Students at the local San Tan Valley elementary school took something simple as recycling and turned it into a win for their school. The Ellsworth Elementary students hit the second level in a campaign by Terra Cycle and Capri Sun that landed the school $1,000 in a contest that rewarded them for recycling drink pouches. Ellsworth students spent the 2013-14 school year collecting the pouches. Ellsworth, which resides in the J.O. Combs Unified School District, earned their $1,000 reward by collecting more than 18,000 drink pouches and reaching Capri Sun’s Drink Pouch Brigade milestone contest and TerraCycle’s second level. The program which Ellsworth students excelled at was started in 2013, and in addition to winning cash for their school, allows participants to win playgrounds, recycling bins, and park benches. “It’s a really great program and the Ellsworth students did an amazing job at it,” Rachel Zuckerman, public relations intern for TerraCycle explained. “They can go even further to get more for their school.” Ellsworth is not alone in the campaign to turn beautification and recycling into a school mission, Zuckerman explained that thousands of schools across the nation have decided to participate in the campaign to recycle rather than simply throwing their pouches away. “The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements,” Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle said in a press release. “It’s rewarding to see the students and administration get so involved in making this work. It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream.” Ellsworth Elementary School is the newest school in the Combs District and quickly embraced the district’s drive to succeed and dedication to the school. With a student population of over 900 at Ellsworth Elementary, the recycling program in which students from kindergarten-sixth grade participated in fit right into the mission of “looking to the future with the most advanced technology and conveniences of the 21st century.” In addition to earning money and prizes for their schools, participating schools also earn money for a charity of their choice.