St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School's recycling program doubles as a fundraiser
TerraCycle Revolution Foods Logitech bear naked Capri Sun (Kraft) Colgate Frito Lay Include USA Elmer’s
Mark Fritzler, 8th grade, left, and Zack Parman, 7th grade, right, count the recycled Capri Sun juice concentrate drink during her lunch hour at St. Elizabeth School in Reese. Students are encouraged to recycle their Capri Sun drink containers after use for a school recycling program.
REESE — Just by eating lunch, students at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School are fundraising for their school.
The students separate their Capri Sun pouches from the rest of their waste and send the popular juice boxes to TerraCycle, who in return give the school $0.02 for every juice pouch recycled.
St. Elizabeth is among 40,000 organizations participating in the TerraCycle program.
After two weeks of lunches, St. Elizabeth collected about 270 juice pouches, said Gabriela Marguery, school principal.
They have participated in the program for eighteen months.
While the $5.40 collected does not seem like much raised over two weeks, Marguery said, but the amount adds up.
“With $5, there’s something we can do,” she said. “It helps pay for a field trip. The important thing for them is you’re recycling and helping the school.”
The school has even incorporated recycling into their curriculum, with a “Take Care of God’s Creation” unit.
Luke Holtz, son of Nicki and Todd Holtz of Reese said he brings a juice pouch nearly every day for the school’s fundraiser.
“(Recycling) is fun, you can help pick up at your house,” he said.
Alyssa Brow, the daughter of Todd and Cheryl Brow of Buena Vista Township said she recycles her juice pouches at school, and her food and canned goods at home “so it doesn’t make the world dirty.”
The recycling program at St. Elizabeth Area Catholic School doubles as a fundraiser. The students separate their Capri Sun juice pouches from the rest of their refuse and each pouch generates 2 cents for the school. The day this was filmed, the school earned $5.40 from the 270 pouches over a two-week period.
Zack Parman, son of Kathy and Stan Parman of Bridgeport Township, a 7th grader at the school helps count the recycled packages every two weeks. He said he doesn’t mind helping out because fundraising ultimately helps the school, paying for field trips, balls and lighting in the gymnasium.
“We partner with these companies, these brands, to provide a solution for their packaging at the end of its life,” said Lauren Taylor, director, U.S. public relations for TerraCycle.
The company partners with many companies like Kraft Foods, Frito Lay, Revolution Foods, Bare Naked, Colgate, Elmers and Logitech.
They recycle and “upcycle” the discarded packaging. Recycling turns the product into something new and unrecognizable from its original form, but upcycling creates something recognizable from a product’s original form, like a Capri Sun purse or pencil case, or a backpack made out of chip bags.
“We have a lot of schools that participate, but anyone can get involved,” Taylor said. “Offices, community groups, anybody can get involved to make a difference.”