One parent at Lincoln Elementary School has come up with a creative way to raise money for the school while promoting recycling to students. The school is collecting candy wrappers, Capri Sun pouches and other items for TerraCycle, a company that then turns the recyclables into coolers, lunch bags, and other products sold at major retailers. In return for the items, TerraCycle makes a donation to the school. Jammie Esker Schaer, who has two children at the school, discovered the idea at a party.

The programme is beneficial in many ways. Students are educated about recycling, reusing and resource conservation while also be inspired by knowing that making a difference can be fun and easy! Meanwhile schools can earn much needed funding, while running a programme that is already educational!

Every snack bag, baby diaper, candy bar wrapper that goes into the trash, is a story waiting to be told.  The question is, will the story be a negative one documented by a critic or a positive one created by you? If the product you market is made from non-recyclable material, it’s getting easier to convert that negative into a positive story.  A company called Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  is helping CPG brands like Frito Lay and Mars turn their waste into upcycled products like speakers.  These re-birth stories are not only good for the planet, but a golden opportunity for business (as evidenced by Terracycle’s success <http://www.spider-topihitam.com/tom-szaky-of-terracycle-shares-secrets-to-success.html> ). Founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University freshman named Tom Szaky, TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of non-recyclable waste material.  With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart and Target, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world.  Every month it gives $100,000.00 in $0.02 donations and has are over 8.5 million people in the U.S. actively collecting waste to create its upcycled products.

I'm happy to announce that I am totally becoming a green Queen. Sure I still have my faults. I love to use plastic bags and paper plates but I do recycle them. On the other hand I have tried out eco-friendly recycled plates, bio-degradable bags and many other eco-friendly products! Yet, sometimes I run into some products that the recycle center won't pick up or that could be used somewhere else. That's where Terracycle <http://www.terracycle.net/>  comes in. I first heard about Terracycle through Bare Naked Granola. My husband and I love to eat BN Granola with our yogurt for breakfast. On the back I noticed an ad telling you that you could send in your empty BN bags and they could be upcyled into something new. How about something new and cool! I've seen everything from Backpacks to umbrellas! Here's a little bit more about Terracycle! This video explains it the best and I'm a visual person so I thought I would share. It really helped to clarify it all for me.

Newcastle Elementary increased its recycling rate from 50 percent to 60 percent, began recycling food scraps, allowed students to serve as “waste watchers” that monitor lunchroom containers, placed stickers on all recycling containers listing what can and cannot be recycled, replaced wrapped utensils with unwrapped ones and stopped using straws. It also teamed up with TerraCycle — which makes products out of items that typically cannot be recycled — to recycle Capri Sun drink pouches and Lunchable containers.

The bad new is that the end of summer is almost here. But, then there is the inevitable good news…the end of summer is almost here. There are a few little details left to get through…Labor Day weekend, continuing warm weather even though the pool is closed, or your tomatoes ripening just when you are on vacation. Mere details! What the approach of summer’s end means for a lot of us is that very soon the children go back to school (Again, good news/bad news). And that means, shopping for school supplies. Somehow while a challenge and a chore, for many the experience is almost as much fun as getting ready for Halloween (I said almost),

It makes cents to recycle - two cents per waste product, to be exact. That's how much some central Arkansas schools are making each time they turn in a piece of trash to Terracycle. TerraCycle takes products that previously could not be recycled, like Capri Sun packages and many food wrappers, and "upcycles" them- creating things like Starburst insulated lunchboxes and Capri Sun backpacks.

Children are never too young to learn environmental awareness. Teach them the benefits of recycling and re-use with this Drink Pouch Homework Folder from TerraCycle made of recycled juice packs instead of paper. Other recycled juice pack options include: backpacks, binders, pencil cases, totes, coolers and more!

Companies often focus on touting product innovation, but what about package innovation? It’s a big deal when Coca-Cola announces its new plant bottle, when Sun Chips announces the first totally compostable snack bag, when TerraCycle collects packaging waste to repackage its own earth-friendly products.

It makes cents to recycle--two cents per waste product, to be exact. That's how much some central Arkansas schools are making each time they turn in a piece of trash to a company called TerraCycle. TerraCycle takes products that previously could not be recycled, like Capri Sun packages and many food wrappers, and "upcycles" them. This means that minimal energy is used and the products don't completely change form, creating things like Starburst insulated lunchboxes and Capri Sun backpacks. Tamonica Jenkins, second grade teacher at Huda Academy, decided to get involved with TerraCycle when she noticed the large number of Capri Suns her students were drinking. She researched the company online and realized it was the perfect way to make use of her students' trash and to raise money at the same time.