Desde casa también se puede reducir el impacto a la naturaleza. Terracycle y Kraft Foods México impulsan el primer programa de reutilización de empaques en el país. En Tamaulipas hay dos equipos realizando labores de recolección de sobres de Tang en Matamoros desde marzo y en Madero desde abril.

If you don't have a need for bottled urine, perhaps you'd like to purchase some worm poop? According to TerraCycle Inc. <http://www.terracycle.net/products/43-Lawn-Fertilizer> , worm poop is an ideal, natural fertilizer. That is why they package the naturally occurring waste in used 20-ounce soda bottles and sell it for $7.99 (prices may vary). Proving where there's worm waste and soda drinkers, there's money to be made.

Lunch boxes, totes and even flower pots are the newest additions to the "waste makes haste" trend. Made of recycled juice pouches, crushed computers, fax machines and other "disposables," a range of products turns trash into treasure. The products are the brainchild of Tom Szaky, who quit his college career at Princeton to pursue the development of his company, TerraCycle. Each creation made of 100 percent "e-waste" provides benefits both environmentally (reduces landfill waste) and socially (offers original designs). All products are available on line at www.terracycle.net, starting at $4.

Kindergartners use money from recycling to start garden.

  Lunch boxes, totes and even flower pots are the newest additions to the “waste makes haste” trend. Made of recycled juice pouches, crushed computers, fax machines and other “disposables,” a range of products turns trash into treasure. The products are the brainchild of Tom Szaky, who quit his college career at Princeton to pursue the development of his company, TerraCycle. Each creation made of 100 percent “e-waste” provides benefits both environmentally (reduces landfill waste) and socially (offers original designs). All products are available on line at www.terracycle.net, starting at $4.

Isaac said after her students learned about landfills, they wanted to do something to help the earth and began to raise money through TerraCycle. TerraCycle gives 2 cents for each recyclable received and uses the collections to make tote bags, backpacks and insulated coolers. Smith paraprofessional and parent Cherie Loomis and husband Scott Loomis collected the juice boxes and cookie wrappers to deliver to TerraCycle. By the end of the school year, the students will have raised almost $200, Scott said.

Four leading energy foods producers are sponsoring the TerraCycle program to recycle their wrappers into eco-friendly products and earn money for charities. So far, Clif Bar, Kashi, Odwalla and Bear Naked have helped keep more than 82 million wrappers and containers out of landfills and off roads and trails. Then they're recycled into things such as shower curtains and backpacks. Plus, the program contributes 2 cents to a school or charity for every recyclable item sent in. Participation and shipping are free. To date, TerraCycle says it has paid more than $900,000 to some 50,000 schools or non-profits. For more info or to get involved, click www.terracycle.net.

With budget cuts increasing every year, local teachers are saving trash to meet their classroom needs. Thomson Elementary, Norris Elementary and Maxwell Elementary schools earn money for used drink pouches, cookie and candy wrappers, chip bags and other trash that they send in to various participating companies.  Thomson Elementary School has the biggest "trash to cash" program, according to Lauren Taylor, public relations person for TerraCycle. TerraCycle accepts empty drink pouches, chip bags, cookie wrappers, candy wrappers, yogurt cups, Lunchables and lotion tubes and pays the school two cents for each unit of packaging.

You’ve probably seen them in the cereal aisle at the grocery store: bags of bargain cereal with one-off names like Cinnamon Toasters, Apple Zings and Honey Nut Scooters. The titan of bagged cereals, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based Malt-O-Meal, has found a niche in offering cereals almost identical to name-brand products from General Mills, Kellogg’s, Post and Quaker Oats at a reduced price. But where do all those cereal bags go once their sweet contents are consumed? As it turns out, nine Springfield schools collect the bags for recycling – and they make a little cash for their efforts. The Malt-O-Meal Cereal Bag Brigade is a schools-only program sponsored by Malt-O-Meal and run by TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based start-up that pays a pittance for recyclable trash and makes it into new products like kites, durable totes and even fences.

The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park is collecting non-recyclable items as part of a promotion to reduce waste and to raise money for various programs. Items being collected are: candy wrapper packaging from Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury; empty drink pouches from Honest Kids, Capri Sun and Kool-Aid; and empty Elmer’s glue bottles and sticks. For each item sent in, the Friends receive 2 cents. Those interested in volunteering should contact the group for further instructions at 718-601-1460, or go to www.vancortlandt.org. The program is done in conjunction with Terracycle, an eco-friendly group that “upcycles” the collected materials into new, ecofriendly and affordable products. For more information, go to http://www.terracycle.net.