A Capri Sun juice pouch does not seem big enough to hold anything but juice. Lincoln Elementary students think differently. They're using old Capri Suns pouches to turn into purses and help the environment while they do it. Students at Lincoln are participating in Terracycle Brigades, a nationwide program that pays schools and non-profit organizations to collect non-recyclable waste that would otherwise go to a landfill, according to a press release.

Lindsay Hetzler discovered a way to turn her daughter Lorelei’s favorite drink into money for her school. By her account, Hetzler buys “a ton” of Capri Sun juice boxes for her family. Last fall while reading the back of one of the drink pouches, Hetzler learned about TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that makes eco-friendly products from a wide range of nonrecyclable waste materials. She learned about a free nationwide program offered by TerraCycle called “Brigades” where you can earn money for your school or nonprofit organization by collecting nonrecyclable items and mailing them to the company.

elp our school by saving your drink pouches, candy wrappers, protein bar wrappers,Frito Lays chip bags, yogurt containers (must stack), and cookie wrappers.  We earn money for your trash!!!!

There are new TerraCycle products
- The products are available in every Walmart across the United States (only)
- The products are available during the month of April (only), in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day this year

Now the products we have saved are being turned into useful products that are available at WalMart in the the month of April.  I purchased mine and you can get yours too!

Today consumers are encouraged to buy organic, to grow organic, and to shop from local producers. In defense of Lewiston townspeople, they patiently waited their turn for Harold or John Micheel to plow their garden plots for spring planting. There were scads of vegetables eaten fresh from the garden and canned for the winter ahead. It’s hard to fathom that there’s a $7.4 million company today that makes products entirely out of garbage! You can read about 28-year-old entrepreneur Tom Szaky in April’s Reader’s Digest, in an article by Donna Fenn. Along with his partner Robin Tabor, Szaky is spearheading the new industry dubbed “uncycling.” (Another one for Webster!) Waste comes from “fundraising collection brigades, operated by schools and nonprofit organizations and sponsored by packaged-goods companies like Frito-Lay” (and Kellogg’s and Kraft.) Kraft’s Jeff Chahley reported, “We’ve helped divert 50 tons of waste from going to landfill, and contributed over $250,000.”

Fashionable?  Well, maybe not to my taste.  Smart marketing?  I think so.  TerraCycle (http://www.terracycle.net/) is a company that collects food wrappers and containers and upcycles them into other products ranging from pet clean up products to school supplies. The program is somewhat similar to some of your favorite loyalty programs; Yoplait's "Save Lids to Save Lives,"  General Mills "Box Tops for Education" or Campbell's soup wrapper program.  Like those programs, groups, such as schools, can collect wrappers or containers and get ~.02-.03 per unit as a donation.  The wrappers and containers must be from specific sponsoring brands/products such as Frito Lay, Mars Candies and Kimberly Clark.  The sponsoring companies get "green"  halo from partnering with a green company, build consumer loyalty since TerraCycle only collects waste from specific products and then get major retailers like Home Depot and Walmart selling book bags, folders, Christmas bows, etc made from their packaging.

Through the month of April TerraCycle products will be available at Walmart locations nationwide. The best part about the partnership with Walmart is that the TerraCycle items are being sold in the same section of products from which they were made. From backpacks made from drink containers to totes made from chip packaging, TerraCycle takes recycling to a whole new level. The company specializes in affordable eco-friendly products that are created with materials that are typically non-recyclable. With help from individuals all throughout the country, TerraCycle runs a national collection program that pays schools and non-profits for collecting used packaging materials like energy bar wrappers, yogurt cups, and cookie wrappers. The items are then turned from waste into high quality products including bags, holiday bows, shower curtains, clocks, corkboards, and more.

From their classrooms to store shelves, Fort Myers schools are learning how waste can be reused instead of discarded. With hundreds of students eating lunch everyday, the teachers at several area schools - St. Michael Lutheran, Orangewood Elementary and Colonial Elementary - used to see a lot of used drink pouches get thrown away.

Those cute little Capri Sun purses and pencil cases you see in boutiques and Target, come from the juice pouches your little ones drink!  Don't throw those pouches away, your school can get 2 cents a pouch!   Totally awesome right? Now I will admit it can get a little messy, as I am the one in charge of cleaning them, but it is well worth it in the end: 1. We bring in cash for new school supplies and 2. We are making the earth a little cleaner. Go to your school's PTA and ask if your school is a part of the Terra-cycle program. New to the Terra-cycle program is the Elmer's Glue Crew!   Which come on, what school doesn't use a lot of Elmer's Glue? And at 2 cents a container!  WOW!  Find out more here! The best part of the Terra-cycle program is you can get your whole family involved!

WOW!! This is so exciting!! After months of collecting, sorting, packaging and mailing, we are getting a chance to see the products that all the trash is being turned into at our local WalMart. Now to see if it is a success. You can help make it a success by stopping by your local WalMart and purchasing one of these great new products. Listed below are all the details of what is available in most stores. Show your support of your schools and purchase a bag. ALSO there is a way to turn the dollars you spent buying to also support your school. Save your receipt and contact your schools TerraCycle representative to learn how.

Teachers at Palmetto Elementary School used to see a lot of used drink pouches get thrown away.  Now they earn two cents for every one of those pouches they collect and return to a company called TerraCycle, who uses their non-recyclable waste to make affordable, eco-friendly products. This school year so far, the enthusiastic students at Palmetto have diverted over 15,500 pieces of waste from going into a landfill and this has earned their school over $300! “We found the Brigades to be a great opportunity to teach our students about recycling as well as help raise money for our school,” said Cindy Stavisky, the teacher who signed the school up for the program.  “With the money we earn, we are going to rebuild our Pre-K playground, making it more accessible for all students as well as an advanced educational environment!” The school is part of a free nationwide program called “Brigades®’ that pays schools and non-profits to collect non-recyclable waste that would otherwise go to landfill.  Now the programs are coming full circle back to Orlando through an exciting partnership with local WalmartÒ locations.