Fourth-grade teacher Stephanie Gawbdzinski’s worried that she’s going to be asked how to spell her last name. But Gawbdzinski had an easier task on Tuesday: describing how Thomas Obbink, her student at Sunrise Elementary, came up with a plan that would save the environment and earn money for the school. “Thomas is our class recycling expert,” she said. The student hates to see anything thrown out that might be recycled or put to work with a new use, Gawbdzinski says. An empty Kleenex box in the trash is likely to be retrieved and turned into an impromptu pencil box.

TerraCycle's goal is singular: To solve the problem of waste. We have not taken positions on the products that we collect, similar to how recycling companies accept products of any brand that fit their capacity to recycle. But here's where it gets interesting—We've been approached by a tobacco company to collect and turn cigarette butts into new eco-friendly products. What do you think? Is doing business with a cigarette company any different than any of the other companies whose waste we collect? Or is this somehow different? If so, how?

TerraCycle's goal is singular: To solve the problem of waste. We have not taken positions on the products that we collect, similar to how recycling companies accept products of any brand that fit their capacity to recycle. But here's where it gets interesting—We've been approached by a tobacco company to collect and turn cigarette butts into new eco-friendly products. What do you think? Is doing business with a cigarette company any different than any of the other companies whose waste we collect? Or is this somehow different? If so, how?

Kraft anunció una alianza con la empresa de reutilización de empaques Terracycle. Por medio de Tang, su marca líder de bebidas en polvo, Kraft comenzará un programa de recuperación de empaques para reutilizarlos en la elaboración de otros productos.

La Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad Regiomontana asistió a la presentación donde Tang y TerraCycle anunciaron un programa nacional de responsabilidad social e invitaron a la comunidad regiomontana a recaudar empaques de la bebida en polvo para su reutilización.

We just began an interesting experiment at TerraCycle: Opening our first retail outlet and giving people a place to bring in what they'd normally mail to us as part of our collection Brigades. But that's not the most interesting part. We've decided to see what people will do when given the chance to pay whatever price they want for products. In this economy, will people intentionally undercut the price? Will they, unaware of what we really charge, which, whenever possible, is the same or lower then comparable non-green products, actually overpay for their purchase? Or, might they, knowing we're a company working hard to make as sustainable a product as possible, make a point to pay more as a show of support? Ah that, the mythical LOHAS consumer who will pay the "green tax" because a product is green (or greener) then other products. Nonsense.

This week something fairly monumental is taking place: It's Climate Week NYC, where among other things, top government leaders from 90 countries are gathering for the United Nations climate session. It's also time for things to kick into high gear for TckTckTck, an innovative global alliance of people, businesses, even faith groups, with a singular purpose: Make it abundantly clear the great importance they see in their country's leaders coming together for the pinnacle of this series of high level climate change focused discussions, COP15, happening in Copenhagen in December of this year. Impressive, but will it work? How is this different then before? I had the chance to ask this and more of Kumi Naidoo, Chair of the Global Campaigning for Climate Action (GCCA) which is organizing TckTckTck. Mr. Naidoo is a long time powerhouse when it comes forging paths to a more sustainable future. He has been a part of a number of high profile board and advisory positions with renowned institutes such as the Clinton Global Initiative, Amnesty International, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

So often, you read about the negative effects of globalization - homogenizing world culture, poor treatment of workers, jobs lost, lack of cultural sensitivity in the new areas of a world a business starts up. Nasty business, and not something I'm in support of. Why then are we about to start operations in the UK, doing largely the same thing we're doing here in the US? The difference is enormous, yet the impact universal. Universally positive. Instead of just elbowing our way into a new country, presuming that a common language means a similar culture, we enlisted the help of Think London an amazing organization funded primarily by the London Development Agency , the Mayor's sustainable development agency. It's zero cost to companies wanting to start operations in London. Having a knowledgeable, agile, local partner who literally and figuratively speaks the language, knows how to ask the tough questions of us that we'll likely encounter, can help with finding the right space, partners, and even message to convey about what you're doing, has been invaluable.

TerraCycle and Colgate are both offering their own FREE curriculums; Colgate seeking to teach kids how to keep their mouths clean and TerraCycle seeking to teach kids how to Outsmart Waste! Both curriculums can be used at school or in the home and both meet national education standards. For the past 15 years, the Colgate curriculum, which is a part of the award-winning Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures® global oral health education program, has reached over 50 million children annually and their families in 30 languages and 80 countries throughout the world. Stop by Colgate and Terracycle to sign up!

he new deal, which sees the company’s procurement and supply chain operation take the lead in contract negotiation and licensing agreements, follows the example set by the company’s US arm, which has been working with TerraCycle, a company which specialises in giving otherwise redundant waste packaging a new lease of life through products such as bags, for the past six years. Under the new scheme, packaging used in Kraft’s Kenco and Tassimo brands, as well as unusable packaging from its food factories, will be ‘upcycled’ alongside post-consumer waste.