Ever think about what happens to used escalator rails?

I never had, particularly while riding an escalator at the Portland International Airport.  Yet beyond the fast-paced world of running planes on time, is a sustainable mind-set that’s on the radar at the PDX airport.

The following blog post was sent in by Stacey Cusack Krauss,  Public Relations Manager at TerraCycle Inc. since 2010.  A Boston University alum, Stacey previously worked at an entertainment PR agency, but now enjoys telling the TerraCycle story to the world.  From planting acorns at recess to setting up recycling bins for her college dorm to starting a paper reuse policy in her office, the environment has always been her biggest passion.   We are thrilled to have TerraCycle as a member company (and Partner) on EcoApprentice.

With the unemployment rate depressingly high, it’s hard to find a job these days.  It can be even harder to find a job you’re really passionate about.  But if the environment is your passion, you’ll be happy to hear there are 2 million “green jobs” and that number is expected to double in the next 5 years. The current administration is putting millions of dollars into creating green jobs and support sustainable industries (the Solyndra debacle aside.)

Here are some tips for landing that green job you’ve been dreaming about from TerraCycle employees that have done it themselves.

BE FLEXIBLE

When Albe Zakes interviewed for a Publicist position in 2006, TerraCycle founder/CEO Tom Szaky liked him, but didn’t think he had enough experience for the job as a recent college graduate.  Rejected but not defeated, Albe went home and wrote an impassioned letter to Tom, explaining why he was perfect for the job.  He offered to work as an unpaid intern for two months to prove his point. Tom admired his commitment and passion and agreed to hire him as an intern.  Five years later, Albe is now the Vice President of Global Media Relations and a vital asset to the company.  As an anecdote, Albe always says it was his Dad who inspired him by telling him, “If you really want to work somewhere, you have to be willing to start by sweeping the floors. You be surprised how many execs started in the mailroom.”

To get in the door at a company you’d really like to work for, you may have to take an unpaid internship or lower-paying position than you originally sought.   It might seem like a step backwards, but if it gets you in the door and into a position where you can prove your value to the company, you’ll be one step closer to the job you really want.

BE PATIENT

Green companies, non-profits and other socially responsible businesses need mid- to upper-level professionals with business, marketing, PR and other useful skills.  It might take you some time to reach a level where you’d be an asset to a green company or non-profit.  After graduating with a major in Public Relations, I went to work at an entertainment agency in Manhattan that represented various home entertainment, video game and consumer product clients.   I thrived in the fast-paced, high-stress environment, but knew that I needed my work to matter in a bigger way.  So, with several years of experience under my belt, I started looking to make a move.  As soon as I found out about TerraCycle, I knew this was the place for me.  I applied, interviewed and practically begged for the job.  When I was hired, all those years of torturous work pitching DVDs were suddenly worth the effort.

BE YOURSELF 

If you’re trying to get a job in the environmental sector and you’re not gaining any direct experience at your day job, you should think about cultivating your passion in other ways.  Whether it’s lending a hand to a local clean-up group or writing for a green living blog, find some way to get involved in your spare time.  Not only will this help keep you sane when your day job threatens to suck the life out of you, volunteering, writing and freelancing can boost your resume, showing a very genuine passion that will help you stand out.  This way, when the interviewer asks why you want to make the jump with no direct experience, you’ll have more to go on than just words about passion for the planet.  The combination of your skills and experience combined with your obvious passion for the cause will make you an attractive candidate. You can also take classes at night in environmental studies, sustainable business or simply a certificate in the job function you want to perform. Just because you want to work at a triple bottom line company, doesn’t mean you don’t still need the hard skills to go with your passion.

We also encourage becoming a member at EcoApprentice to gain practical experience teaming up with businesses or non-profits to solve an EcoChallenge. It will look great on your resume!

To become a member at EcoApprentice, just click on this link.  Free to join.

Just a few miles from where I live in the Columbia River Gorge, something remarkable happened this week. The Condit Dam, which has been around for 100 years, is a dam no more! The White Salmon River is now running free!

It’s rare to see a better example of nature reclaiming then a dam coming out! Huge kudos to Columbia Riverkeeper who were instrumental in the dam removal. Riverkeepers share:

In the late 1990s, Columbia Riverkeeper (then Columbia River United) joined the Yakama Nation and conservation, fishing, and whitewater groups in opposing the relicensing of the dinosaur dam that produced only a tiny amount of power but blocked miles of critical salmon habitat.  In 1999, we signed an agreement with PacifiCorp and several state and federal agencies that required the demolition of the dam.  It’s been a long journey, but it all came together with one big boom.

