2025-2026 Current Can Count
♻️ 54 schools across 14 states in the USA are competing from October 01 – April 30th to recycle the most aluminum cans! The Million Cans Recycling Contest is a win-win: students help the planet 🌎 and schools keep 100% of the money from the cans they recycle. Every can counts — let’s cheer on our recycling superheroes! 🦸‍♀️🥳

📊 Leaderboard Notes

22 of our 54 amazing schools have had their cans picked up so far — many bins are still filling up! 🗑️♻️

Schools not yet listed are simply waiting on their first pickup… stay tuned! 🚛✨

Our leaderboard ranks schools based on the total number of aluminum cans recycled divided by the number of books we send over.

Each student in the selected grade receives their own copy of The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans (in English or Spanish). They read the book, share the message, and help teach their entire school — and their families — why aluminum cans should never go in the trash. 🥫💚

We update the leaderboard every time we receive an official scale ticket from our metal recycling partners.

Thank you for your patience — and keep those cans coming, superheroes! 💪🦸‍♀️✨✨

🍦 October Recycling = November Ice Cream Party🍦

We collect aluminum cans to keep valuable materials out of landfills and give them a second life. Our Can Captains—student leaders in the selected grade—rally their schools to recycle, teach others why it matters, and track progress. When schools bring in more cans, Captains earn prizes—and when their grade hits the goal, they win the 🍨 Ice Cream Party for leading the way! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️♻️🥳

35 aluminum cans ≈ 1 pound

School Groups

♻️💵 A $1,000 prize is waiting in each group for the school that collects the highest number of aluminum cans per student.

Let’s see who rises to the top! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️

Color. Sign. Recycle.

Our Recycling Pledge coloring pages help kids learn that aluminum cans and batteries don’t belong in the trash.
Take the pledge and inspire your family, friends, and school! 🥫⚡️

We 💖 Our Readers & Recycling Superheroes! ♻️🦸🏼‍♀️🦸🏼‍♂️

The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans is sparking real behavior change — inspiring students across the USA to spot cans, recycle more, and become true recycling superheroes! 🦸‍♀️🥫♻️💚
The book that sparked a movement

The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans

 

Did you know that the USA recycles only 45% of cans, even though they're 100% recyclable? Let's turn that number around by teaching kids how they can make a difference!

Meet Ellie, the unicorn-loving, can-recycling superstar who's on a mission to save the planet. When she discovers that she can get money for recycling cans, she sets her sights on collecting one million of them to buy her very own unicorn. But she can't do it alone, so she enlists the help of her friends and the entire school to join in her crusade. Will they succeed? You'll have to read the book to find out!

The Recycling Society is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. EIN: 33-2569312.
© 2024 Recycling Society All rights reserved.