Upcycling gets a reality show

Eco-friendly worm poop company TerraCycle is now an everything-you-can-upcycle company -- and has a new TV show on National Geographic to prove it.

Thu, Aug 12 2010 at 1:23 PM EST

Photo courtesy of National Geographic

If you’re a fan of TerraCycle’s upcycled products, or you've simply wondered how productive a company founded on a pot-inspired idea could be, watch "Garbage Moguls" on National Geographic this Saturday to find out how trash gets upcycled into treasure — or at least into fugly but utilitarian eco-products.

The new reality show follows TerraCycle founder Tom Szaky and a team of employees at TerraCycle who dash around designing products out of trash, shooting each other with plastic guns, and petting kitties — while the show’s editors manufacture the obligatory reality show drama with short deadlines and small personality conflicts.

The pilot episode — in which the team works to “transform cereal boxes into notebooks, newspaper into pencils and cookie wrappers into kites” — re-airs at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21, followed by three additional episodes in which dog food bags get upcycled into pet products, old CDs into fishing lures, and Target bags into a suit jacket.

Watch, learn, and upcycle — though honestly, I think many of TerraCycle’s products are not particularly, um, attractive, though I'm not sure the raw materials really allow for anything better-looking. What do you think, readers? Does TerraCycle’s team turn trash into treasure? Or could the team learn a lesson or two from Regretsy?

Also on MNN: Should TerraCycle tackle cigarette butts?

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