Creekside and Grand Ridge achieved Level 1 in the Green Schools Program, focusing on waste reduction and recycling. Creekside, a LEED certified building, opened in fall 2010 and started recycling from the get go. Today, students and staff have a recycling rate of 55 percent and reduce their waste by recycling not only the usual suspects — paper and plastic — but also milk cartons and food scraps. “The kids are really great about it,” Program Assistant Judy Bowlby said. “They dump their milk cartons out and put the carton into the recycle bin.” Students can participate in TerraCycle’s Capri Sun Juice Pouch Brigade, directing the discarded pouches toward artists that can make them into bags, clipboards, pencil cases, waste baskets and fences. Though staff members led the initial “green” initiative, student leaders plan to get involved soon.

During the past two months, several Floral Street School students with the help of the eco-friendly organization the Dumpster Divers, collected over 2,000 empty juice box pouches and snack bags, which will be sent to the eco-friendly company Terracycle.  Terracycle collects various types of trash and creates new products, such as coolers and backpacks, to be sold in major stores across the country, such as Walmart, Target and Home Depot.

TerraCycle and Capri Sun have reached a major milestone in the Drink Pouch Brigade and an area school is being named America's Best Brigade for helping them do it.  They've just reached the 50 millionth pouch collected mark, which means that $1 million has been paid to schools adn non-profits across the country just for sending us this waste. TerraCycle uses this waste as raw material to make affordable, eco-friendly products.  Del Rey Elementary School in King City is among the Top 100 Collecting Schools out of about 30,000 nationwide that participate in TerraCycle's Drink Pouch Brigade, a free fundraising program that pays $.02 per unit of waste collected.

What is upcycling?  According to a very cool company, TerraCycle, upcycling is defined as using every aspect of waste as value.  Every year billions of drink pouches and candy wrappers and of in dumpsters and landfills across America.  Check out these items below and see upcycling in action.  See the volunteering section at highschoogle to learn more about how you can be part of TerraCycle’s Brigade movement, by starting a club at your school.

What is upcycling?  According to a very cool company, TerraCycle, upcycling is defined as using every aspect of waste as value.  Every year billions of drink pouches and candy wrappers and of in dumpsters and landfills across America.  Check out these items below and see upcycling in action.  See the volunteering section at highschoogle to learn more about how you can be part of TerraCycle’s Brigade movement, by starting a club at your school.

Legacy Traditional School in Casa Grande recently has been named part of America’s Best Brigade for 2010 for being one of the top 100 schools in the nation in a recycling program for drink containers. TerraCycle’s Drink Pouch Brigade has helped the organization reach the milestone of 50 million pouches collected and $1 million paid to schools and nonprofits.  Legacy sent its first shipment of Capri Sun drink pouches in December 2009. In the past 12 months, the school has collected more than 47,000.

This fun lunch box is made from waste drink pouch material.  Send your kids to school in style with this attractive lunch box from Green Ostrich.

For those not familiar with "Terracycle", it is one of many organizations that work to create useful items out of waste products. "Terracycle", in conjunction with both consumers and people from within the food and beverage industry, collects empty and discarded items like foil cheese packets, foil beverage pouches, potato chip bags, gum wrappers, beverage bottles and other items. "Terracycle" then converts those items into a wide array of new items like insulated coolers, garbage cans, fences, plant food, household cleaners, photo frames, jewel cases, clothing and fashion accessories. Part of the proceeds from the sale of those items is in turn donated to area schools and non-profit groups.

This increase in repurposing materials has caused food and beverage manufacturers like Kraft Foods to stand up and take notice. Proof in point is the company's recent decision to add foil cheese packets to their pre-existing "Terracycle Collection Program." In Packaging Everything Old is New Again For those not familiar with "Terracycle", it is one of many organizations that work to create useful items out of waste products. "Terracycle", in conjunction with both consumers and people from within the food and beverage industry, collects empty and discarded items like foil cheese packets, foil beverage pouches, potato chip bags, gum wrappers, beverage bottles and other items. "Terracycle" then converts those items into a wide array of new items like insulated coolers, garbage cans, fences, plant food, household cleaners, photo frames, jewel cases, clothing and fashion accessories. Part of the proceeds from the sale of those items is in turn donated to area schools and non-profit groups.