To celebrate the resourceful, hardworking moms that give back to their communities and are mindful of the environment, Ziploc Brand and TerraCycle, the manufacturers of eco-friendly products from waste materials, are searching nationwide for that special "Make-A-Difference-Mom" (it might be you!)

Five bins and food tumbler keep waste, packages out of landfill.

A few times per month, a separate set of students get together to count the plastic bags and juice containers that students drop off at the end of lunch. The school sends the waste materials to TerraCycle, a New Jersey company that fashions a range of products — including toys, backpacks and pet products — from the waste it receives as part of the company’s Upcycling program. “It saves the trash from going to the landfill,” said 10-year-old Vincent Scott. When students have collected 500 juice pouches, cleaned them and packed them, the school mails them to TerraCycle. The schools gets 2 cents apiece in return, and TerraCycle pays the postage.

Tom was featured live on CNN's The Big i segment and interviewed by their rising star anchor, Ali Velchey.

WILDWOOD — Throwing away an empty Funyuns bag or an old Laffy Taffy wrapper was routine for students at Glenwood Avenue Elementary School. Not anymore. Now, teacher John Fuscellaro and his homeroom students have launched a recycling program that has students, teachers and staff collecting everything from old Ziploc bags to empty toothpaste tubes. His class then sorts them and he sends them to TerraCycle, a company that turns the materials into new products and gives small cash payments to the school in return.

To celebrate the resourceful, hard working moms that give back to their community (it might be you!) and are mindful of the environment, Ziploc Brand and TerraCycle, the manufacturers of eco-friendly products from waste materials, are searching nationwide for that special “Make-A-Difference-Mom.” They’d like your help in discovering the mom who outsmarts waste in everything she does.

There is something pure genius sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot in New Jersey and it is not Jon Bon Jovi (but I’d like it to be). It’s a giant green trash collection bin that will take all sorts of garbage you thought you couldn’t recycle … and pay you for it. This goes into the “why didn’t I think of that” category. TerraCycle, a company started in 2001 by a then 19-year old Princeton student, is partnering with some of the largest retailers in the nation to help people recycle things that were once believed to be true garbage. Then they upcycle them into actual products, and sell them.

There is something pure genius sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot in New Jersey and it is not Jon Bon Jovi (but I’d like it to be). It’s a giant green trash collection bin that will take all sorts of garbage you thought you couldn’t recycle … and pay you for it.

Like many others, we already loved TerraCycle before reviewing Tom Szaky’s book, Revolution in a Bottle—How TerraCycle Is Redefining Green Business. Szaky’s little book is incredibly readable and takes you through the ups and downs (there were lots of downs). Starting with his freshman year at Princeton and his decision to drop-out, Szaky takes us with him through every agonizing detail of the struggle to start the company and keep it afloat.  Think garbage bins filled with maggots, overflowing swimming pools filled with worm poop “tea”, etc… This could have been subtitled: The Little Green Company That Could.

Terracycle and Ziploc have teamed up for the Make a Difference Mom contest.  See the promotional material and contest rules HERE.  Below is a small bit of the information from their promotional material!