Solo Cup Company announced it is joining forces with TerraCycle(R), Inc. to recycle its Solo Squared(R) party cups. Through the Solo Cup Brigade(R), individuals, schools and non-profits can collect used Solo Squared plastic cups and return them to TerraCycle where they will be recycled into plastic that will be used to make other items such as equipment for playgrounds, park benches and outdoor furniture.

Getting management buy-in and adequate funding is cited as a top security challenge by 24% of our survey respondents. "Outside the IT department, security may not be on the corporate road map," says TerraCycle's Sharp. "Too often, there's no budget for smoke detectors until the house is burning."

Garnier <ttp://www.garnier.com> , a L'Oreal brand has teamed up with Terracycle <http://www.sustainableisgood.com/blog/2011/04/www.terracycle.net/>  to reduce landfill waste by repurposing their product packaging.

Forest Hills Ada Vista Elementary is the first school in West Michigan to receive the Evergreen Award, which is the highest level that a school can achieve under the Michigan Green School program. The school will be honored at the Kent County award ceremony at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday at the Caledonia Fine Arts Center. One of the green programs Ada Vista students have undertaken is collecting recycling and terracycling during lunchtime. Terracycle is a company that pays nonprofit organizations to collect materials that cannot otherwise be recycled and turns them into new items for sale. So far this school year, Ada Vista students have earned $721 from terracyle and saved 670 pounds of waste from going into landfills. For more information on the program visit http://www.terracycle.net/. Also coming this week to celebrate Earth Day, Ada Vista will show some of the "green" programs the students have started by holding an "art prize" in which all of the pieces either need to be made from recycled materials or be about an environmental topic. The art will be on display in the hallway for the entire week.

Here we are again. Earth Day is upon us, with all its blaring, breathless press releases and tenuous connections to sustainability being made. Perhaps your own company is doing it! Every April, green becomes a topic of conversation far beyond those you’d normally expect. The jury’s still out as to whether this is a good and well, sustainable thing, focusing people’s attention on earth-positive actions, or just an annual green hurrah that gets forgotten a few days later. I see a missed opportunity here. The majority of what takes place is talk, back slapping, finger wagging, product launches, brand behavior enhancements and lifestyle actions suggestions. What about packaging? Have all these Earth Day actions helped move the needle in the world of consumer packaging towards companies using and consumers asking for more sustainable packaging? I’m sure that consumer’s interest in recycled content was born out of Earth Day. But does it go any deeper than that? Tell me, how can Earth Day be better tied to packaging? How can we increase the sophistication of your average consumer so that they know about and will ask for the increasingly sophisticated green options that are possible in packaging these days?

I recently joined TerraCycle’s Brigades. If you are not familiar with TerraCycle, you can read more about the company at www.terracycle.net. TerraCycle started out selling compost in used soda bottles and now upcycles a number of products into backpacks, messenger bags, notebooks, trashcans, watering cans, benches, pavers, and much more. I believe this can be a great way for New Leaf Market members and friends to work together to develop a sense of community while achieving a positive result. We have signed up for five brigades, collecting packaging from Kashi, Elmer’s Glue, Malt-O-Meal cereal bags, candy wrappers, and personal care and beauty products. Most items collected and sent to TerraCycle are worth 2 points. Points can be redeemed to buy clean water, meals, plant trees, and adopt land. You can find more details about what we can recycle with TerraCycle at the Green Bay TerraCycle Brigade’s web site.

Walmart will soon begin to sell plants in upcycled margarine tubs instead of traditional black pots in stores throughout the Northeast. Credit: TerraCycle

CHESANING – During the 2010-2011 school year, Big Rock Elementary School students and teachers have raised approximately $150 by collecting items that would normally have been thrown away as trash. They’re not recycling, they’re upcycling. And on April 21, they hope to generate even more money by including the community at-large in their effort. Second grade teacher Cami Leland is leading the effort to upcycle at Big Rock Elementary, they’ve been participating in the program for two years. She explained it’s all about utilizing many of the items that aren’t typically recycled. These items can be used to produce other products.

Objetivo da coleta: Colaborar com a Equipe Vallereciclar participante do Programa Terracycle. A entidade indicada é a Associação Maria de Nazaré. Para saber mais do programa acesse http://www.terracycle.com.br/ e da equipe vallereciclar acess vallereciclar.blogspot.com

Summer is just around the corner, which means it’s almost time to start buying sandals and flip flops again. If your house is anything like everyone else’s house this examiner knows of, there are currently several pairs of flip flops from last year hiding in closets throughout your house.  If you’re trying to think of a way to dispose of them without adding more trash to the landfills, a solution is available.