Glacier Park Elementary students earned thousands of dollars and prizes for their school by collecting and recycling the drink pouches they use at home and in the lunchroom.

The Maple Valley students reached the third level of TerraCycle and Capri Sun’s Drink Pouch Brigade® milestone contest by collecting more than 40,000 drink pouches, according to a press release from TerraCycle, an international upcycling and recycling company. For their accomplishment, the school earned 50 TerraCycle wristbands and a vinyl banner announcing their achievement. The students also earned more than $3,000 for their school.

The Drink Pouch Brigade® is a free recycling program that rewards people for collecting and sending their waste to TerraCycle® to be recycled or upcycled. The Milestone Program began in September 2013 when Capri Sun added prizes for collecting certain amounts.

“The Milestone Program is meant to inspire individuals and organizations to collect more waste while receiving prizes for their achievements,” said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, in the release. “It is rewarding to see the students and administration get so involved in making this work.  It’s an incredible achievement to have kept so many pouches out of the waste stream.”

To learn more about the program or to sign up, visit www.terracycle.com.