Today is Earth Day and the theme this year is A Billion Acts of Green. Today TerraCylce and Old Navy launched Flip Flop Replay, a campaign to recycle flip flops. Founded in 2001 by a Princeton University freshman, TerraCycle <http://www.terracycle.net/> has grown into one of the fastest growing green companies in the world.
Starting April 22, Old Navy will be hosting a month long drive to collect used flip-flops for TerraCycle, a waste-reduction company that will recycle them into four playgrounds across the country. Start Earth Day off on the right foot—drop those flops at an Old Navy store near you.
Today, April 22, is Earth Day! And if you’re wondering how you can contribute to our planet’s conservation, gather your junk and take it to Old Navy or Office Depot.
Until tomorrow, people can take their unwanted pens, markers and mechanical pencils of any brand to Office Depot. TerraCycle, a recycling company, will then use them to make office supplies like organizers and trash cans.
TerraCycle transforms trash into everyday products.
Worm poop.
Those two words mark the beginning of Tom Szaky’s ten-year-and-running quest to found and champion TerraCycle, a company that uses upcycling techniques to turn garbage that is usually difficult to recycle, such as packaging, into other, functional items.
It all started after high school graduation, right before he entered Princeton University.
“My friends started growing pot in their basement at the end of senior year,” said Szaky. “When I went to Princeton, they went to Canada and started using worm poop in compost to grow the marijuana, and they got amazing results.”
Szaky was sold. He drew up a business plan and six months later dropped out of Princeton and dedicated himself to running his new business full time.
‘We spent the first few months just shoveling organic waste,” said Szaky. “Before we knew it, the company just got bigger and bigger.”
Green happenings
Friday, April 22, 2011
Here's a sampling of activities planned to celebrate Earth Day and green living.
• Flip-Flop Replay. Starting today, Old Navy will collect used flip-flops in special store bins to recycle the materials into foundations for four public playgrounds around the country. The store is doing this in partnership with TerraCycle Inc., an international company that takes difficult-to-recycle packaging and turns it into eco-friendly products. The flip-flops will be collected through May 21.
TerraCycle transforms trash into everyday products.
Worm poop.
Those two words mark the beginning of Tom Szaky’s ten-year-and-running quest to found and champion TerraCycle, a company that uses upcycling techniques to turn garbage that is usually difficult to recycle, such as packaging, into other, functional items.
It all started after high school graduation, right before he entered Princeton University.
“My friends started growing pot in their basement at the end of senior year,” said Szaky. “When I went to Princeton, they went to Canada and started using worm poop in compost to grow the marijuana, and they got amazing results.”
Szaky was sold. He drew up a business plan and six months later dropped out of Princeton and dedicated himself to running his new business full time.
‘We spent the first few months just shoveling organic waste,” said Szaky. “Before we knew it, the company just got bigger and bigger.”
Flip-Flop Replay. Starting today, Old Navy will collect used flip-flops in special store bins to recycle the materials into foundations for four public playgrounds around the country. The store is doing this in partnership with TerraCycle Inc., an international company that takes difficult-to-recycle packaging and turns it into eco-friendly products. The flip-flops will be collected through May 21.
TerraCycle transforms trash into everyday products.
Worm poop.
Those two words mark the beginning of Tom Szaky’s ten-year-and-running quest to found and champion TerraCycle, a company that uses upcycling techniques to turn garbage that is usually difficult to recycle, such as packaging, into other, functional items.
It all started after high school graduation, right before he entered Princeton University.
“My friends started growing pot in their basement at the end of senior year,” said Szaky. “When I went to Princeton, they went to Canada and started using worm poop in compost to grow the marijuana, and they got amazing results.”
Szaky was sold. He drew up a business plan and six months later dropped out of Princeton and dedicated himself to running his new business full time.
‘We spent the first few months just shoveling organic waste,” said Szaky. “Before we knew it, the company just got bigger and bigger.”
To keep garbage out of landfills, you can also visit Terracycle (www.terracycle.net). This Trenton-based company works with companies and consumers to recycle certain products. Like Gazelle, it pays people to do it.
For example, the site now has an offer to collect Solo disposable cups. People who collect them will get two cents per cup.
You can also get three cents each for yogurt containers and $2 each for old digital cameras. The site currently has 43 such offers.
Besides collecting recyclables, Terracycle also creates new products out of used packaging. It sells fencing made out of drink pouches, recycling bins made out of recycled plastic, and picture frames made from bicycle chains.
The site currently sells 206 products and they all look pretty nice. The insulated cooler made from Starburst wrappers is especially eye-catching. If you want to help the Earth and a local company at the same time, give Terracycle a try.
