GILBERTS — Not only are Gilberts Elementary students saving the environment, they’re collecting money for their school as well. The Community Unit District 300 school earns money and prizes for collecting and recycling the drink pouches students use at home and in the lunchroom through a partnership between upcyling/recycling company TerraCycle and Capri Sun, which is owned by Kraft Foods. The two companies offer incentives through their Drink Pouch Brigade Mileage program to encourage kids to recycle the pouches and keep them out of the landfills. For their efforts, the roughly 700 students from kindergarten through fifth grade collected more than 18,000 drink pouches and earned second-tier status as well as $3,800 for their school. According to representatives from TerraCycle, the money the Gilberts students earned has been put toward iPads for use in the classrooms as well as events including movie nights and mother-daughter nights. Some of the money was also put toward a bigger playground for the growing student body. Now, in addition to the money they earn for each piece of waste collected, participants can win prizes made from recycled drink pouches, such as park benches, recycling bins, a playground, and other rewards. Thousands of other schools across the United States participate in the Drink Pouch Brigade. The program is free to any interested organization or individual, and all shipping costs are paid. After a group or individual collects at least 5 pounds (roughly 430 pouches), all the participant needs to do is download a free shipping label from the assigned TerraCycle account. Once the label is affixed to the box, the box of recyclables can be dropped off at any UPS location.