Get Involved: Cafeteria Fundraiser
Did you know that most of the materials used to make
drink pouches are non-recyclable? That means once your child has washed down
their turkey sandwhich at lunch, the empty drink pouch gets thrown away and sent
to a landfill where it sits and sits and sits. (The Container Recycling
Institute reports that 3.6 billion drink pouches are produced each year!) To
help cut down on this waste, Terracycle
and Honest Tea created the Drink Pouch Brigade program (a spin
off of the very successful Bottle
Brigade). Schools and other organizations nationwide can sign up to receive
collection bags (each with prepaid return postage) that hold 100 drink pouches.
The DPB pays 2¢ for every Honest Tea pouch returned and 1¢ for all other drink
pouches and cuts a check for the charity of your choice (schools included) twice
a year. The goal is to collect one million drink pouches and recycle them
into fashionable handbags that will be sold in 2008. There are currently
326 spots available, which means you and your kids still have
time to get involved. Encourage your kids to sign up here and start the school
year off right with recycling on the mind!
I love this program idea. I just went to sign up. Kudos to Honest tea - I have been drinking their organic teas for years and now can give my kids a great educational lesson. P.S. go worm poop!
Posted by: Amanda Thornton | September 04, 2007 at 07:54 PM
Good for Honest Tea for trying to aleviate some of the burden the waste from their product is putting on our planet. But rather than go through this elaborate recycling program, why don't they just put thier tea in containers that are more eco-friendly?
Posted by: Becca | September 04, 2007 at 09:25 PM
I'm with Becca. I think this program actually ENCOURAGES more consumption of unrecycleable packaging. (Ultimatley those fashionable handbags are going to the dump!)
Posted by: Carrie | September 05, 2007 at 02:39 AM
What a great idea!
Posted by: Ladybug | September 05, 2007 at 08:03 AM
Drink pouches cannot be made from material that is 100% recyclable since they have metal and plastic in them. I drink Honest Kids drink pouches and know that their pouches use much less material than capri sun and the others. Not to mention like no sugar.
Yes the bags may end up in the dump, but they are replacing a bag that would need to be made from new material that would also end up in the dump.... so the net effect is great and we should encourage these companies to continue working on such innovative ideas!
Posted by: Klutz | September 05, 2007 at 08:48 AM
My 16yo dd made a purse out of CapriSun pouches! A tote bag is probably next.
I save the environment by not sending diapers to the dump. People who are freaking out about Caprisun containers ought to get on a campaign against disposable dipes, because they are certainly a bigger problem, and actually illegally going to the dump, as it is not legal to dispose of human waste in the dump.
Posted by: Qtpies7 | September 09, 2007 at 12:37 AM