Academies at Gerrard Berman Day School in Oakland is teaching students about sustainability while making a significant impact on the environment. Through use of TerraCycle programs and Zero Waste Boxes, the school helps turn waste, such as snack wrappers and old school supplies, into new plastic products. Academies at GBDS participates in TerraCycle’s free, national Brigade programs, recycling items such as Entenmann’s Little Bites packaging, Capri Sun drink pouches, Scotch tape dispensers and E-waste.

Freeland students are making a difference this school year by recycling their lunchtime waste with TerraCycle. Through participation in TerraCycle’s recycling programs, schools can turn their empty food packaging into cash. Freeland Elementary School is working with TerraCycle to collect empty applesauce pouches for recycling in the GoGo squeeZ Brigade.

As Albe Zakes — the VP of TerraCycle, a global recycling network — led me through the company's headquarters, he stopped in his tracks once we reached a piece of scrap metal inscribed with the company's logo. "Oh, that must be new. Definitely wasn't here yesterday," he said, and we continued our tour. That brief moment perfectly exemplified the innovative, ever-changing company. The brainchild of environmentally minded entrepreneur Tom Szaky, TerraCycle has a mission almost as creative as its office space — a New Jersey warehouse entirely furnished with material that's been reused and recycled.

TerraCycle, Inc. started in 2001 when CEO and Founder Tom Szaky dropped out of Princeton University after his freshman year to sell liquefied worm poop in a reused soda bottle, for fertilizer purposes. Despite having little brand recognition and only rudimentary manufacturing operations, Szaky managed to get major big-box retailers like Walmart and The Home Depot to start testing the product in 2004. By 2006, TerraCycle's worm-poop-based plant foods were being sold nationally across the United States and Canada in Walmart, Target, The Home Depot and Whole Foods Market retail stores.

State Road Elementary School in Fenton earned nearly $100 just by recycling applesauce pouches. Students are making a difference by recycling their lunchtime waste with TerraCycle. Through participation in the recycling program, schools can turn their empty food packaging into cash.

Hutchinson Middle School is one of the top collectors in the contest, hosted by TerraCycle ® and Capri Sun ®, and they are nearing the final level to win a new playground made from recycled drink pouches. The school has already collected 97,378 units with the hopes of being the first one to reach the 200,000 mark to be awarded the playground. The Capri Sun Milestone Program has five levels, rewarding collectors for reaching cumulative achievements in their collection, from 10,000 pouches to 200,000 pouches.

The Capri Sun Milestone Program is an extension of The Drink Pouch Brigade, a free national recycling program sponsored by TerraCycle and Capri Sun. Since 2007, thousands of Drink Pouch Brigade participants have kept almost 235 million drink pouches out of landfills and raised more than $4.5 million for charity. One of the fastest-growing green companies in the world, TerraCycle is an upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products.

The contest is hosted by TerraCycle, a New Jersey company dedicated to recycling and environmental awareness. TerraCycle offers a program called the Drink Pouch Brigade, in which schools or other groups collect Capri Sun or Honest Kids drink pouches and ship them to TerraCycle, which then up-cycles the pouches into various products, such as pencil cases and backpacks. Keene’s Crossing joined the Drink Pouch Brigade in fall of 2012, long before there even was the potential for a new playground.

Dixon Elementary is a participant in the Capri Sun Milestone Contest and is in the running to win a playground by collecting and recycling used drink pouches. The contest is hosted by Capri Sun and TerraCycle. The school has collected 111,373 units to date and hopes to be the first to reach the 200,000 mark to win the playground made from recycled materials.