Nearly halfway through January, I’m still sorting out my resolutions. How about you? I wanted to come up with resolutions that are practical and viable, and will support not only TerraCycle, but my own habits and lifestyle in general. What can I do that melds TerraCycle, my house, and a recycling mission overall? Here’s what I’ve come up with so far: 1. Compost better, and compost more. It’s hard to keep an effective compost bin going when I’m traveling and don’t eat at home much. But in order to be able to maximize composting and really use it to make a difference, I need to step it up. Compostable packaging, which is beginning to become all the rage, is actually difficult to compost if a compost pile isn’t well managed and maintained. I want to be able to compost the compostable, and that will take my dedication. Don’t have the time or the room to compost on your own? Check out this guide on local sites that will do it for you: Earth 911’s Recycling Center search (you can search “compost”) or Findacomposter.com.

Just because you can't put something in the recycling bin doesn't mean it can't be recycled - send it to New Jersey's TerraCycle Inc., which specializes in unconventional recycleables. For retailers, getting customers in the door is the goal. The more touch points retailers can have with their customers, the more reasons customers have to visit.

Terracycle is a program that was started in the middle of the Fall 2011 semester here at SUNY New Paltz and has quickly gained recognition around campus. Terracycle is a company that sponsors the recycling of items that are not usually recycled such as chip bags, candy wrappers, drink pouches, etc. The three collection bins around campus are located on the first floor of the Student Union building, the first floor of Hasbrouck Dining Hall, and the Backstage Café at Parker Theater.

Thermoformed packaging such as blister packs and clamshells typically end up in landfills, even though many of them are made of PC PET, the material that is blow molded into soft drink and water bottles and highly recyclable. That’s a problem for manufacturers concerned about the sustainability of their products and product packaging. But realities of the economics of recycling will probably prevent the widespread recycling of thermoform-grade RPET for some time to come. (The “R” of RPET means the polymer comprises virgin material plus regrind, or recycled content.) In a pilot study conducted by thermoform packaging maker Dordan Manufacturing in Woodstock, Ill., the company shipped 50 of its RPET clamshells to a local recycling facility to determine how well the containers could be sorted. The automated waste-management facility that accepted the RPET samples sort different kinds of polymers using optics

Stuart Walker was so disgusted by the smell of recycling bins during his first day as a member of Kemptown Elementary School's recycling club, he said he felt like putting a clothespin on his nose. Now the fifth-grader is signing up for a second stint with the club.

Tim McNulty had a satisfying career in high tech sales in California’s Silicon Valley and he and his wife, Chi Park, had adventures living and working in Amsterdam and Germany. But after the birth of their two children, now six and four, something seemed to be missing and that was having family nearby. McNulty grew up in Minnesota and his wife grew up outside of Philadelphia—so the couple decided to move east to be closer to family. And since they were making such a big change in where they lived, Tim McNulty decided to make a change in where he worked,

Happy TerraCycle Tuesday! Today we're examining the Cereal Bag Brigade.

Community of Faith's Stepping Stones ministry participates in TerraCycle, a fundraising through recycling program. The following list of items may be brought to church and droped off in the TerraCycle bin located next to the Stepping Stones registration desk. Last year this program raised over $1,200 for use in commuity and other special projects.

Upcycling is a term not many of us are familiar with, but nonetheless an important concept that differs from recycling. According to Wikipedia, “upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.” Upcycling makes something of equal or better value without downgrading the original material or creating more pollution during the process.  Recycling requires additional processing, is less environmentally friendly, and is not necessarily of better value.  For example, the quality of recycled paper or plastic is lower than that of new paper or plastic.