Photo Credit: Austin Loukas Terracycle recycling boxes, like the ones above, are found in Evans Hall, University Towers, Stark Learning Center, the Student Union Building, and Breiseth Hall You’ve heard of recycled, but how about upcycled? In another effort to “go green” at Wilkes, the Students for Environmental Sustainability club has recently initiated a sustainability collection project called TerraCycle using this process of “upcycling.” Junior Environmental Engineering majors and SES club presidents Katie Cirone and Lizzie Helsel say that TerraCycle is a company that creates and manages collection systems for a variety of hard-to-recycle waste products, such as chip bags, gum wrappers, drink pouches, writing utensils, Ziploc baggies and other items. Tom Szaky, creator and CEO of TerraCycle, had the idea that instead of recycling waste, it could be upcycled and used for another purpose. Cirone explained how upcycling is different than recycling.

To bring awareness to this issue on America Recycles Day, Garnier (yup, the beauty brand) and upcycling/recycling pioneer TerraCycle are sponsoring the Personal Care and Beauty Brigade. All your hair care, skin care and cosmetic packaging, regardless of brand, can be collected and sent to TerraCycle, free of charge. The company specializes in recycling difficult-to-recycle materials, so you can rest assured that they will be made into brand new products. And bonus, for every piece of waste that TerraCycle receives from you, you are awarded two points. Those can be applied to a charity gift on the TerraCycle website or redeemed for $.02 for the charity of your choice.

Step away from the trashcan! Leaving no trace just got easier — and cooler. Take your non-recycleable wrappers from products such as Kashi, Bear Naked and CLIF Bar and put them to good use through TerraCycle Brigade programs. Ship your wrappers to TerraCycle free of charge and they will award you points that you can use to buy a specific charity gift. They then turn your wrappers into cool eco-friendly, affordable products such as tote bags, coolers, notebooks, laptop cases and mini-speakers. Wrappers that aren’t upcycled into products are melted down and turned into plastics that are used in trash cans, flower pots and clipboards. The snacks you enjoy can become eco-friendly, long-life products that support your environment through TerraCycle.

Research Your Municipal Recycling Just like checking the smoke detector batteries on the day the clocks change for daylight savings time, America Recycles Day is a great day to reacquaint yourself with your municipal recycling regulations.  Most people can recycle glass, aluminum, paper, and certain plastics through curbside recycling, but the list of what is and is not accepted varies from town to town. What if you’ve been throwing #5 plastic in your recycling bin but it’s not accepted?  What if your town, like my town, only accepts #1 and #2 plastic bottles of certain shapes?  The neck must be smaller than the widest part of the  bottle, so no tubs or odd-shaped containers are accepted.  Who knew?  I wouldn’t have unless I took the time to do a little research.   Your town should have a list of accepted materials on its municipal website. Recycle the Traditionally Non-Recyclable with TerraCycle You recycled those “recyclables,” but what about the rest of your household waste?  TerraCycle is a recycling and upcycling company that specializes in traditionally non-recyclable and hard-to-recycle materials.  You can send in hair care, skin care and cosmetic packaging, soap refill pouches, tortilla and tostada packaging, cereal bags and 40 other kinds of waste through the Brigade programs for free, thanks to sponsors like Garnier, Method, Mission Foods and Malt-O-Meal.  For every piece of waste sent in to TerraCycle, the collector is awarded points, which can be put toward specific charity gifts or converted to cash and sent to any charity.

Durante este curso llevaremos a cabo un proyecto de reciclaje RECÍCLA-me. Reciclaremos los elementos de esta imagen. En esta presentación podéis ver en los objetivos y finalidades de este proyecto cuyo coordinador es Fernando, profesor de 5º de primaria.

En ECOSEK podéis encontrar proyectos como BIC-TERRACYCLE o SHOUT, en los que participa todo el colegio para lograr la sostenibilidad y una mayor conciencia ecológica de nuestra comunidad  Un blog que representa a toda la Comunidad SEK y en el que trataremos captar la atención y contagiar con nuestras acciones e inquietudes a mucha más gente. Porque todos podemos poner nuestro granito de arena para intentar mejorar el mundo en que vivimos.

Congratulations McNeil! Thank you for donating juice pouches and candy wrappers as part of the Terracycle program. YOU have already provided 1,666 people with clean water! Your efforts are making a difference in our community. Keep up the great work by placing juice pouches and candy wrappers in the cafeteria collections boxes. For every 3 drink pouches or 3 candy wrappers turned in, Terracylce will provide clean drinking water for 1 week to a person who otherwise wouldn’t have clean water!

In honor of America Recycles Day tomorrow, check out TerraCycle's cool program for all your used makeup, hair, and skin care products. http://www.terracycle.net