Focus on: Small Schools and Organizations

Here at TerraCycle we know that not all of our schools and collecting organizations are large and have plentiful resources. Many schools like participating because they are small and they really appreciate the extra funding that they can earn. We appreciate that too, and we know collections can be tough at smaller schools. So, we decided to brainstorm a little bit and see if we could come up with ways for smaller schools to increase their collections.

• Reach out to parents so that kids can bring things in from home. Ask the administration if it would be okay to send a letter home to all parents so that everyone knows the school is collecting.
• Hang posters telling people where they can drop off TerraCycle trash – think community board at the coffee shop or local library. There are posters available under the Resources tab on your TerraCycle account.
• If a student’s family runs a local business or works at a local business, reach out and see if people at the business wouldn’t mind contributing to collections.
• Hold a school collection contest, and award the winning classroom with a pizza party, an extra recess, or some kind of special gift.
• Expand collection options. If kids can bring in items from home, such as soap bottles, cheese packaging, inkjet cartridges, or cereal bags, the school can collect for more Brigades and increase money earned.
• Talk with other private or small schools in your area and see if they would be interested in partnering with you. This could expand collections on a large scale, and even when splitting between a few schools, you could earn more for your school.

Remember that a Brigade takes any item of its kind, so everyone has something to contribute.

We want all our Brigades, big or small, to find the success that they need and the support that they need. If you notice specific obstacles your Brigade faces, we want to hear about them! What do you do to overcome them?