From Frito Lay comes upcycling. Upcycling is the collection and reuse of potato chip and other snack product packaging. Frito Lay, with the help of TerraCycle, will collect used packaging at the initial 1,000 collection sites and then turn that packaging into new goods for future use.

TerraCycle takes waste products like the Frito Lay packaging and creates other products like a tote bag.

To encourage consumers to drop their bags off at Frito Lay collection sites, the company is rewarding consumers with money for anyone who begins a Chip Bag Brigade, a group dedicated to preventing chip bags from ending up in the trash can. They are hoping 150,000 people will take part in the brigade efforts by collecting bags from their friends and family and then sending them to TerraCycle for reuse. For information, visit www.fritolay.com/terracycle. This effort, which reduces the amount of non-decomposable packing from landfills and potential ingestion by wildlife, is the latest in a history of efforts by Frito Lay to reduce waste, and reduce their direct and indirect environmental impacts. Past efforts include cutting the percentage of plastic in each bag by 10 percent, and they have recently expanded this to a SunChips bag that is made with 33 percent renewable, plant based material so that at least a portion of the bag is biodegradable. Vice President of Portfolio Marketing at Frito Lay North America, Gannon Jones says, "The TerraCycle program builds on our existing efforts to minimize the impact of packaging, while also engaging and rewarding our consumers for being part of the solution." What better way to make an effort cost effective than to ask consumers to take part? Instead of spending additional money for travel and transport by collectors, Frito Lay sends money to those consumers who have already done the work. Frito Lay is proving that environmental innovation and conservation doesn't have to mean spending profits or lobbying for a government bail out.

Environmental innovation and conservation can be as simple as getting consumers involved in the process of environmental stewardship. After all, much of the green movement been initiated by consumers who want smarter products that still offer their favorite things.