A recent article in Industry Week explained how TerraCycle can turn your garbage into gold by taking non-recyclable pre- and post- consumer materials and up-cycling these traditional waste streams into reusable products which includes eco-binders, trash & recycling containers, pencil cases, backpacks, lunch boxes, and other consumer materials. They've even come up with a way to create fertilizer from, and package it in, bio-degradeable waste.

So where's the profit? If you are a school, church, or a non-profit organization, TerraCycle will provide you with packaging materials and cover postage to ship it non-recylcable food packaging that it uses in the creation of its products -- and pay you for each item you provide. For example, you can get $0.02 for each drink pouch, candy wrapper, or cooky wrapper your members collect and send it.

For more information, you can watch the media video.