Upcycle: the process of converting trash into new materials or products of better quality or a higher value. In a time where we are encouraged to recycle, compost, and make superhuman efforts to reduce waste, the concept of making something nice out of what would otherwise be garbage is certainly not foreign. But upcycling is more than just reusing plastic grocery bags to pick up dog poop or dusting with your husband’s old undershirts. It’s creating something of real value out of literal junk. One of the most prolific upcyclers is Terracycle, an organization based in Trenton, N.J., with more than 20,000 volunteers. Participants “choose a waste stream,” collecting packaging from specific products – many of which were previously hard or impossible to recycle - and sending it in to Terracycle, which converts the waste into a wide variety of products and materials which are then sold at major retailers like Walmart and Whole Foods.

You know I am all about natural products and how to contribute to the environment at the same time, it is amazing the simple things you can do about it..One of my favorite writers Paulo cohelo says: "When you heart desires something the entire Universe works in your favor" and that is how I came across this web site called TerraCycle they recycle pretty much everything. So now you have a choice when you want to get rid of empty or old bottles like: Shampoo,eye shadow, lipstick, conditioner, etc, any kind, any brand. TerraCycle's purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste.They do this by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs, called the Brigades, and start sending them waste.

Many people talk about being environmentally friendly, but members of the Oak Park Elementary School EnAct Club are taking action. The club, with 92 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students, sponsored a bottle cap contest and collected more than 1,017 pounds of plastic bottle caps in honor of Earth Day last month. Those caps will be sent to Aveda to be recycled into beauty product containers instead of winding up in a landfill or incinerator. Money raised from the contest will benefit cancer victims. Throughout the year, the students in the club take part in various recycling efforts. They placed containers in the school cafeteria and around the building to collect plastic bottles, dairy tubs, juice and chip bags. EnAct club members then clean and prepare that trash to be shipped to Terracycle. Terracycle, of Trenton, N.J., pays for the shipping, gives the club money and makes new products from the trash materials. Terracycle products are sold at Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. The club also coordinates paper collection for recycling at the school. A company called Abitibi then makes new paper from the recycled paper. The Oak Park Home & School Association receives money for each ton of paper the students collect. Members of the club also take part in North Penn’s Green Schools program, to help the district save energy. “I like how you get to save energy for the Earth and save electricity and money for the school,” said Rebecca Brandolph, 11, a fifth-grader who is in EnAct. Patrick Flatley, 10, a fourth-grader, said, “I like when we get to go outside and plant flowers for the environment. It’s fun and we get to do a lot of activities to help save the earth.” “I learned that there’s something called a phantom load, even when you think your appliances are off, you can still be using electricity,” said Garrett Zobel, 12, a sixth-grader. “It’s important to check.” Zobel also came up with the slogan: “If the light’s too bright, it’s not bad for your sight. Do the math and turn off half.” That explains the club’s action plan to get teachers to turn off lights. They’ve also used incentives like certificates as rewards and motivation to save energy, said Brandolph. Brandolph and Steve Kowalczyk, 11, who is also in fifth grade, were slated to do a presentation about what the club has done at the Green Schools celebration Tuesday. Their presentation shows that they measured how much lights in each classroom cost per year. “We went around to every classroom and got all the data and figured out the total cost for a year,” he said. Amy Walter, a teacher who advises the group, said the students have learned about “recycling and reducing energy and taking care of our planet Earth.” This is the sixth year for the club.

The Student Environmental Association (SEA) at Pinecrest High School is launching a new countywide recycling program to dispose of chip bags and Capri Sun pouches. The program is an extension of the SEA's earlier recycling initiatives, which sought to collect recyclable goods other than the obvious paper and plastic products. "We were always recycling paper and plastic," says SEA president Aayushi Patel, "but we wanted to know what else we could do. We found out about this really cool company called Terracycle that turns plastic chip bags into purses, bags and asphalt, and we thought, 'Well, everyone eats chips.'" The SEA had a competition to see which classroom could collect the most chip bags. "In April and May alone, we collected more than 1,000 chip bags," says Patel. "We were hoping to implement this in the community, and see if more people could help out with the recycling and the good cause." Terracycle is a New Jersey-based private company that manufactures consumer products from recycled material. Established in 2001 by college freshmen, it has become one of the fastest growing green businesses in the country. The company receives recyclables from nearly 30 million people in more than 20 countries and manufactures more than 1,500 products, which are available in such major retailers as Walmart and Whole Foods. Partnering with Terracycle is only the latest of the SEA's endeavors to promote environmental sustainability. Other initiatives include raising money to preserve the rainforest, auditing teachers at Pinecrest to make sure they weren't wasting energy, and the "Do One Thing" initiative, in which students were made to pledge one lifestyle change that would promote sustainability. What sets this recycling program apart, however, is that it will be open to the entire community rather than merely the school. "It'd be great if the community could help out for a good cause like this," says Patel. "Recycling is important because all the stuff we throw away right now is going to landfills. There's only so much land that you can throw trash in. Every month you have so much trash; just think about it building up over time. When we don't have enough land to throw away trash, what happens? Recycling is a good way to change that, to change trash into something useful." For more information on how to get involved with the SEA's recycling program, email Aayushi Patel at aayushipatel45 @gmail.com, or contact the SEA at pinecrestsea@gmail.com.

