Recycle Drink Pouches from Kids' Lunches

Earn Money for Schools with TerraCycle’s Pouch Brigades

Aug 5, 2009

Join TerraCycle's Drink Pouch Brigades to recycle Capri Sun fruit drink pouches and earn money for schools.

Environmentally conscious parents who have been reluctant to pack fruit drink pouches in their kids’ lunches have cause to reconsider. TerraCycle, Inc. is forming Drink Pouch Brigades to recycle and repurpose the drink pouches into school supplies, bags and more.

TerraCycle Recycles Fruit Drink Pouches

TerraCycle has been making a name for itself and its commitment to recycle and reuse food packaging for some time. TerraCycle collects used candy wrappers, Flavia Freshpacks, Frito Lay chip bags, Kashi packaging, Toasted Chips packages, cell phones, yogurt cups, energy bar wrappers, drink pouches, bottles, cookie wrappers and corks. These products are converted into purses, backpacks, tote bags, lunch boxes, folders, pencil cases, corkboards, binders and more. The products are sold in stores and at ShopOnlyGreen.com.

“The drink pouches are completely non-recyclable anywhere on the globe,” TerraCycle’s Public Relations Director Albe Zakes told reporter Naomi Judd in the April 16, 2008, CapitalCityWeekly article, “TerraCycle products hit Alaska shelves.” With TerraCycle’s reuse program, however, the pouches are repurposed to make useable products. An additional benefit is that the students who participate learn about reducing waste, recycling and reusing items, Zakes said.

Forming a Capri Sun Drink Pouch Brigade

TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky says the juice-pouch recycling program is in 20,000 schools in the United States, according to Matthew Wheeland’s May 20, 2009, GreenBiz.com article, “Greener by Design: Terracycle's Ultimate Solution.” Szaky says the program will be expanded to include 7,000 more schools in the next year. Although TerraCycle offers many recycle programs, there are not always openings for participants in all of the programs.

It is easy to form a Drink Pouch Brigade to start recycling fruit drink pouches. There are no fees to sign up and participants do not pay any postage fees. Individuals, groups and schools can sign up to lead a brigade. When signing up it is necessary to have the tax ID number for the intended charity if it is not already registered with TerraCycle. After filling out the online forms, participants receive a confirmation email. Within a few weeks, mailing bags and labels arrive from TerraCycle.

How the Drink Pouch Recycling Program Works

To run a brigade, individuals, groups and schools begin by collecting fruit juice drink pouches. TerraCycle recycles Capri Sun, Honest Kids and Kool-Aid drink pouches. No cleaning is required. Pouches simply must be emptied and the straw discarded. PTAs who are fed up with the elaborate requirements for Campbell’s Labels for Education may want to try using a Drink Pouch Brigade to earn money for schools.

The company requires that pouches be returned in groups of 100. When the brigade has enough Capri Sun, Honest Kids and Kool-Aid drink pouches, the provided mailing envelope is filled with the drink pouches. The mailing label is attached to the envelope and the package must be taken to a UPS drop-off location. When the group has used two of the four mailing labels, TerraCycle sends out an additional four labels.

Earn Money for School and Charities

Besides reducing waste – Szaky says more than 75 million juice pouches have been collected in the United States, Wheeland reported – the recycling program earns money for charities and schools. Non-profit organizations earn 2 cents for every fruit drink pouch that is sent to TerraCycle. Some brigades are formed to benefit a specific school or charity. But TerraCycle also has a list of recipients for those who want to recycle the pouches but don’t have a charity in mind.

TerraCycle, not the brigades, handles dispersing the funds to the schools and charities twice a year. In December, TerraCycle credits $5 or more in funds to the charities. In June, the entire account balance is transferred, regardless of whether the $5 minimum has been reached.

Recycling drink pouches is now possible with TerraCycle’s Drink Pouch Brigade program. Individuals, schools and organizations can sign up to create a brigade and begin collecting used drink pouches. After collecting pouches, groups mail the used pouches back to TerraCycle. There are no fees to participate and every pouch earns 2 cents for schools and charities.