Similar pop-ups by other neighborhood business improvement groups are happening throughout the city. The Port Authority currently has a month-to-month lease agreement with the Fashion Center business improvement district and the Times Square Alliance. The retail space, a storefront at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 41st Street and Eighth Avenue, has been called Blank SL8. In April and May it was home to TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based store that sells products made from waste materials.

We've blogged about TerraCycle before but they're continuing to make headlines. If you're unfamiliar with TerraCycle, they donate cash to charities in exchange for your cigarette butts, razors, expired pills, plastic food wrappers, etc, find new uses for them, and sell those products for a profit. See how they're doing all this while turning an enormous profit, after the jump.   TerraCycle already has their trash collecting and recycling operations in six countries and plans to launch in 11 more. TerraCycle is currently a $40 million company but owner Tom Szaky hopes they can become the "Google of garbage", according to an article in the Telegraph.

For instance, if you head to the Terra Cycle you will see that they are always actively seeking to develop “brigades”. These are groups that commit to collecting very specific materials such as candy wrappers, drink pouches, or soda bottles. <http://www.gogreenitems.com/Recycled_Handbags_Eco_Friendly_Purses_at_Go_Green_Items_s/146.htm>  The group that collects and submits the materials will get paid for each item (usually around two cents each) and will even be able to enjoy free shipping on each package they submit.  This means that a classroom, school, or neighborhood might get together to “harvest” every juice pouch used by the kids. These are quickly rinsed, flattened and submitted to the upcycling group, and then a check  or contribution is made in return for their efforts. It is a win-win scenario and comes with plenty of rewards apart from the money.

For Tom Szaky, it started with a dream, the environmentalist itch, and a little weed. Fast-forward to a decade later, and it’s clear that Szaky (silent ‘s’) has come a long way. As a Princeton University freshman in 2001, Szarky was shocked at how much waste he saw on the Ivy League campus.  Not just the lack of recycling opportunities, but also the waste of food in cafeterias and the overall loss of resources.  That, combined with a fall break trip to Montreal where he learned about using worm compost to grow better pot, and an idea was born. Szaky is now the founder of Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net> . The company “makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials.”

My mother called me last night to tell me about an interesting notice on the side of her Wheat Thins box. Apparently Wheat Thins has teamed up with Terracycle to recyle their packages. My mother proceeded to tell me a bit more about it and then sent me a link to read through today. Here’s what I found in their “About Us” page: TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Our hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage. You can be a part of our eco-revolution, just sign up for one of our FREE Brigades or look for TerraCycle products at your local retailer.

TerraCycle’s business model  follows the age-old refrain: one person’s trash is another’s treasure.  The company has collected millions of used bottles, cereal boxes and  packages, and has converted these materials into shopping bags,  backpacks, watches, and pencil pouches. In all, TerraCycle offers more  than 150 products to consumers via large retailers like Target,  Wal-Mart, OfficeMax, Whole Foods, and The Home Depot. In 2009, the  company reported $7.6 million in revenue and its projection for 2010 is  double that. Its number of employees also increased to 75 in 2009 from  50 in 2008.

Isaac said after her students learned about landfills, they wanted to do something to help the earth and began to raise money through TerraCycle. TerraCycle gives 2 cents for each recyclable received and uses the collections to make tote bags, backpacks and insulated coolers. Smith paraprofessional and parent Cherie Loomis and husband Scott Loomis collected the juice boxes and cookie wrappers to deliver to TerraCycle. By the end of the school year, the students will have raised almost $200, Scott said.

Four leading energy foods producers are sponsoring the TerraCycle program to recycle their wrappers into eco-friendly products and earn money for charities. So far, Clif Bar, Kashi, Odwalla and Bear Naked have helped keep more than 82 million wrappers and containers out of landfills and off roads and trails. Then they're recycled into things such as shower curtains and backpacks. Plus, the program contributes 2 cents to a school or charity for every recyclable item sent in. Participation and shipping are free. To date, TerraCycle says it has paid more than $900,000 to some 50,000 schools or non-profits. For more info or to get involved, click www.terracycle.net.

,100 beauty, food, and home products were recently put to the test by Health Magazine to determine which are the “healthiest.” BEST HOME BUYS All-Purpose Cleaner: Seventh Generation Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner ($2.99, SeventhGeneration.com) Bathroom Cleaner: Biokleen Lavender-Lime Bac-Out Bathroom Cleaner ($7.99, BiokleenHome.com) Glass Cleaner: Terracycle Natural Window Cleaner ($2.99, Terracycle.net)

Along the way, Szaky (photo below) described how Terracycle had to negotiate with Pepsi and Coke for the rights to use their bottle shapes. He also talked about bottling, sleeving, and capping thousands of bottles of liquid garden fertilizer by hand before opening a factory in New Jersey; about getting sued by Scott’s, the garden product company, for trade dress infringement; and about how Terracycle and its unique upcycling concept of turning packaging waste into consumer products—bags, kites, pencil cases--is taking off around the world. “We’re establishing ourselves in a new country about every six weeks,” he told his Packaging Summit audience.