A company has recognized Holy Name School for its extensive efforts to recycle Capri Sun drink pouches. TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials, according to its Web site. The company and Capri Sun recognized Holy Name for being one of the Top 100 collectors nationwide. The school earns two cents for every pouch that is saved.
In March some members of the Environmental Club took a field trip to Terracycle in Trenton to deliver 12,000 juice pouches they had been collecting. Club Co-leader Behm praised the hard work of the 25 members.
"Every day they went around collecting the juice pouches, and then on Wednesdays after school they counted them, washed them and packed them. They worked so hard," she said.
Their efforts raised $200 for the school playground.
But what happens when a college student has an entrepreneurial itch that just can’t be scratched within the confines of an institution of higher learning? When I was writing
Upstarts!, I heard many stories of students leaving school to focus on their companies. Among them are Tom Szaky (
TerraCycle), Ben Kaufman (
Quirky), Caleb Sima (
SPI Dynamics), Brendan Ciecko (
Ten Minute Media), Brad Weinberg and Rajiv Kumar (
Shape Up the Nation). Some were clearly not academically inclined from the get go; others just could not manage a company and school at the same time, and the former took precedent. I doubt that any of them regret their decision, but I wish that they had not been forced to make it. And for that, I blame the colleges and universities that they attended and left.
Curses! How do I get rid of … ?
Jack-o’-lanterns: Compost them in a heap or in a bin. Need a bin? RIRRC sells Earth Machines on Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 4 for $40.
Candy wrappers: These aren’t accepted in your blue bin, however you can join or start a local “brigade” of collectors for many hard-to-recycle items, including candy wrappers, and earn cash for your school or nonprofit by signing up at
www.terracycle.net. If this is not an option, please place them in the trash.
Eco-firm TerraCycle has launched a scheme to recycle used school writing instruments. It will pay schools 2p for every pen, pencil or marker collected. To sign up for the scheme, go to www.terracycle.co.uk
I was also given the opportunity to review a few of their products, the Capri Sun
Rectangular Lunch Box <
http://www.terracycle.net/products/195-Capri-Sun-Rectangular-Lunch-Box> and Drink Pouch Pencil Case <
http://www.terracycle.net/products/17-Drink-Pouch-Pencil-Case-Medium-> .
Cute, cute!! My kids aren't old enough to take them to school yet, but they would make great school supplies for kids! I might even use it for my lunch!!
The teachers at Montgomery Elementary School used to see a lot of Capri Sun drink pouches get thrown away. Once they signed up to recycle them through a company called TerraCycle, the school began earning two cents for everyone one of those pouches.
October 20, 2010 - NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - The Lincoln Street School PTO is continuing its Drink Pouch Brigade this year. There is a collection bin located in the cafeteria for drink pouches.
The Lincoln Street School will receive $.02 in donations for all brands of drink pouches that we send in.
Please ask your children to make sure that they remove the straw from their finished drink pouches and place them in the collection bins in the cafeteria.
I recently wrapped up a Terracycle giveaway in which Ken won a great tote bag for his kids. He let me know that he will use it to teach his kids how products like this help to reduce their carbon footprints.
Terracycle sent me the products pictured above: a TerraCycle Drink Pouch Pencil Case ($2.99) and a TerraCycle Drink Pouch Lunch Box ($7.99). My kids have seen these in the store before and as a matter of fact while we were shopping for school supplies this year, my 8 year old requested the pencil bag. Since we couldn't find one, she ended up with another bag, but now she has the one she really wanted and a cool lunch box as well! I wish that I could show you just how nice these products are because I don't think the pictures do them justice.
