Does your school need a new playground? If they are a participant of TerraCycle’s Colgate® Oral Care Brigade,™ they can receive votes for the Recycled Playground Challenge - an initiative to help encourage good oral hygiene and recycling among students and consumers.

Does your school need a new playground? If they are a participant of TerraCycle’s Colgate® Oral Care Brigade,™ they can receive votes for the Recycled Playground Challenge - an initiative to help encourage good oral hygiene and recycling among students and consumers.

Does your school need a new playground? If they are a participant of TerraCycle’s Colgate® Oral Care Brigade,™ they can receive votes for the Recycled Playground Challenge - an initiative to help encourage good oral hygiene and recycling among students and consumers.

Countryside Elementary School took second place in the Colgate and ShopRite Recycled Playground Challenge. In the challenge, participating schools earned credits for sending in items such as toothpaste tubes and floss containers to TerraCycle, a company repurposing products that are difficult to recycle. Countryside earned 500 tote bags, pencil cases, pens and a gift certificate of $750 to ShopRite for their hard work.

An old tooth-brush doesn't necessarily evoke a feeling of possibility, but perhaps it should. A contest held by Colgate-Palmolive — in collaboration with ShopRite and recycling company TerraCycle — showed students that old oral care products could be made into something new.

MOUNT LAUREL — The Countryside Elementary School placed second in the Colgate and ShopRite Recycled Playground Challenge, it was announced last week. Schools participating in the challenge earned credits for shipping empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and floss containers to TerraCycle, an upcycling and recycling company that repurposes difficult-to-recycle products. Additional credits could be earned by voting online. The school with the most playground credits, the Beloved Charter School in Jersey City, with 178,309, won a playground made entirely of recycled material, which will be installed during this year's back-to-school season. Countryside, a pre-kindergarten-through-fourth-grade school, earned 169,398 points and will receive 500 upcycled tote bags, 500 upcycled pencil cases, 500 upcycled pens, and a $750 ShopRite gift certificate. The Thomas E. Harrington Middle School, also in the township, participated in the competition and received an honorable mention. It earned 5,817 points and won 250 upcycled pens and a $150 ShopRite gift card. Hawthorne Elementary School in Willingboro placed third with 28,362 points and won 250 upcycled tote bags, 250 upcycled pens and a $500 gift certificate. The challenge was an initiative that sprung from a partnership involving ShopRite, Colgate and TerraCycle. "At TerraCycle, collecting the oral care waste is only half of the story,” said Tom Szaky, company founder and CEO. “The real magic happens when our partners choose to reuse the waste in a way that has a lasting benefit to a community, like Colgate and ShopRite have done with these playgrounds.” Szaky founded the company in 2001 with an organic worm-feces-based fertilizer. The Trenton firm has since expanded to produce recycling bins, fences, book bags, office supplies, home décor and more, all from recycled materials. The competition, which ran from March 19 to June 30, was open to schools in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City has been educating children for two years, but it's missing one thing: a playground. The school, which opened in September 2012, has not been able to get funding for a playground, but that might change soon. With the help of ShopRite and Colgate, TerraCycle is currently running its Recycled Playground Challenge, an online contest for schools in the Mid-Atlantic region throughJune 30. The eight runner-up schools will receive various prizes from Colgate and ShopRite. TerraCycle collects and recycles typically hard-to-recycle waste and turns it into new, innovative products. BelovED has been leading the contest, but parents, teachers and students are doing all they can to make sure it stays that way. "We're doing all we can through this last week to make a final push to make sure we win," said Parent Teacher Organization President, Elijiah Wells. Wells said BelovED, which is located on Grand Street just west of the New Jersey Turnpike, has held a two-month campaign surrounding the contest for the playground, including a YouTube video. His 8-year-old twin daughters, Amira and Kayla, were out with their dad Thursday morning handing out fliers to commuters at the Journal Square PATH station. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop stopped by to lend his support. "In times of tough budget situations, we need to find ways to supplement money and resources," said Fulop. "This costs tax payers nothing -- just a vote." "It's not seen as a necessity," added Bret Schundler, the former Mayor of Jersey City and supporter of BelovED. Schundler, who also passed out fliers last week, said that after funding school necessities, there's not much left in the budget for a playground. The students have been using a park near the school to play and a blacktop area at the school, but having a playground is the ultimate goal. "We've been trying to get a playground since we opened," said physical education teacher John Taylor. Another way schools can gain "playground credits" or contest points is by sending in empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and floss containers to TerraCycle. One credit will be added for each shipment. The winning school will be announced on July 18 and the playground will be installed during the back-to-school season of the 2014-2015 school year. Click on the following link to vote for BelovED: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/colgateshopriteplayground.html

