TERRACYCLE
Give a hoot! Join Winnequah Elementary in helping make the world a greener, better place. DID YOU KNOW … Every day, our nearest Dane county landfill receives, on average, 600 tons of waste? We all want to do our part in reducing our contributions, and recycling as much as possible is one way to help. Trouble is, not all items can be recycled locally. That’s where TerraCycle comes in. TerraCycle is a U.S. company that works with more than 100 major brands here and 22 countries overseas to collect and recycle used packaging and products that are typically not recycled locally, and otherwise sent to landfills. Individuals and organizations (1) choose from various collection programs, called “brigades”, then (2) collect and ship these items to TerraCycle free of charge. Postage and some recycling costs are paid by the brigade’s corporate sponsor. Engineers and artists at TerraCycle recycle and upcycle the waste into new materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. Non­profits and schools like Winnequah are rewarded a number of ‘points’ for each item sent. Each point is redeemable for a small cash reward, 1 cent, which can add up. Anyone can participate, but only schools and non­profits are eligible to earn points. Adding TerraCycle to our existing recycling efforts is a win for everyone. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP … IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING… Why are some TerraCycle items brand­specific? Since the sponsor of the collected items (brigade) off­sets the costs of collection and recycling, they may/not decide to allow other company’s products. Some brigades are restricted to their sponsor’s products, but most are not brand specific. Can we be part of the Green Team? Yes. Many hands make light work and this is good work. For kids, 4th or 5th graders with some understanding of science and sustainability might be best. For grown­ups, we’re looking for sustainably­minded, fun people of all backgrounds with good ideas and energy. Who do I contact with questions? Green Team: Jade Fea, [email protected] eWaste Drive: Max Coller, [email protected] General program questions: Teresa Radermacher, [email protected] Brand Specific
? TERRACYCLE Items to Collect and Send to School Brita® and PUR® water filters (all types), faucet filtration systems, filter packaging, dispensers and non­recyclable hard plastic pitchers and bottles. Drink pouches ­ Empty aluminum and plastic drink pouches. No need to remove the straws. Not drink boxes. Foil­lined wrappers from granola bars, energy bars, meal replacement bars, protein bars, or diet bars. No candy bar wrappers. Empty healthy snack plastic pouches and caps like “Go­Go Squeeze”. Baby Items – exterior soft plastic wrap from diaper and wipe packaging and non­recyclable hard plastic wipe boxes Lunchable­type lunch kits – soft plastic top film and outer wrapping, content packaging and non­recyclable plastic trays and lids Cereal bags – soft plastic bags from "bulk" cereals as well as inner plastic liner of cardboard cereal box. Not box itself. Hair care packaging – empty and rinsed non­recyclable tubes and caps, hair spray bottles, pumps, triggers, hair paste jars and caps Skin care packaging ­ empty and rinsed non­recyclable lip balm tubes, face soap dispensers and tubes, face lotion bottles, tubes and plastic jars, body wash containers, soap tubes and dispensers, body lotion dispensers and bottles, shaving foam tubes (no cans), and hand lotion bottles and tubes Cosmetics packaging – empty, non­recyclable lipstick cases, lip gloss tubes, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, bronzer cases, foundation packaging and bottles, powder cases, eyeliner cases, eyeliner pencils, eye shadow tubes, concealer tubes, concealer sticks, and lip liner pencils Chip Bags – empty, non­recyclable bags from snack size or family size potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, etc. Non­recyclable cellophane "Scotch" tape dispensers Entemen's Little Bites ­ plastic pouches Please Save Any of the Below Items for our eWaste Drive ­ Saturday, April 25 ­ Details to Follow Yes No Plastic water pitchers, bottles, can be locally recycled if #1­7 recycle symbol. No boxes, only pouches. Empty drink boxes can be recycled locally No Plastic wipe containers can be recycled locally if #1­7 recycle symbol. Plastic trays can be locally recycled if #1­7 recycle symbol. Cardboard cereal box can be recycled locally. Can locally recycle all rinsed, hard plastic #1­7 plus caps and lids No Empty and rinsed hard plastic #1­7 containers should be recycled locally. No Empty and rinsed hard plastic #1­7 containers should be recycled locally. No No Yes Working and non­working iPhones®, Touchscreen iPods®, Non­Touchscreen iPods®, iPads® Any brand of working and non­working cell phones, smart phones, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, e­readers, tablets, MP3 players, digital cameras and camcorders, GPS units and graphing calculators No No Note No No No Yes No Can be collected through local programs, fees may be associated. Working items can be dropped at local thrift stores for re­sale. Wondering what can be recycled locally? It may be more than you think. The City of Monona and Winnequah school recycle with Advanced Disposal Services out of Waunakee. A list of accepted items can be found on their website and will soon be posted on the Winnequah school website as well. In broad terms, ANY item with a #1­7 triangular recycle symbol (even Styrofoam) can be recycled locally. This includes the spray triggers, pumps and spouts of these same plastic containers. Make sure all items are empty and rinsed. Other recyclables are: paper products like phone books, magazines, junk mail, glossy paper and office paper of any color; brown paper bags; flattened cardboard and paperboard; rinsed aluminum, steel and tin cans; rinsed glass bottles and jars. Plastic shopping bags? Yes –put several shopping bags inside one shopping bag and drop into your recycling bin. Do not, however, put any other recyclables into plastic bags. When recycling center workers are hand sorting, they have little time to open and empty these bags and may have to toss them. It is, however, OK to send TerraCycle items to school in plastic bags. Pizza boxes? Recycle the clean part, toss the food­touched part. Thank you! Be sure to check the Winnequah website and Owl eNewsletter for details on TerraCycle collection, recycling tips, information resources, and updates on program progress. Want to learn more about TerraCycle? Visit www.terracycle.com