Earth Month 2010 begins tomorrow and upcycling gurus TerraCycle and retail giant Walmart are joining forces to help boost consumers’ interest in the environment by displaying before and after products, side-by-side, on Walmart shelves nationwide. TerraCycle takes items that typically end up in a landfill and then upcycles these products into new consumer goods.

 

TerraCycle can take a used Skittles candy wrapper and turn it into several different items including a lunch tote, a spiral-bound notebook, and even a kite. When customers visit their local Walmart in April, they’ll see the Skittles kite and other TerraCycle goods on the shelf next to the bags of Skittles.

 

Typically a Skittles wrapper would end up in a landfill. If consumers participate in a TerraCycle brigade they are helping TerraCycle turn these wrappers into a new product while helping raise funds for charity. TerraCycle doesn’t just take in waste products to upcycle into new consumer goods through their brigades; the entire process also raises money for charity, schools, and other nonprofit organizations.

 

The partnership between TerraCycle and Walmart is sure to get the products out in front of millions of Americans. Beginning April 5, every single Walmart store in the nation will have these custom Earth Month displays. Placing the before and after products side-by-side on the shelf will help customers see that what they may consider waste can actually be reused. TerraCycle’s outside of the box thinking has led to a very creative product line, which is sure to draw customers’ eyes as they do their typical shopping.