Mary Baldwin College students recently added recycling receptacles from TerraCycle, a New Jersey based company that specializes in hard-to-recycle items, such as Capri Sun pouches, yogurt containers, candy wrappers, chip bags, paper towels, cell phones, tape dispensers, wine corks, writing instruments and ink cartridges.

  The Upcycling program at Bluffton-Harrison Middle School received its first check last week. About $40. Not bad for a volunteer program that sells garbage. Last October parent volunteer Cindy Kanka approached the Bluffton-Harrison school board to request BMS be allowed to participate in the upcycling program offered by New Jersey-based TerraCycle. TerraCycle uses waste products, juice pouches, cookie wrappers, chip bags, and turns them into new products. So far, they produce about 245 different products from the waste including clipboards, pencil cases and fencing.

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Canada Newswire -- - Walmart Canada and many of Canada's largest corporations today announced the results of initiatives promised one year ago at the Walmart Green Business Summit. The updates are  vailable on www.ShareGreen.ca. Walmart Canada posed the Sustainability Challenge to prominent Canadian companies at the Walmart Green Business Summit on February 10, 2010. The companies signed the following commitment: "My organization will launch a major sustainability project over the next year in Canada focused on waste, energy, water or sustainable products or services." Highlights of the earth-saving projects include a new, lighter package for Heinz, makers of Renees Gourmet dressings, which reduced Green House Gas (GHG) emissions during transportation. The switch contributed to the company's reduction in GHG emissions by more than 16.2 percent in 2010. Kraft Foods partnered with Terra-Cycle to sponsor the "up-cycling" of its snack food packaging into retail items such as tote bags, shower curtains and umbrellas. Kraft Foods diverted more than 590,000 packages from landfills through this program. "These results show that Canadian companies can make significant and tangible differences by adopting greener business practices," said David Cheesewright, president and CEO of Walmart Canada. "They also show companies can cut costs and create new revenue streams while doing it. We applaud the companies that took on this challenge because their commitment impacts millions of Canadians." Signatories to the Sustainability Challenge are: 3M Canada                    Kraft Canada Inc. Bissell Inc.                 Kruger Products L.P. Canadian Tire Corporation    Maple Leaf Foods Coca-Cola Canada             McDonalds Canada Frito-Lay Canada             Naya Water Greenomics Corporation       Nature's Path Foods Hallmark Canada              Nature's Grilling Products Hewlett-Packard (Canada)     Projecting Change Film Festival H.J. Heinz Company           Richelieu The Home Depot Canada        SC Johnson and Sons Staples Canada Inc           Unilever Canada Inc Spin Master Inc              Walmart Canada SOURCE: ShareGreen.ca, Walmart Canada

Between Halloween and Valentine’s Day, Americans spend over $3.1 billion dollars on candy <http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/ns/article/0,27972,366420,00.html> . Besides having a horrifying effect on the waistline, this type of consumption sends tons of waste to the landfill in the form of discarded candy wrappers. Last Halloween <http://www.care2.com/greenliving/give-used-halloween-candy-wrappers-a-second-life.html> , I reported on a unique program created by TerraCycle to increase recycling rates of candy <http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vegan-organic-fair-trade-corn-syrup-free-candy.html>  wrappers called “The Candy Brigade.” This initiative is in full effect again now that Valentine’s Day has passed. As a fun activity for Valentine’s Day, TerraCycle and Nestlé have  designed a unique and fun DIY project <http://www.care2.com/greenliving/thinking-outside-of-the-candy-bag-a-diy-safe-fun-and-green-halloween.html>  suitable for any age. The craft  project will turn chocolate wrappers into a “love bracelet” that can be  given to friends or family as a gift! (Download the instructions here.) <http://www.terracycle.ca/31?locale=en-CA>  When you’re done with your  bracelet it can also be returned through the Chocolate Wrapper Brigade <http://www.terracycle.ca/brigades/8-Chocolate-Wrapper-Brigade-Sponsored-by-Nestl-Canada> ! Even if you’re not the crafty type <http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-fun-eco-crafts-for-kids.html> , you can still return the wrappers free of charge to TerraCycle to be upcycled into items such as tote bags, kites, backpacks and other accessories that will be readily available at major retailers and www.TerraCycleShop.com <http://www.TerraCycleShop.com> . In addition, packaging that is not suitable for the above items can be used in industrial products such as floor tiles, plastic lumber, etc. For each wrapper returned through the program, Mars and TerraCycle will pay two cents to a charity of the your choice.Since the program started, TerraCycle’s Brigade Programs have diverted almost two billion pieces of waste from landfills with the help from almost 60,000 locations participating. Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/recycle-valentines-candy-wrappers-with-easy-diy-project.html#ixzz1E44pxmcd

Congrats to the East Amwell Public School in Ringoes, which just won $50,000 in a recycling contest. And Countryside Elementary in Mount Laurel, which raked in $25,000. And all for collecting a few glue bottles, toothpaste types, drink pouches and chip bags. Okay, it was more than a few. A whole lot more than a few. It was 1.6 million. Walmart and Trenton-based Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net> , a company that seeks new uses for stuff that would otherwise be discarded,  put out the call last fall, challenging schools to get involved in its "Brigade" program. Through it, schools can collect any or all of 35 different materials and ship them to Terracycle, where they're made into other products. For that, Terracycle pays the schools two cents for each item and foots the bill for the shipping.

WALL — The 409 students at Allenwood Elementary School know the lunchtime drill. Grab a plastic foam tray, wait in the lunch line, sit down and eat lunch, then march the recyclable items to the green bins on the table at the front of the room. Cookie wrappers go in one bin, candy wrappers in another. Snack bags, string cheese wrappers, juice pouches and plastic lunch bags each are placed in separate containers. And although the plastic foam trays are not recycled, they are scraped, and fruits and vegetables are saved for the compost bin outside. Then the trays are stacked neatly so they take up as little space as possible in the trash container.