Students at Mt. Carmel Elementary School participated in the Snack Bag Brigade, a free, national recycling program. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON COUNTY – Mt. Carmel Elementary School and Nexus Energy Center were the top collectors in a recent statewide recycling contest.

Mt. Carmel is part of the Madison County Schools distinct. The campus address is 335 Homer Nance Road in Huntsville.

Mt. Carmel students and community residents participated in the Snack Bag Brigade, a free, national recycling program that Hain Celestial Group Inc. and TerraCycle originated. Collaborating with Nexus Energy Center, Mt. Carmel students retrieved 21,000 packaging bags for chips and other snacks.

For each unit collected, students earned points that their school can redeem for gifts or cash donations, TerraCycle publicist Sydnee Weinbaum said. TerraCycle recycles the traditionally non-recyclable snack bag waste into new products and materials.

“The Huntsville community is an excellent example of a group of people that is truly making an impact on how our society approaches the issue of waste,” TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky said. “I am thrilled to reward them for their impressive efforts.”

Founded in 2001, TerraCycle Inc. takes difficult-to-recycle packaging and turns the material into affordable, innovative products. TerraCycle is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable waste from 40-plus major brands with products like toothpaste tubes, cigarette waste, juice pouches and dairy tubs.

The company’s efforts avoid the waste material being taken to and dumped into landfills. TerraCycle’s Brigade programs are free fundraisers that pay for every piece of waste collected and returned.

Any school or organization that wants to get involved with TerraCycle’s recycling can visit terracycle.com.

For more information about Mt. Camel school, visit madison.k12.al.us/schools/mtcs.