TerraCycle: Helping the Earth, Charities, and Your Old Toothpaste Tubes

While many companies boast of using 100% recycled materials for their paper or cardboard products, there are not many companies who take the extra step in saving the earth by "upcycling" previously non reusable products. TerraCyle is one company that is seeking to change that. TerraCycle's slogan is "outsmart waste" and this is exactly that this company has been doing since its inception nine years ago. Founded by a 19 year old Princeton student, TerraCycle has been focused on finding ways to upcycle everything from Capri Sun packages to Frito Lay chip bags. Because TerraCycle is an upcycling company, and not a recycling plant, the company does not turn juice packages into more juice packages. Instead, old "trash" finds a new life as it is changed into fashion bags, backpacks, fences, and more for a total of 186 upcycled products to date. Many of these products can be found for sale in stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, The Home Depot, Office Max, Petco, and Whole Foods Market. The purpose of upcycling, overall, is to reduce landfill waste by producing products that are even better than the original item; in fact, most of the items used in TerraCycle's upcycling program would normally be considered non-recyclable.

However, TerraCycle's work extends beyond just being green and helping the earth. TerraCycle has partnered up with many name brands (Colgate, Frito Lay/Pepsi, Kraft Foods, Stonyfield Farm, Mars Wrigley and more) to donate $0.02 to a designated charity or school program for every wrapper (or relevant item) donated to TerraCycle's upcycling program. To make things even easier for program participants, TerraCycle will cover the cost of shipping the labels/wrappers to their company; this way, schools and charities benefit from this upcycling program at no additional cost to their businesses. Through this program, everybody really wins: non profits earn funding, consumer's can buy innovative upcycled profits, and the earth is saved through TerraCycling's green upcycling efforts because less trash is filling landfills.

TerraCycle is not only dedicated to inventing and researching ways to commercially upcycle former trash items, they are also interested in creating ways for consumers to upcycle items on their own. For example Terra Threadgould, TerraCycle's Chief Designer, has provided this easy craft for upcycling empty toothpaste tubes into a toothbrush or pencil holder. Made all with household items, this craft is the perfect way to teach your children about upcycling.

(Directions for Project by Terra Threadgould, TerraCycle Chief Designer)

Materials:

• 5 empty toothpaste tubes
• scissors
• ruler
• clear tape
• hole punch
• ribbon or plastic lanyard
• binder clips

Instructions:

1. Collect five Colgate® toothpaste tubes. Clean them by cutting off the bottom and slipping your scissors into the side seam. Flatten them out and clean with soap and water.
2. Cut four tubes to 3 ½" x 4 ½" and one tube into a 3 ½" x 3 ½" square. Fold down the top ½" of the four rectangular tubes and tape.
3. Take one of the four rectangles and punch holes every ½" along the two tall sides and along the short bottom side that is not folded. Use this punched piece as a template and punch holes in the exact same spots on the other three rectangular pieces.
4. To punch the small square piece, line up the short punched side of the rectangle piece with any side of the short piece. Repeat punching holes for the other three sides of the square using the short side of the rectangular piece as a template.
5. Then punch two holes near the center of the square. This will be the bottom of the container and the holes will be for drainage.
6. Match up two large pieces and lace up one side tying it off at the top and bottom. Open it up. On one of the non-laced ends, attach to the next rectangular piece in the same way with the printed sides facing out. Repeat for each additional rectangular piece. When you've laced all four pieces, connect the two end pieces together and lace creating a cube with your pieces.
7. Match up the square piece with the bottom of the container. Use binder clips to hold it in place. Lace around the bottom of the container and tie it off. You're ready to put your upcycled toothbrush holder into action.

For more information on TerraCycle's mission or on how you or your company can get involved in this green business, check out their website at www.TerraCycle.net