My family has been loyal to the Guerrero <http://www.tortillasguerrero.com/en/>  brand for more than 20 years. For those of you who are not familiar (if your a follower of this blog how could you not be!) Guerrero is a brand of Tortilla and among others such as its sister brand, Mission or other private brands such as Diana’s,  it tends to be the leading brand for Hispanics. TerraCycle is truly something great that they are participating in which creates a greener environment and supports your favorite charity. This is how it works… 1. You collect the empty pouches of your tortillas or tostadas guerrero 2. Fit as many pouches as you can in a cardboard box 3. Print the pre-paid label, stick it on the box and take it to the nearest UPS center 4. Once they get your shipment they will transfer your credit to your account and send it to a non-profit organization of your choice in June or December of this year.

BIC, världsledande varumärke inom kulspetspennor, har startat ett samarbete med TerraCycle®, ett nytänkande återvinningsföretag, i syfte att möjliggöra insamling av förbrukade pennor. Skolor och kontor kan nu samla in sina förbrukade pennor som sedan kommer att återvinnas och åter komma till nytta. Programmet sponsras av BIC och omfattar alla pennor, oavsett om de tillverkats av BIC® eller någon annan tillverkare. Pennorna samlas in och kan återvinnas till nya användbara produkter som t.ex. pennhållare, papperskorgar och vattenkannor. 20 öre per insamlad penna kommer att doneras till en välgörenhetsorganisation som väljs av dem som deltar. Det är lätt att ansluta sig till insamlings- och återvinningsprogrammet som BIC och TerraCycle startat. Varje skola, universitet eller företag som är intresserad av att starta en insamling kan registrera sig gratis på www.terracycle.se och därifrån ladda ner material såsom affischer, broschyrer och förbetalda fraktsedlar. Sedan kan insamlingen av pennor börja. De insamlade pennorna skickas utan kostnad till TerraCycles lager i Göteborg, och återvinns sedan.

PTAs often combine fundraising efforts with service to the environment or community.  For example, Debra Johnson, president of Weyanoke PTA, has garnered funds through the collection of juice pouches and chip bags.  Sent to Terracycle.net to be “upcycled” into items like tote bags, they earn a few cents each.  The used flipflops they’ve collected will be turned into playground material. For Lisa Keyes and her PTA at Columbia ES, their efforts include helping families in need. “Some of the community events we are involved in are sponsoring a school supplies drive for families in our community, participating in a food drive to help stock a local food pantry, a coat and hat drive for our community,” she says.

My hatred of waste is well-documented in this space.  And yet I have much to learn and much to go in this area.  Tom Szaky's "Revolution in a Bottle," which is about his firm, Terracycle, explains that trash is a modern Western phenomenon and that it imposes significant costs on the planet in the form of massive amounts of undegradable materials in our landfills and even in the middle of our oceans.  I am reminded of my brother-in-law's extended family's plantation in southwestern India, which is completely sustainable in that it requires no running water or electricity and generates no waste. In contrast to that, my family easily generates one or two trash cans' worth of trash, plus two or three bins of recyclables, every week.  Not to mention the trash I throw out at work or anywhere else.  I am spurred on by Aaron's new teacher, who has a "zero trash" policy in the classroom (there are no trash cans) and who teaches her students about composting.  I may never get to "zero trash," and my wife still needs some convincing on the composting, but I am more aware, and I am taking baby steps.  I hope you will too.

También recordaros que, a la vez, y para la misma causa, a través de TERRACYCLE, recogemos bolígrafos y rotuladores de plástico, usados. Las cajas de ambas recogidas se encuentran en el Hall del centro.