We are known for schools participating in our program, but not all TerraCycle participants are schools. In fact, one of our most accomplished participants is a community group from Westford, Massachusetts, who has rallied the entire town to join its recycling efforts. Kristina Greene helps run Upcycle It!, a community recycling program that sends items to TerraCycle.
Kristina and Upcycle It! recently passed the $5,000 raised mark, which means that the group has donated $5,000 in grants to area schools, teachers and students. They also recently won TerraCycle’s Chip Bag Blitz contest. Pretty impressive work! Check out some of their collections in just one day:
Upcycle It! places strategic collection locations around town so that anyone can participate and contribute to the “green” programs. They collect at their local farm market, Westford Farmers Market, every Saturday. By placing collection bins all around town, they reach out to as many people as they can, maximizing the amount of trash they can send in. They also put “classroom buckets” in participating schools, giving students the change to collect and learn about recycling and upcycling.
Upcycle It! even has volunteers to collect the trash from collection locations, sort it, and package it to be sent to TerraCycle. Their incentive and reward? Keeping Westford clean and green, and contributing to the grant money earned.
Kristina Greene also publishes a blog called “The Greening of Westford” that highlights recycling and sustainability tips – it’s a useful resource for people in and outside of Westford. Upcycle It! is a perfect example of how to extend the reach of any community OR school Brigade by building relationships.
Thank you and congratulations, Upcycle It!. Keep up the hard work and good luck with future collections!
Live near Westford, Massachusetts? Check out Upcycle It! updates here.
Have a similar Brigade story? Tips to share? Questions? Email comments@terracycle.com.
Thanks TerraCycle for putting us in the spotlight! The response from our town has been amazing!
I am really impressed with the good work you have done, and would love to follow in your footsteps in my own town.. We have recently added a landfill as a new addition to our community, despite fighting it’s arrival. This is even more of a reason for us to recycle as much as possible. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Go for it Tammy! You may be surprised at how well it’s received, but if not, don’t give up!
Very cool! What an inspiration! I love the buckets you provided for classrooms. Gives me an idea for our school!
The buckets were a great score! Totally free and saved them from the trash (not sure they could be recycled). Upcycled buckets!
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