College in Nebraska Wins Recycling Competition

Garnier announced that Union College students will receive a green garden made from recycled beauty and personal care products for their Lincoln, Neb., community.

These students are winners of Garnier’s national Rinse, Recycle, Repeat campaign, created in partnership with TerraCycle and DoSomething.org.

Launched in April 2017, the goal of Rinse, Recycle, Repeat was to educate America’s youth about the importance of recycling beauty and personal care empties in the bathroom and help Garnier and TerraCycle towards their goal of diverting 10 million beauty and personal care empties from landfills by the end of 2017. To date, approximately 9,604,885 pieces of personal care and beauty waste have been recycled since inception of the Garnier and TerraCycle recycling program in 2011.

The team of students from Union College competed against 49 other schools to collect and recycle 7,657 empties throughout the month of April. As a result of their efforts, the new green garden will be donated to Community Crops' existing 46th garden, one of the area’s most impactful grassroots organizations that provides education and resources for members of the community to grow their own food. The revamped garden will include raised beds, picnic tables, park benches and waste receptacles, and be open to the public following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Community Crops build site on October 27, 2017.

“We wanted to make a positive change in our community and the Rinse, Recycle, Repeat competition was a great platform to get people involved and passionate about recycling,” Victoria Nichols, team captain of the Union College volunteers, said in a statement. “The Garnier green garden is a symbol that we were able to do our part by keeping 7,657 empties out of landfills, and informing others about the benefits of conserving natural resources and reducing waste.”

Since its first community garden in 2003, Community Crops has become a non-profit horticultural resource providing education, advocacy and experiences to grow local food. The organization offers 12 community garden sites, a training farm, a successful Community Supported Agriculture program, youth garden, cooking education and a regular farmers’ market stand.

“The donation from Garnier will lead to more meaningful engagement in our community garden, that nearly 60 local families currently use to grow their own food,” Kelsey Varisco, garden program manager, Community Crops, said in a statement. “The new seating options and shade structure will provide a welcoming space to sit and engage with others, and to take a rest from their hard work in the garden. Thank you Union College for winning this valuable addition to our community!”

In addition to the Green Garden installation, has donated nine other Green Gardens throughout the country. These gardens have engaged hundreds of thousands of individuals in the surrounding communities and many of them grow fruit and vegetables for local schools in impoverished areas where children do not have access to nutritional lunches.