Grace Joins TerraCycle to Recycle Juice Pouches

Last Sunday, Grace Church began collecting Capri Sun, Honest Kids and Kool-Aid juice pouches to upcycle through TerraCycle.  What is upcycling you ask?  Typically when we recycle something the resulting products are of a lower grade and value, also referred to as downcycling.  For example, each time paper is recycled, the fibers that make up the paper become shorter.  That is why you usually see writing paper with a percentage of recycled content and not 100% recycled content.  Eventually the fibers become so short they won't stay together as paper so the only thing left is for them to be composted.  Upcycling on the other hand is actually making a product with higher value than the recycled material such as juice pouches.  TerraCycle takes the juice pouches we collect and turns them into products like back packs and reusable shopping bags which they sell at stores like Home Depot and Walmart.

In addition to doing our part for the environment by recycling, we also receive 2¢ per pouch for the church.

We have a box behind the recycling bins in the kitchen that you can put your empty juice pouches, either Capri Sun, Honest Kids or Kool-Aid.  Once we have enough to make it worth while, we will send them to TerraCycle to be upcycled.

So, have your kids bring back home their juice pouches from school lunches and snacks.  If you're willing, have them ask their friends to give them their juice pouches as well and we'll recycle and raise even more.  Then drop them off in the box when you come to church.

TerraCycle upcycles a number of other things that we could collect, so please let us know which of these we should sign up for and start collecting:

• Stonyfield Yogurt Containers
• Potato Chip Wrappers
• Candy Wrappers
• and many more (there are 5 pages of them)

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact:
   Jonathan Hunt at jmhunt@mit.edu or (781) 874-0493.

Let us all be stewards of this earth our island home.

Thanks,
Jon

Details from TerraCycle's FAQ:

Do I need to clean the pouches before putting them in the bag?
We ask that you remove the straws and ensure that the liquid is removed from the pouches as much as possible. If you can, it does help if you cut the pouch at the top above where the straw is inserted, however this step is NOT required. This cleaning process will also help eliminate unwanted pests.

How much do you pay per drink pouch?
We credit your charity $.02 per Honest Kids, Capri Sun and/or Kool-Aid drink pouch.