Students at the local San Tan Valley elementary school took something simple as recycling and turned it into a win for their school. The Ellsworth Elementary students hit the second level in a campaign by Terra Cycle and Capri Sun that landed the school $1,000 in a contest that rewarded them for recycling drink pouches. Ellsworth students spent the 2013-14 school year collecting the pouches. Ellsworth, which resides in the J.O. Combs Unified School District, earned their $1,000 reward by collecting more than 18,000 drink pouches and reaching Capri Sun’s Drink Pouch Brigade milestone contest and TerraCycle’s second level. The program which Ellsworth students excelled at was started in 2013, and in addition to winning cash for their school, allows participants to win playgrounds, recycling bins, and park benches. “It’s a really great program and the Ellsworth students did an amazing job at it,” Rachel Zuckerman, public relations intern for TerraCycle explained. “They can go even further to get more for their school.” Ellsworth is not alone in the campaign to turn beautification and recycling into a school mission, Zuckerman explained that thousands of schools across the nation have decided to participate in the campaign to recycle rather than simply throwing their pouches away. “The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements,” Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle said in a press release. “It’s rewarding to see the students and administration get so involved in making this work. It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream.” Ellsworth Elementary School is the newest school in the Combs District and quickly embraced the district’s drive to succeed and dedication to the school. With a student population of over 900 at Ellsworth Elementary, the recycling program in which students from kindergarten-sixth grade participated in fit right into the mission of “looking to the future with the most advanced technology and conveniences of the 21st century.” In addition to earning money and prizes for their schools, participating schools also earn money for a charity of their choice.

HAVERTOWN, Pa., July 9, 2014 – Haverford Township residents earn money and prizes for their library by collecting and recycling the drink pouches they used at home and in schools. The Friends of the Haverford Township Free Library has just reached the second level of TerraCycle and Capri Sun’s Drink Pouch Brigade® milestone contest by collecting more than 18,000 drink pouches. The organization has earned more than $600 for the Haverford Township Free Library by collecting the drink pouches. The Friends of the Haverford Township Free Library is a non-profit organization devoted to helping the library enrich the lives of community residents. The money raised by the organization has helped fund special programs, including the Summer Reading Program, and purchased books, CDs, DVDs, computers, and more.   The Drink Pouch Brigade® is a free recycling program that rewards people for collecting and sending their waste to TerraCycle® to be recycled or upcycled. The Milestone Program began in September 2013 when Capri Sun added prizes for collecting certain amounts. 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 fun rewards. "The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements," said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. "It is rewarding to see the community get so involved in making this work.  It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream."

As you can see, it adds up. Last fall, Capri Sun added prizes for collecting certain amounts, TerraCycle says. "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 fun rewards," the company said in a press release. As of moments ago, according to a ticker on the company web site, nearly 28 million people are collecting trash for TerraCycle. More than 2.6 billion items have been collected. And $6.7 million has gone back to schools, charities and similar groups.

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.

Freeland Elementary School students have been earning money and prizes for their school by collecting and recycling the drink pouches they use at home and in the lunchroom. Collections are made in both the K-2 and 3-6 buildings of the school. Freeland elementary students have just reached the second level of TerraCycle and Capri Sun’s Drink Pouch Brigade milestone contest by collecting more than 18,000 drink pouches. The students have earned more than $3,000 for their school by collecting the drink pouches. This money has been used to buy eight iPads and protective cases for the students and teachers to use in the classroom. The Drink Pouch Brigade is a free recycling program that rewards people for collecting and sending their waste to TerraCycle to be recycled or upcycled. The Milestone Program began in September 2013 when Capri Sun added prizes for collecting certain amounts. 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. “The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements,” said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. “It is rewarding to see the students and administration get so involved in making this work. It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream.”

Students from H.L. Johnson Elementary School earned money and prizes for their school this past spring by collecting the drink pouches they use at home and in the school’s cafeteria for recycling. The TerraCycle recycling company announced late last month that the H.L. Johnson Elementary students had reached the second level of the Capri Sun Drink Pouch Brigade contest by collecting more than 18,000 drink pouches. The students earned more than $2,700 for the school. The Drink Pouch Brigade is a recycling program that rewards people for collecting and sending their waste to TerraCycle to be recycled.Thousands of other schools across the United States participate in the Drink Pouch Brigade. For more information of the program, visit www.terracycle.com.

