES EARNS SCHOOL A CASH REWARD. When students at St. Charles School see a certain juice pouch, they don’t just think “juice.” They also think about reducing school trash and bringing in 2 cents per juice pouch for their school. Special education teacher and Student Council advisor Jill Flemming also sees teachable math moments. Since this past September, the school has been sending Capri Sun juice pouches to TerraCycle. This school year, St. Charles students, who ended their school year Tuesday, recycled more than 11,000 juice bags, Flemming said Wednesday morning—11,072 to be exact. The recycling idea came, she said, when students were doing an annual walk in September against diabetes. The boxes of juice bags that the Student Council dispensed during the walk said, Flemming pointed out, “Recycle with TerraCycle.”

As residents prepare for Fourth of July and other summer parties, they have a new option for their non-recyclable trash: send it for free to TerraCycle to be, indeed, recycled. TerraCycle collects difficult-to-recycle food packaging such as Frito-Lay chip bags, Kraft Singles cheese packaging, Scott paper towel and napkin wrapping, and Solo plastic cups. Anyone can send in their used products and packaging to be upcycled and recycled. For every piece of packaging that TerraCycle receives, participants are awarded with two points, which can be put toward buying a specific charity gift or converted to money and donated to a charity of the participant’s choice.

The local TerraCycle Brigade collects difficult-to-recycle waste to make eco-friendly products. It’s a case of one man’s trash being another man’s treasure. TerraCycle is a global company that collects nonrecyclable and difficult-to-recycle waste and uses it to make affordable, eco-friendly products. For each piece of 'waste' sent in through collection programs called Brigades, TerraCycle pays the UPS shipping charges and awards two points, which can be redeemed for specific charity gifts on TerraCycle.net or converted to 2 cents to be donated to the charity of the collector’s choice. While most municipalities accept glass, aluminum, tin and specific kinds of plastic for recycling, TerraCycle is focused on uncommonly recycled items. The company partners with consumer packaged goods manufacturers to upcycle consumer products. With upcycling, the waste is simply cleaned and shaped, sewn, or fused into new products, such as backpacks, messenger bags, lunch boxes, school supplies, shower curtains, and kites.

Summer is the season for outdoor parties and picnics, and it’s important to take care of the outdoors as you are enjoying it. Instead of filling up your trash can with empty food wrappers and plastic cups after guests leave, you can reuse the packaging yourself or send the waste to TerraCycle, where you can earn money for your favorite charity and keep things out of the local landfill at the same time. TerraCycle, an innovative upcycling and recycling company, partners with brands such as Frito-Lay, Nabisco, Kraft Cheese, Solo, and Scott to reduce the amount of waste being thrown away. Some of the wrappers can also be used for do-it-yourself projects. An easy, crafty summer project is the do-it-yourself chip bowl, which can be made from a Frito-Lay chip bag, and then used for your next party! Or, you can turn your used Solo cups into herb planters for the porch or kitchen. For those who’d prefer to send their waste back to TerraCycle, they’ll earn two cents per item for a charity of their choice.

I love art. And being crafty. So this summer I am all about finding ways to get my kids away from the television with new and fun projects. I recently came across two that I'm eager to try from my friends at TerraCycle. Solo Cup Planters You'll need some empty plastic cups, art supplies (like stickers & markers), potting soil, and seeds or plants. Step 1: Wash out some used plastic cups or pull them out of the recycling bin. You can also use a milk jug, 2 liter soda bottle, or anything else the same shape. Just cut off the top to create a "cup". Step 2: Decorate your cups or label them with what will be in them. Step 3: Plant your flowers or herbs. You can get a packet of seeds for less than a dollar or purchase plants for $2-3. Chip Bag Chip Bowl For this one, all you need is a bag of chips, some tape, and four Velcro tabs. You can also use Glue Dots in place of the Velcro. Step 1: Start with an empty, clean bag and cut off either end to make a square. Step 2: Tape the open ends closed. Step 3: Take each side and fold over about an inch-and-a-half and crease. Step 4: After you've got all sides creased, fold up two at a time and secure in the corner with Velcro or Glue Dots. Do each corner the same. Step 5: Fill your new bowl with chips, pretzels, or your favorite snack mix. Do you and/or your kids like to turn trash into usable items? Do you use recyclables for art? I'd love to read your ideas in the comments!

TerraCycle will take hard-to-recycle items or garbage such as juice pouches, chip bags, toothbrushes and pens and work with companies to reuse them in backpacks, park benches, cutting boards and other items.

Debbie Kozell works with TerraCycle to turn garbage into useful products, and to raise money for the Home and School Association.