In 2009 a parent volunteer at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Glen Burnie saw an advertisement for a company called TerraCycle. Its “Get cash for trash” headline caught her attention, and before you could say, ‘Sounds too good to be true,’ there was a bin in the school cafeteria for the students to deposit their empty juice pouches at lunch. Since then, the school has collected over 70,000 juice pouches and recycles an average of 1,000 pouches per week during the school year. Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, TerraCycle began upcycling various products around 2007. An initiative that started with drink pouches, today the company offers more than 40 Brigades® that collect what was previously non-recyclable or difficult-to- recycle waste. A brigade is simply the term TerraCycle uses to designate its donations—so there is, for example, the Yogurt Container Brigade, the Cheese Packaging Brigade, and the Candy Wrapper Brigade. St. Paul’s initally joined the Drink Pouch Brigade. Most of the brigades are free for participants and include free shipping as well as a donation for each piece of waste recycled.

Ford Motor Company and sustainability lifestyle platform SHFT.com unveiled the first of 10 digital short documentary films profiling cutting-edge innovators in sustainable businesses at a promotional event last night at the 404 NYC space in Midtown New York. Ford executive chairman Bill Ford introduced the film, along with actor/filmmaker Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer, SHFT’s co-founders, who developed the The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators Changing Our World series. The film focused on Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, one of the fastest-growing green companies.

Ford Motor Company and sustainability lifestyle platform SHFT.com unveiled the first of 10 digital short documentary films profiling cutting-edge innovators in sustainable businesses at a promotional event last night at the 404 NYC space in Midtown New York. Ford executive chairman Bill Ford introduced the film, along with actor/filmmaker Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer, SHFT’s co-founders, who developed the The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators Changing Our World series. The film focused on Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, one of the fastest-growing green companies.

As an environmental company, TerraCycle has a unique relationship with Earth Day. Celebrating our environment and spreading awareness and activism is wonderful, but we also like to remind people that the Earth needs to be taken care of every day. For the past few years, we’ve had an array of special events around Earth Day. In 2009, we launched our mini-series on National Geographic – Garbage Moguls – and in 2010, we had a Walmart Hotspot with sixty TerraCycle products were displayed in Walmart stores, right next to the products that they used to be! Think, drink pouch backpacks next to boxes of Capri Sun. Last year, 2011, we had the Old Navy Flip-Flop Replay in which we collected used flip flops at Old Navy stores across the country during the Earth Month. That same month, in partnership with Office Depot, we collected used pens and writing instruments at their retail locations.

Reactions: What's even better than recycling your old, unused stuff and garbage? ---Finding someone who will do it for you and will use it to make fun purses, duffle bags, and even wristlets. TerraCycle® is a waste fighting company who does just that, recycling and upcycling materials that are typically thought of as non-recyclable (things like food and drink wrappers, newspapers, and trash cans) and turning them into new products. The products range from things like purses and pencil holders and to larger products like compost bins, all of which can be purchased either online through the TerraCycle ® website or in stores like Wal-Mart© and Target©. Participants can even join waste collection programs to send in their own trash and earn money for charity organizations. All of the products are practical and keep waste products out of landfills, but there are a few items that really catch the eye of an eco-fashionista. One of my favorites is the Reverse Printed Wrapper Hearts Wristlet®. The wristlet, made from discarded potato chip bags, is crafted from the reverse side of the chip bag, yet it remains compact, cute, and mostly unnoticeable as a former piece of trash. Another cool find from TerraCycle® is the Bicycle Chain Picture Frame®. The frame comes in both pink and silver and is a nice subtle way to incorporate a touch of upcycled style into your life. The Pulltab shoulder bag® is also a stylish way to help the planet while completing your outfit with an intriguing accessory. Finally finishing off my list of current favorites is the Circut Board Desk Clock®. The clock is both sylish and useful and is one of several products made from the upcycled circuit boards, and could be purchased to complement the Circuit Board Coasters

TerraCycle, the company that got its start selling compost in recycled drink bottles, recently launched a Keyboard and Mouse Brigade <http://www.terracycle.net/en-US/brigades/keyboard-and-mouse-brigade.html>  that pays schools for things like old keyboards, mouse, and Web cams. As an additional incentive for participation, TerraCycle’s corporate partners have stepped up to offer grants and donations. Last year, Wal-Mart offered $125,000 in grants to the top-collecting schools in all of TerraCycle’s brigades, according to vice president of global communication Albe Zakes. One school used their grant funds  <http://morristowngreen.com/2011/03/18/woodland-school-celebrates-st-patricks-day-with-10k-of-green/> specifically to purchase classroom technology.