As the online community dives into game play with Trash Tycoon via Facebook, they take on the role of recycling entrepreneurs by collecting litter in a trash-strewn city and upcycling waste into higher-quality, environmentally friendly products. Upcycling, a process in which discarded waste is repurposed for use, can range from building a house of abandoned material to finding innovative uses for discarded plastic bags. After completing missions, users collect money and earn points to ultimately earn the title of garbage tycoons. The game's trash-tackling premise directly mirrors that of its sponsor, TerraCycle. "Something as simple as a social game where players earn points for recycling in the real world is capable of changing people's behavior for the better," says Raviv Turner, co-founder and CEO of Guerillapps. "We've organically integrated real-world recycling goals into the game to ensure that players have fun and see Trash Tycoon first and foremost as a game, while at the same time presenting a proactive approach for more mindful actions as users approach real-life situations with acquired knowledge from Trash Tycoon."

VentureBeat has highlighted yet another new Facebook game title called Trash Tycoon from Guerillapps . The game seeks to teach the concepts of “upcycling” as users clean up trash around a virtual community and try to transform it into a bustling and successful town. The app is sponsored by recycling company TerraCycle .

Trash Tycoon is a green-themed game for Facebook from social gaming startup Guerillapps. The game, which launched this week, teaches players about environmental issues and sustainability while they compete. Trash Tycoon highlights upcycling, the concept of converting trash into new products. Users take on the role of a recycling entrepreneur, collecting trash and finding new environmentally friendly uses for discarded items such as plastic bags or building material. As you complete upcycling tasks, you earn points, money and ultimately the title of “garbage tycoon.”

Throughout Trash Tycoon, a friendly guide named Tara pops up with tips on how to get more points through "upcycling," turning refuse into useful products. It's an education in wasting less and making more, which just happens to be the business model of TerraCycle , the for-profit company behind Trash Tycoon. When it comes to waste (and worms), Terracycle is an industry leader, in a good way. The spunky fertilizer company has been making a business of refuse for 10 years. They started out turning trash into plant food and have since expanded into making all kinds of products .

AMSTERDAM – Spelers van de nieuwe Facebook-game Trash Tycoon leren meer over het belang van een schoon milieu en dragen tegelijkertijd bij aan een goed doel in de echte wereld. Honderdduizenden mensen spelen sociale games, zoals Farmville en Mafia Wars, op Facebook. Dat is een enorme doelgroep van jonge mensen die ook benaderd kunnen worden voor meer informatieve spellen, vindt gameontwikkelaar Terracycle. Het bedrijf speelt hierop in door een sociale game uit te brengen, die naast leuk ook educatief is. In Trash Tycoon leert een speler meer over afvalverwerking in de vorm van een Farmville-achtig spel. Naar mate het spel vordert komt meer informatie beschikbaar over bijvoorbeeld recyclen, afvalverwerking en het scheiden van plastic. Door extra voorwerpen te kopen kan een speler sneller en meer afval verwerken. Het geld dat verdiend wordt met deze aankopen gaat voor een deel naar het goede doel. Hiermee probeert Terracycle het succes van sociale games om te zetten in een eigen formule die bovendien bijdraagt aan een slimmere maatschappij. Trash Tycoon lijkt een vliegende start te maken. In de bèta speelde al 3500 mensen het spel en kreeg het bedrijf positieve feedback. Nu heeft het spel al een paar honderd spelers. Educatieve sociale games Naast Trash Tycoon bestaan er nog meer serieuze spellen op Facebook, zoals Oceanopolis. Een probleem bij veel van deze games is de balans tussen leuk en educatief. Spelers willen niet bewust geïnformeerd worden, maar gewoon een leuk spel spelen. Terracycle stelt daarom de spelervaring bovenop. De informatie over afvalverwerking is aanwezig, maar vormt geen obstakel in het spel. De ontwikkelaar hoopt dat spelers op deze manier meer gaan nadenken over een beter milieu, zonder dat ze het gevoel hebben te moeten leren. © NUzakelijk

Depois do sucesso de jogos como Farmville, Café World e Social City, os usuários do Facebook agora podem se divertir com o Trash Tycoon.

Hoping to inspire real life eco-action and give tired, old FarmVille a run for its money, TerraCycle launches Trash Tycoon, Facebook's first ever 'social upcycling game.' Make no qualms about it, I’m not a FarmVille kind of guy. At all. In fact, if FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille, or a Ville of any sort pops on my Facebook news feed, I’ll hide it without an ounce of hesitation. Call me what you will but these games and apps just aren’t my cup o’ social networking tea. Besides, I’m too busy posting Jazzercise Yet, I’m quite intrigued by a certain new social networking game that I don’t think I’d mind seeing show up here and there on my news feed. And heck, I’m admittedly tempted to even start playing it myself. Launched by one of my favorite green companies, Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle , in partnership with TreeHugger and Carbonfund.org , the game in question is called Trash Tycoon and it’s being described as Facebook’s first “social upcycling game.”

Social gaming company Guerillapps has launched “Trash Tycoon,” a social game on Facebook which has a focus on environmental issues. The game aims to increase awareness of environmental issues and sustainability, while it highlights the concept of upcycling — where discarded waste is repurposed for a valuable use. What’s particularly interesting about this is that you can receive in-game rewards for recycling material in real life. In the game, you can collect litter in a city covered in trash and upcycle waste into valuable, environmentally friendly products. The upcycling process ranges from finding uses for plastic bags to creating a home out of discarded material. You can create other items such as jewelry, toys and furniture, which you can either keep for yourself or sell for profit. When you complete missions, you will collect virtual money and points to help you rise up the rankings and become a garbage tycoon. The game’s overall aim reflects that of its sponsor TerraCycle — which is a collection and solution program for waste that is typically non-recyclable. The 21 million people who participate in TerraCycle’s recycling programs earn 2 points, equivalent to 2 cents, for every piece of waste they collect and return to a TerraCycle kiosk.

Trash Tycoon , created by social gaming startup Guerillapps and sponsored by upcycling company TerraCycle , is the first Facebook game built around upcycling. In the game, players take the role of recycling entrepreneurs responsible for cleaning up a trash-strewn city. Players earn game money and points by collecting and upcycling trash – converting waste into useful, quality products – just like TerraCycle does in real life. While playing the game, users will be able to communicate and collaborate with each other in real time, banding together with friends to take on trash.

A new game on Facebook is the first to highlight the concept of upcycling, where trash is turned into valuable products rather than thrown away. Manhattan-based startup Guerillapps created Trash Tycoon, where players take the role of recycling entrepreneurs. They collect litter in a trash strewn city and upcycle the waste into higher quality, environmentally responsible products. They earn points and can ultimately earn the title of garbage tycoon. The game's trash-tackling premise directly mirrors that of sponsor TerraCycle in the real world .