Cumming Elementary Students are Great Recyclers

 deserves congratulations for the amount of waste they are keeping out of the local landfill.

The school is one of the top collectors of hard-to-recycle waste in TerraCycle's nationwide Brigade programs. The students collect Capri Sun drink pouches, Frito-Lay chip bags, cookie wrappers and Elmer's glue containers among several other items, which earn them money for charity and keeps the garbage out of the local landfill.

The school has earned more than $2,620 from recycling items that would otherwise be thrown away, which translates to approximately 130,806 units of waste. TerraCycle turns the collected packaging into new products such as tote bags, recycling bins, watering cans and backpacks.

The school is one of 90,000 schools and community groups across the globe collecting almost 50 different kinds of products and packaging that TerraCycle accepts. 

In addition to participating in the program, Cumming Elementary also recycles cans and bottles through the Dream Machine Recycle Rally, a national program co-sponsored by PepsiCo that aims to raise awareness of the importance of recycling among K-12 students. Schools can earn rewards and compete for prizes.

Interested parties in either the TerraCycle Brigade programs or the Dream Machine Recycle Rally can visit the Web site to sign up.