Watch the explosion and the White Salmon River restored:

Watch the explosion plus some history leading up to the removal of Condit Dam:

The steelhead and salmon can now return to their native habitat, after a 100 year break!

Friends of the White Salmon River share more about the river:

From its origin in meadows on the southwest side of Washington state’s Mt. Adams, the 45 mile long White Salmon River travels through the Mt. Adams Wilderness to connect with Cascade Creek, a major tributary that begins on the White Salmon Glacier at about 11,000 feet altitude…Condit Dam lies about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) upstream of the confluence where the White Salmon River empties into the Columbia River. The area below the dam is part of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, while parts of the river upstream belong to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The area is famous for its natural beauty and recreational activities such as whitewater rafting and fishing. Impoundment of the river in 1911 removed 33 miles (53 km) of steelhead habitat and 14 miles (23 km) of salmon.

For more on what some humans are doing to create a more sustainable ecosystem, check out EcoApprentice

On 9/16/11, I had a fun and informative interview with Albe Zakes.  He is the VP of Media Relations for TerraCycle. He has been with TerraCycle since 2006. That same year, INC magazine ran a story calling TerraCycle the “coolest little start-up in America”.

They are still very cool and now exemplify a company that’s known for being at the forefront of waste reduction worldwide! When it comes to sustainability – they get it in a BIG way.

Richard: Tell me about TerraCycle

Albe: TerraCycle is an innovative company whose main goal is to eliminate waste. We have a great program in which we pay schools & nonprofits to collect material that would otherwise end up in landfills.  Currently, we collect over 40 different waste kinds of waste, including drink pouches, candy wrappers, used pens, even glue & lotion bottles.  Anyone can sign up for free to collect & return these items, that would otherwise have been sent to a landfill, and TerraCycle pays $.02 per unit to the charity of school of the collector’s choice. These are new end of life solutions! Reuse, recycle, and Re-purpose!

We already have 70,000 locations in the US and about 60%, or 42,000, of these are schools.  Since 2007, we’ve diverted over 2 billion pieces of waste from landfills.  Waste is shipped to regional depots to reduce the environmental impact of the shipping.  In the spirit of keeping it eco-friendly, TerraCycle purchases carbon offsets for the rest.  But waste isn’t just generated in the home, some of it comes from the factory too.  We work with our partners to collect this pre-consumer waste so it doesn’t end up in a landfill either.

Richard: How did you convince major corporations to get involved?

Albe: Well, it was not easy! We focused on the benefits: consumer engagement, consumer activation, and brand ambassadorship. For example, take a Capri Sun drink pouch – rather than just tossing it in the garbage, having students repurpose the wrapper as part of the Brigade program keeps promoting the brand. Large corporations spend millions of dollars on market research and trademarks – but far less is spent on coming up with a solution for the packaging after the consumer users the item!  By working with TerraCycle, these corporations build brand equity  by turning the negative experience of seeing a wrapper or package as litter into the positive experience of recycling and being part of a larger movement.

Richard: What are TerraCycle’s greatest challenges?

Albe: Consumer education — i.e. why/what impact does tossing your garbage have? People wonder if recycling, in general, is really worth it.  Is it really eco-friendly? Buying eco-friendly does cost a little more, which is fine when the economy is good because people are willing to pay for it.  But when the economy is generally bad, they’re not so willing to pay the extra cash for a green product.  At TerraCycle, we make recycled products that are competitively priced with products made from virgin material.  We want to be able to not only address people’s environmental concerns, but make it cost effective as well.

Richard: What’s cool about your job?

Albe: EVERYTHING!!!   I particularly like going out to elementary schools to get kids engaged and excited.  If I show up with a backpack made from Capri Sun drink pouches or speakers made from M&Ms wrappers, it’s very easy for the students to see what we are doing and the logic — they see the power of the products. I have presented at the Harvard Business School and at Princeton — but it pales in comparison to the excitement I see in the faces of elementary school students.

I also really like giving pragmatic and very practical advice through our Internship Program. It’s very hands on and we really focus on providing valuable skills in a positive and fun way! Interns learn (for example) the art of PR, which be applied to many career choices.

Richard: Where does TerraCycle go from here?

Albe: We want to expand outreach and meet new challenges for reducing waste.  I’m very excited about the R & D that’s going into coming up with ways to re-purpose difficult to recycle products. Two great examples are used cigarette butts and dirty diapers! We are continually looking for new waste streams, better solutions to our collection system, and ways for TerraCycle to collect and reuse more trash.

We are really supportive of start-ups (like EcoApprentice) that share our values and vision.  We don’t see other companies in the sustainability field as competitors, rather it’s all for the better good. Collaboration, cooperation, and support are necessary if the waste problem will ever be solved. It can’t just be one company working away at it.