Saving juice boxes at home and school was a move that benefited the environment for sure. But for local elementary school students and their families, it was also a rewarding act as it helped raise a significant amount of money for Tewksbury schools. Heath Brook Elementary School and Trahan Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee members collected and recycled drink pouches used both at home and in the schools' lunch rooms. As a result the groups recently reached the second level of the TerraCycle and Capri Sun's Drink Pouch Brigade® milestone contest, hitting over 18,000 drink pouches. To reward the schools for their accomplishments, they earned over $1,600 through the program. Thousands of schools around the country are taking part in the recycling program. For more information, visit the group's website. "The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements," said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. "It is rewarding to see the students and administration get so involved in making this work.  It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream."

WHEATON – Lowell Elementary School students have earned more than $560 for their school by collecting more than 18,000 Capri Sun drink pouches, according to a news release from Terracycle, Inc. The students collected the pouches for the Drink Pouch Brigade, a free recycling program that gives rewards for sending waste to TerraCycle, Inc., an international upcycling and recycling company that takes difficult-to-recycle packaging and turns it into affordable products.

University School of Jackson students earn money and prizes for their school by collecting and recycling the drink pouches they use at home and in the lunchroom. USJ students have just reached the second level of TerraCycle and Capri Sun’s Drink Pouch Brigade milestone contest by collecting more than 18,000 drink pouches, according to a news release. To date, the students have earned $1,973.03 for their school by collecting the drink pouches. The Drink Pouch Brigadeis a free recycling program that rewards people for collecting and sending their waste to TerraCycle to be recycled or upcycled, the release said. The Milestone Program began in September 2013 when Capri Sun added prizes for collecting certain amounts. 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 fun rewards. “The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements,” said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle in the release. “It is rewarding to see the students and administration get so involved in making this work. It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream.” Thousands of other schools across the United States participate in the Drink Pouch Brigade. To learn more about the program or to sign up, visit www.terracycle.com. The program is free to any interested organization or individual, and all shipping costs are paid. In addition, for each piece of waste received, participants earn money for a charity of their choice.

A local elementary school has raised more than $1,000 for charity by recycling Capri Sun drink pouches. Las Sendas Elementary School has collected nearly 80,000 pouches during its drive and raised more than $1,300 in the process. Annie Brown, a first-grade teacher at Las Sendas Elementary in Mesa, said she first began to collect Capri Sun drink pouches about three and a half years ago when a child in her class asked to collect them for a project conducted by his mother, a fifth-grade teacher at another school. Brown and her class sent the pouches home with the student at first but later decided to collect pouches themselves. “This was something doable. The kids can be very much involved in it on an everyday basis,” Brown said. The Drink Pouch Brigade, a recycling incentive program by TerraCycle, involves 40,000 schools across the country sending in the Capri Sun drink pouches many kids drink every day. The program, which began in 2007, took off when Capri Sun joined in 2008. It recently started the Milestone Program with rewards for schools, groups or individuals who reach certain recycling goals. “The program is free to anybody,” said Lauren Taylor, director of U.S. public relations for TerraCycle. “A school can sign up, individuals can sign up. It’s really a great opportunity to teach about recycling.” Taylor said the program is simple and convenient to use. Pouches just need to be empty and in some sort of shippable container; there is no need to process them at all. Shipping labels can be printed from the company’s website. TerraCycle pays 2 to 3 cents for each pouch, depending on the volume sent in, and schools can keep the proceeds or choose a charity to have a check sent to. Las Sendas has sent in 18,000 pouches just since the Milestone Program began, not counting the estimated 60,000 before then. The school donates its proceeds to Arizona Brainfood — a group that sends backpacks of food home for the weekend with local children in need. “It’s easy to participate,” said Taylor. “Put in the tax ID number where you want the money to go and start collecting. We have schools that design really incredible collection bins. It can be a very formal or informal program at the school.” With more than 78,000 locations, the Drink Pouch Brigade program has collected more than 2 million units and raised more than $4 million dollars.