Mt Hall student: Keep recycling

A little girl with a big idea, 9-year-old  Morgan Lewis would like Mount Hall Elementary students to keep up a recycling program she started called the Drink Pouch Brigade.

The third grade student from Tawny McDonald’s class, learned that if she collected Capri Sun juice pouches she could make some money for her school while helping the landfill. 

She began her endeavor just before Christmas and has since collected about 1,800 in total. 

Lewis went to her principal Jim Nash and asked him what he thought of the idea.

“Of course he said yes,” said Lewis.  “He was very excited about it.”

Lewis’ mother, Tina  was also on board with her daughters wish to recycle. 

Morgan Lewis said the pouches can be used to make back packs, sachels, purses, wallets and pencil holders.

“We put a large can in the lunch room with a sign on it and a juice pouch,” said Tina Lewis. “We collect the pouches and take them home to pack them and ship them.”

Morgan Lewis said all the kids with the juice pouches will dump them into the can and every other week Lewis hauls them home on the bus.

“I sometimes make my friends carry them too,” she said. “They are a sticky mess.”

Before the Lewis’ can send the pouches they have to take out the straws and separate them and make sure they aren’t too messy. They have to ship at least 500 at a time.

“We get 2 cents per pouch,” said Morgan Lewis. “I have already raised we have raised $16 for 800 pouches.”

Lewis said the money can be used for extras at school like snacks or class parties.

The Lewis’ said they think they have about another 1,000 boxes collected and will count them on the last day of school.

Lewis and her mom will be moving to join Morgan’s father in California where he has been working for the past several months. 

Lewis said she would like to start the same program at her new school.

She said she would like to find someone willing to take over the program she started for years to come.

“I learned how to raise money for my school, and organize a program and I got my friends involved,” said Morgan Lewis.  “It is very important to recycle and I hope someone can do this again because it helps our landfill from getting too filled up.”