Trash Into Treasure

Have you visited TerraCycle?  They are a company that collects your trash and turns it into fun products. They create backpacks, pencil pouches, trivets, and more.

You join a brigade, send in your trash with a pre-paid postage label, and they donate money to a charity and recycle your trash into neat, new products! Most brigades right now donate $.02 per item sent in. It takes a few extra steps than standard recycling, but you know that your trash is actually being turned into new items AND your favorite charities receive a boost thanks to your efforts.

They collect a wide variety of items — juice boxes, potato chip bags, corks, candy bar wrappers and more! You can see on their site how many people are collecting items, and how much money has been raised for charities. Individuals, offices, and even schools can get involved in the effort.

I think this is a neat program that moves waste out of the landfill and back into the revenue stream. What a great fundraiser for schools! I would happily collect juice pouches and donate them to a school so they could raise funds by sending them into TerraCycle.

Melanie Rogers is a wife and homeschooling mom of 3 children. She enjoys helping other busy moms find great products to delight their families and make their lives easier. She's always on the lookout for a great bargain, too! You can also find Melanie blogging frequently at My Little Patch of Sunshine.