This is like the ultimate way to be green… having NO trash. I like to think we’re pretty green – we recycle, we compost, we barely have any trash. But we do have trash. Look at this way: in nature, there is no trash. What is waste from one, becomes food or shelter for another. Everything is used. Why can’t we do that? That’s where TerraCycle comes in! They take what cannot be recycled and they “upcycle” it to make products you can use. TerraCycle is fairly new, but is quickly spreading around the world. They pay schools, daycares, families, anybody! 2 cents to send in waste that would otherwise sit in a landfill. How do you get involved and help save the earth?

According to a Keep Blount Beautiful press release, TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. With more than 50 products available at major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Their hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage. Free collection programs pay schools and non-profits nationwide to collect used packaging such as drink pouches, energy bar wrappers, yogurt cups, cookie wrappers, chip bags, corks and more. The collected materials are upcycled into affordable, high quality products ranging from tote bags and purses to shower curtains and kites.

Looking for a refreshing alternative to throwing away your toothpaste  tubes? This easy do-it-yourself project upcycles your empty tubes into a  simple toothbrush holder. Upcycling materials like these are a great  way to reuse without costing a mint.

This article has been contributed by Tiffany Threadgould, TerraCycle’s Chief Designer. TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. Looking for a refreshing alternative to throwing away your toothpaste tubes? This easy do-it-yourself project upcycles your empty tubes into a simple toothbrush holder.  Upcycling materials like these are a great way to reuse without costing a mint.

  The Ecology Club at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg has found a creative way to get rid of trash like candy wrappers and old juice drink pouches. The students have partnered with a company called TerraCycle, which pays two cents for each piece of refuse collected and turns the garbage into products like backpacks, coolers and even fences. In less than a year, students have collected more than 3,200 pieces of refuse, raising money to help pay for new recycling containers for the school.

OK I admit it.  I LOVE trash!  I love seeing that Upcycle It! barrel filled to the brim at the Farmers Market.   It certainly shows Westford's support and commitment to sustainability. Many of us are parents. Seems like the “green bug” bites a little harder when you look at those tiny faces.  TerraCycle has a few new Brigades ideal for parents. Which would you like to see us join? 1) The AVEENO Beauty Brigade – ANY brand and ANY type of personal care beauty tubes. Examples include lotion, sun tan lotion, face wash tubes, body wash tubes. A tube is a container that is crimped at one end and has an opening at the other. 2) The SCOTT Brigade – the outer plastic from ANY brand of paper towel, napkin, toilet paper or similar paper products – no paper wrappings 3) The HUGGIES Brigade – the outer plastic on ANY brand of diaper/personal product packaging; excluding boxes and bins (from baby wipes). Examples would be the overall outer plastic package wrapping on diapers, depends, pull ups, pads, etc.  Does not include the clear plastic wrapping inside a box of diapers. 4) The Home Storage Brigade – This brigade includes ANY size storage bags (freezer, storage, regular, sandwich) and containers. We would need to remove any crumbs and pieces of food, but stuck on ingredients (i.e. peanut butter) are acceptable. 5) The Neosporin Tube Brigade – Any size Neosporin brand antibiotic and ointment tubes 6) The Sprout Brigade – Sprout baby food pouches; excluding glass baby jars.

In every residence hall, there are Terracycle bins. Terracycle is an organization that collects wrappers that normally would not be recycled and turns them into eco-friendly products. Ramirez said some of the items they collect are Lays chip bags, Mars candy wrappers, Nabisco cookie wrappers, and foil-lined energy bar wrappers. “Buy products that have wrappers that can be Terracycled, and keep many snack food wrappers out of the trash,” said Kenneth Armstrong, residence life recycling coordinator. You can also purchase eco-friendly school supplies and other items made from Terracycled products on the Terracycle website

This is a guest post from Tiffany Threadgould, TerraCycle’s <http://www.terracycle.net/>  Chief Designer. Looking for a refreshing alternative to throwing away your toothpaste tubes? This easy do-it-yourself project upcycles your empty tubes into a simple toothbrush holder. Upcycling materials like these are a great way to reuse without costing a mint.

15. Sweet speakers. A must-give gift for the iPod generation: A set of TerraCycle portable speakers made from upcycled M&M wrappers.

"We'd see kids throwing out their Capri Sun pouches after every class party," recalls Blacow Elementary Booster Club President, Emily Swanson. "It was such a shame to see so much waste." It did not stop with just Capri Sun pouches; paper and food waste desecrated the school with waste. Collecting ideas on solutions to the problem, the school now earns money from students' litter. Blacow Elementary recently joined with a nationwide "Brigade" program operated by TerraCycle, a recycling company. TerraCycle accepts waste materials and recycles them to form new products. The company pays about two cents for each acceptable wrapper or bag collected. For example, for an empty Lays chips bag, the school receives two cents. Brigades are basic areas that collect and pay for the donated items. Officially founded in the fall of 2001 by college student Tom Szaky, TerraCycle has grown to create various products ranging from Capri-Sun rectangular lunch boxes to a circuit board clipboard. This merchandise is sold to leading corporations such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot. Instead of going into a landfill and increasing carbon emissions, waste is turned into something useful.