How can my school raise money by recycling?
Schools can collect a number of items for recycling and receive rebates for doing so! Here are three most popular recycling fund raisers:
Paper
| Who is eligible? | Any school in Palm Beach County (except those in Belle Glade and Pahokee; the recycling company no longer services the Western communities). Just complete and return a bin request form and delivery of the recycling bin will occur within about a week. |
| What can be collected? | All types of mixed paper, including copy paper, notebook paper, magazines, catalogues, and newspaper (no cardboard or trash, please!) |
| Who does the collection? | A private paper recycler, SP Recycling |
| How often is the material collected? | Collection is done on an as-needed basis, so whenever your school's bin is full, just send an email to 528@spnewsprint.com and let them know that your bin needs to be emptied. |
| How much does SP pay for the paper? | Paper is a commodity, so the market price fluctuates throughout the year, but on average, schools can expect to receive approximately $10 per ton. Each time a 7 cubic yard bin is filled, it weighs about a ton. |
| How is the money disbursed? | A rebate check is sent quarterly to the school for the amount of paper collected over the previous 3 months. |
| How much money can the school earn? | It obviously depends on the amount of paper you collect throughout the year, but a school that is diligent in its collection from the campus AND encourages staff and parents to bring in their paper from home can earn about $100 per year. |
Ink and Toner Cartridges
| Who is eligible? | Any school in Palm Beach County |
| What can be collected? | All types of ink jet and laser toner cartridges |
| Who does the collection? | A private recycler, Dade Recycling |
| How often is the material collected? | Collection is done on an as-needed basis, so send an e-mail to pickup@daderecycling.com or call 786-326-7382 to schedule a pick up. |
| How much does Dade pay for the cartridges? | The market price fluctuates, so Dade maintains a current price list on their website. |
| How is the money disbursed? | A rebate check is sent to the school within approximately 2-3 weeks from the date of pickup. |
| How much money can the school earn? | It obviously depends on the number and type of cartridges collected throughout the year, but a school that is diligent in its collection from the campus AND encourages staff and parents to bring in their cartridges from home AND has local businesses collect on their behalf can earn anywhere from $200 - $1,000 (or more!) per year. |
Capri Sun Drink Pouches & Other Food Packaging
| Who is eligible? | Any school or non-profit nationwide |
| What can be collected? | Capri Sun and Honest Kids brand drink pouches, yogurt cups, and other food packaging. The list of things you can collect changes frequently, so check the website (www.terracycle.net) for a current list of "brigades". |
| Who does the collection? | Schools mail the collected materials to TerraCycle using one of two methods... see HERE for a description of the mail-in process. |
| How often is the material collected? | You must send in 500 pouches to be able to earn the $.02/pouch. Sending less than 500 pouches means that your account will not be credited and you will not receive the rebate. |
| How much does TerraCycle pay for the items? | TerraCycle will pay $0.02 per drink pouch. As of July 30th, 2010, the minimum number of pouches you may send to TerraCycle in a single shipment is 500 pouches. |
| How is the money disbursed? | TerraCycle sends payments twice a year; in December and June. Schools will receive a check in June for drink pouches received between November 1st - April 30th and a check in December for drink pouches received between May 1st - October 31st. |
| How much money can the school earn? | It depends entirely on the number of drink pouches mailed in. |