Upcycle It! Changes Coming January 2015

upcycle_DrinkPouch

It’s hard to believe that Upcycle It! started in Westford not even 5 years ago.  It has been amazing!  In just that short amount of time, we have

 

Saved almost 600,000 pieces of waste

That’s over 5800 pounds!

And best of all, we’ve raised over $10,500 for the Westford Schools.

Many of the schools are now completely running their own programs.  If you have students at Crisafulli, Blanchard, Nab or Robinson, ask them about it.

PLEASE NOTE:  CHIP BAGS ARE BACK!

The Changes

Unfortunately, we were informed by TerraCycle that starting January 1, 2015, we will no longer be able to send in Glue or Chip bags.  I know, I can’t believe it either.  Over the life of the program we have collected 133,482 Chip bags and almost 2500 bottles/sticks of glue.

Why

From TerraCycle:

“While Frito-Lay has been a committed and valued partner to us over the years, the reality is changes in business conditions and resources can impact the level of support sponsors are able to provide. Due to a change in available resources, Frito-Lay is no longer able to serve as a sponsor of the Snack [Chip] Bag Brigade and we regret to inform you that it will be closing.”

In case you aren’t aware, TerraCycle gets major corporations to sponsor the brigades (collection items like chip bags).  These sponsors, Frito-Lay and Elmer’s for example, pay the shipping costs and the 2 cents we receive.  For whatever reason, Frito-Lay and Elmers (Glue) have decided not to continue to support this recycling effort.

 

We Are Still Collecting

  • Foil Drink Pouches and their straws (Capri Sun, Kool Aid, etc.)
  • Energy or Granola Bars (all brands)
  • Oral Care Products (toothbrushes, plastic toothpaste tubes, denture adhesives tubes)
  • Writing Instruments (pens, mechanical pencils, markets, highlighters, dry erase markers, Sharpies, Crayola twistables – no wooden pencils or crayons)
  • updated May 2015: Chip Bags

Upcycle It! is always looking for volunteers.  If you are interested in finding out more, please email us at upcycleit@SustainableWestford.org.

 

Thank  you for your support over the years!