Review It Wednesday -- Keeping it out of the landfill!

I came across this really cool website a few weeks ago. TerraCycle, with a tagline of Outsmart Waste, transforms candy wrappers and snack bags into a variety of products, like the speakers on the left.

I contacted Samantha at TerraCycle and asked her if she would be interested in sending me a product to review. She gladly complied and I received these nifty little speakers a few days later. They arrived in a flat box and were easy to assemble -- fold, tuck, and voila! a set of speakers ready to plug into my laptop. Yippee!




So here's what I think.

• Innovative -- 5 Stars -- I mean, let's face it, this is a really cool idea. Transforming trash into a set of speakers. Ingenious.
• Trendy -- 5 Stars -- While I wouldn't actually keep a set of M&Ms-style speakers on my desk, as an adult professional, I think they'd really appeal to kids and teenagers.
• Eco-friendly -- 5 Stars -- Made out of 85% recycled materials, the speakers clearly advertise to friends and family that you care about the environment! And, they don't need batteries. How green is that?!
• Functional -- 3 Stars -- Extraordinarily lightweight, these speakers are small enough to fit almost anywear. The 3.5 mm universal plug fits into iPods, iPhones, mp3 players, laptops and computers. Why the 3 Star rating? Volume. I was extremely disappointed with the low volume coming out of the speakers when I plugged them into my laptop. My laptop is not at all loud, which is why I wanted to plug in a set of speakers. However, the level was even lower coming out of the speakers. And there is no volume control.

But speakers are just one of the many, many products offered by TerraCycle. There are bags, home and office products, school supplies, gardening supplies, toys and more! TerraCycle partners with a variety of companies to upcycle and recycle traditionally non-recyclable waste into a plethora of consumer products.

If you want to be part of this amazing process, either by sending in your packaging or by purchasing their products, check out their website. Here are just some of the companies they've partnered with and the packaging being used:

Capri Sun and Honest Kids -- drink pouches

Nabisco and Keebler -- cookie wrappers

Colgate -- toothpaste tubes

Frito-Lay and Mission -- snack bags

Yak Pak -- discarded billboard material

Target -- used shopping bags

Mars, Wrigley and Cadbury -- candy wrappers

Kashi -- boxes, wrappers

Clif Bar -- energy bar wrappers

Kraft -- packaging

Scott -- packaging

TerraCycle also upcycles 35mm film, wine corks, computer parts, vinyl records, pull tabs from soda and beer cans, and more!

Is this not one of the coolest companies you've heard about? With a mission to 'Eliminate the Idea of Waste,' how can they go wrong?

Reviewing it for you,

Hana