TRENTON, N.J., (March 19, 2014) – Today, TerraCycle® announced its  Recycled Playground Challenge  - a new initiative in partnership with Colgate, the global oral care leader, and ShopRite, which has more than 250 stores in the Northeast - to help encourage healthy smiles and environments among school children and consumers. Beginning now through June 30, schools located throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Maryland are eligible to compete for a new playground made completely of recycled material by joining TerraCycle’s Oral Care Brigade®  program. Through the Oral Care Brigade, a free recycling program run by Colgate and TerraCycle, schools will earn one ‘Playground Credit’ for each shipment of empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and floss containers sent to TerraCycle.  Schools can earn additional Playground Credits by encouraging parents and teachers to vote online by logging onto www.terracycle.com/colgateshopriteplayground. “Colgate is committed to contributing to our communities and respecting the environment,” said Justin Skala, President, North America and Global Sustainability, Colgate-Palmolive. “Programs like the Colgate® Oral Care Brigade™ and Recycled Playground Challenge offer us an innovative way to reinforce these commitments and for consumers to positively impact the environment by repurposing their Colgate® oral care products.” The winning school with the most Playground Credits will be announced by July 18, 2014 and the playground will be installed during the 2014/2015 back-to-school season.  The first runner-up school will win 500 upcycled tote bags, 500 upcycled pencil cases, 500 upcycled pens and a $750 ShopRite® gift certificate.  The second and third runner-up schools will win 250 upcycled tote bags, 250 upcycled pens and a $500 and $250 gift certificate, respectively.  Finally, five honorable mention participants will win 250 upcycled pens and $150 ShopRite® gift cards. In addition to donating gift certificates for the runner-up schools, ShopRite is also encouraging community participation in the contest with displays throughout its stores. “ShopRite has a long history of caring for the communities it serves,” said Karen Meleta, Vice President of Consumer and Corporate Communications for ShopRite. “This program is a fun way to engage our customers in this commitment and to bring to light the importance of recycling and preserving our resources for generations to come.” All participants in the Colgate® Oral Care Brigade™ program are making a difference for the environment and their community.  The Brigade initiative is an ongoing activity open to any individual, family, school or community group.  For each piece of waste sent in using a pre-paid shipping label, participants earn money toward donations to the school or charity of their choice. “At TerraCycle, collecting the oral care waste is only half of the story,” explained Tom Szaky, TerraCycle Founder and CEO.  “The real magic happens when our partners choose to reuse the waste in a way that has a lasting benefit a community, like Colgate and ShopRite have done with these playgrounds.” For instructions on how to participate in the Recycled Playground Challenge, please visit www.terracycle.com/colgateshopriteplayground or your local ShopRite retailer. To learn more about the Colgate® Oral Care Brigade™ program and to sign up, please visit www.terracycle.com/colgate.

Colgate and ShopRite have partnered with TerraCycle for the Recycled Playground Challenge. Through June 30, schools in New Jersey and five other states are invited to compete to win a new playground by recycling toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss containers through the Oral Care Brigade program. This recycling program is open to anyone and participation is free. Schools earn one Playground Credit for each shipment of waste sent during the contest window. They can earn more points by encouraging the community to vote online at www.terracycle.com/en-US/colgateshopriteplayground. The winner’s playground will be made using recycled oral care waste collected through the program. Displays with contest details are at area ShopRite stores, including: 1000 N. Pearl St., Upper Deerfield; 2130 N. 2nd St., Millville; and 1255 W. Landis Ave., and 3600 E. Landis Ave., Vineland. For information or to sign up, visit www.terracycle.com/colgate.