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To learn more about TerraCycle and how they Outsmart Waste, visit their website here.

We are excited to have TerraCycle as a member business on EcoApprentice; if you would like to join,  membership is free.

Our members know that their businesses can be more eco-friendly and profitable by incorporating sustainable strategies into biz operations.  Here are just a few examples of intriguing challenges:

5) Jeffrey Hodgins is looking for a dry season cover crop that can be sown with two months old corn plants and live to survive the dry winter on the Central Mexican Volcanic Plateau. (The winner of this EcoChallenge will get two weeks free room & board at their home in Puebla.)

4) Truce Designs is looking for uses for their extra scrap fabric from their dry suit factory.

3) Allium Bistro is looking for an efficient, realistic and health-law compliant composting system for their restaurant.

2) Doppio Coffee Lounge is looking for a way to close the loop on compostable packaging for coffee cups, lids, boxes, etc.

1) EWEB (Eugene Water and Electric Board) is looking for high quality, useable, compostable, recyclable and/or made in the USA products for their prizes and promotions.

Become a member for free today and help find EcoSolutions for business EcoChallenges.  Change your Community.  Change the World.

The EcoApprentice model is pretty straight forward:

* Businesses share EcoChallenges.

* University Students/MBA Students work to resolve those EcoChallenges with EcoSolutions, gaining real world experience and, in many cases, credit from their University for the project.

* Businesses select their favorite EcoSolution and give the prize (if one is provided) to the winner.

In the past couple of months since our launch, our users are finding uses for EcoApprentice we hadn’t thought of. Here are our:

Five Cool Things About EcoApprentice We Didn’t Plan

1) It’s an Idea application: Business owners connect with other similar businesses/verticals and share ideas.

2) It provides B2B opportunities: When businesses post their EcoChallenge they can connect with other businesses to provide products and services.

3) It provides B2C opportunities: Companies can create awareness about their business and their engagement in being green (for free) when they become members.

4) Universities use it in multiple departments: University sign ups come from career services, MBA programs, school to work programs and more.

5) It’s not just students who are solving challenges: Business owners have provided some exceptional solutions for other businesses based on their own experiences and challenges (we created a category for this type of user called “School of Life”. Check out this solution provided by restaurant owner, Kathy Watson of Nora’s Table.

Whether you’re big or small and even if you can’t think of an EcoChallenge for your business yet, what are you waiting for? Sign up to be a member free and learn with us about all the great uses for EcoApprentice!

Long before EcoApprentice turned our renewable-energy-powered lights on, we became members of 1% for the Planet. According to Wiki: One Percent for the Planet is an international organization whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual sales to environmental causes. Their mission is to “use market forces to drive positive environmental change by inspiring companies to give”.

One Percent for the Planet currently has 1,438 member companies representing 44 countries. Some of the largest names include Patagonia, Clif Bar, FIJI Water, Wonderful Pistachios, Wolverine World Wide, New Belgium Brewing and Jack Johnson.

Why did EcoApprentice become members? I recently interviewed Bordie O’Brien, who refers to himself as the Membership Marshal for 1%.

Richard: Tell me about 1%
Brodie: We provide 3rd party certification to verify that businesses who care to give to environmental causes are walking the talk. There is a saying: “There is no business to be done on a dead planet” People understand this as a very simple and straight forward way to show that a business is giving back. As membership in 1% grows, so does the value of the program, both for our member companies, non-profit partners, and for the planet.
Richard: How do you verify that a business really gives 1%?
Brodie: Members agree to send us either a copy of their tax return or certified CPA report, along with donation receipts provided by the recipient organization(s).
Richard: What if a corporation that’s a known polluter wants to join; is there a problem with that?
Brodie: No. We believe to be critical of this is untenable; fundamentally, joining means taking a step in the right direction. This creates a positive shift. It’s always a balancing act, but participating opens up conversations that can help lead a business (and their customers) to find and follow sustainable best practices.
Richard: What’s cool about your job?
Brodie: I get to meet very passionate people from all kinds of businesses that have incredible stories from around the world dedicated to making a difference!
Richard: Does this work?
Brodie: Yes! It’s a very holistic approach. Through their participation in 1%, businesses and industry are actively working to create a livable planet, rather than a roadblock. People want to do what’s right, and 1% makes it easy for companies to be part of the solution.

To find out more about how 1% for the Planet started, check out this short video – and for more on their mission (and some great music) watch this.

Making a difference while making a profit resonated strongly with our core vales at EcoApprentice. You can be part of the mission by becoming a member of EcoApprentice for free!