Managing Editor
In an effort to make recycling more practical, Recycling Operations Manager Barry Wilkins will be working with TerraCylce, a New Jersey-based waste collection company, to collect used chip bags for its Chip Bag Brigade “upcycling” program.
TerraCycle, founded in 2001 by then-Princeton University student Tom Szaky, works with schools and companies to collect previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste materials and helps remake these materials into new items.
These items can be remade into everything from three-ring binders and tote bags to fences and park benches. Each waste stream, or pieces of material a group wants to collect can then be converted. Different waste streams include cell phones, ink cartridges, digital cameras, candy wrappers and chip bags, according to TerraCycle.
Each company associated with the specific waste stream puts its stamp of approval on the item being “upcycled,” or remade, allowing these products to be sold in stores such as Walmart and Whole Foods.
“I spoke with a third-party person about companies being in demand for consumers to return their products,” Wilkins said. “When he spoke to the Pepsi and Coca Cola companies, he said that they were concerned about what happened to their products after the consumer.”
Pepsi and Coca Cola have been selling their products, Wilkins said, but were not seeing the bottles returned in mass numbers, even with a deposit involved.
For each item collected, TerraCycle will award each group with two points, which can either be rewarded as a charitable gift or one cent per point for the organization collecting waste streams.
That revenue can add to $30,000 saved on average from the college’s recycling efforts, according to Damon Flowers, associate vice president of development and operations. Once Wilkins has collected 350 bags, or 5 pounds worth, he will send the bail into TerraCycle to receive the points.
Wilkins has already signed up Washtenaw Community College for a Chip Bag Brigade, sponsored by Frito-Lay.
While he has been relatively low-key about this endeavor, Wilkins will be working with marketing personnel and other college officials to build awareness about the program.
Students looking to participate can place used chip bags into the paper recycling containers located in nearly every classroom and other campus locations.
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