Do you buy bags of cereal instead of boxes? Our family does! This year, TerraCycle, the company that recycles product packaging and transforms it into cool new products, has provided a great idea for reusing your cereal bags. With a few clever snips and folds, you can turn a plastic cereal package into a cool Easter Basket. I love to transform recycled materials into fun craft projects. Last year, we made a recycled milk jug into an Easter basket. Can't wait to try this idea this year!

A Coppertone lançou um programa de coleta de embalagens de protetores solares vazias, de qualquer tamanho ou marca. O material coletado será usado como matéria-prima, substituindo o material virgem e evitando a extração de novos materiais. A estimativa é que são usadas anualmente cerca de 16 milhões de embalagens de protetor solar. A Brigada Coppertone Protetores do Planeta é feita em parceria com a TerraCycle, empresa que desenvolve produtos eco-amigáveis a partir da reutilização de diversos materiais.

Emmorton Elementary is taking the old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" to a whole new level. Since the beginning of the 2010 school year, the school on Tollgate Road has raised $8,000 by recycling everyday trash, such as chip bags, candy wrappers and juice pouches, through national program TerraCycle. "Our kids are really excited about it," Emmorton's principal, Dr. Peter Carpenter, said. "It's an amazing program." Carpenter originally heard about TerraCycle from his cousin and became intrigued.

WILDWOOD — Jason Fuscellaro’s classroom at Glenwood Avenue Elementary school is full of boxes of empty chip bags, juice containers, candy wrappers and empty tubes of toothpaste. It was trash that was headed for a landfill, but because of Fuscellaro’s class’ new recycling program they’ll be turned into new products and a money maker for the school. The program is through TerraCycle, a Trenton company that says it wants to “eliminate the idea of waste.” The company created recycling systems for various products where anyone sign up to be part of a group, called brigades, and start sending them waste. For example, there is a brigade for chip bags that works with Frito-Lay to “up-cycle” the bags into products like tote bags, plant containers or park benches. The brigade has to collect enough chip bags, 350 for this program, to be counted.

If sweet-smelling room deodorizers aren't your thing, here's something to consider: the Moso Bag, a natural air-purifying bag containing moso bamboo. What's so great about that? Moso bamboo is said to absorb and filter odors, pollutants, allergens and bacteria while dehumidifying to prevent mildew, mold and moisture. What's more, it's fragrance-free, unlike some air fresheners that mask odors by covering them up with other scents.