Published: May 19, 2009 12:33 am      

CITY OF TONAWANDA: Kindergartner turns trash into treasure

Some people look at a pile of sticky, stinky, empty juice pouches, and think ... garbage.

Jackson and Jennifer Mysliwy looked at a pile of juice pouches and thought ... well, garbage. But recyclable garbage.

Jackson, 6, a kindergarten student at Mullen Elementary School in the City of Tonawanda, and his family have been making their corner of the world a little cleaner since September, a campaign that started in Jackson’s kindergarten classroom.

Jennifer Mysliwy said she was visiting the school when she saw the amount of plastic juice pouches that collect each day.

“Literally, at the end of the day, the containers just couldn’t hold them,” she said. “They were overflowing. And I thought it was just such a shame that there was no way to recycle them. So, on a whim, I looked it up on the Internet.”

Online, she found TerraCycle, a company that makes items like tote bags, backpacks and school supplies from the containers. Participants can sign up to make donations and the company sends collection supplies for the pouches.

So, Jackson and his mom entered the company’s so-called Drink Pouch Brigade program.

Every week, they collect bags of used juice pouches from the school — about 150 pouches a week, about 4,000 a school year — wash and dry them, then ship them off to TerraCycle. In return — besides the satisfaction of recycling — they get 1 to 2 cents for the school for every pouch.

“It’s been a good lesson all around,” Jennifer Mysliwy said. “Even my younger kids have become a bit more aware they shouldn’t just throw things in the trash. They pay more attention to containers when we’re in the grocery store.”

Jackson agreed.

“I like it,” he said. “It’s to keep the Earth clean.”

Mullen Elementary Principal John McKenna called Jackson “a hero.”

“We’re pretty proud of him,” McKenna said. “He’s making a difference.”

A few months ago, their story took an even more charitable turn.

The Mysliwys subscribe to Family Fun magazine. They sent in their story as a recycling tip, only to be contacted by the magazine as a potential winner for its Green Families contest. They sent in a bit more information and eventually were named one of the magazine’s grand prize winners, earning $5,000 to go to a charity of their choice.

And Jackson knew just what charity to pick.

Susan Heiss, who was Jackson’s pre-kindergarten teacher last year and the school’s Make-A-Wish Foundation coordinator, estimates that the school has raised more than $30,000 for the foundation in the past six years, sponsoring six granted wishes for ill children, including trips to Walt Disney World and the Grand Canyon.

“The parents and the teachers and the kids have just been so giving,” Heiss said.

“There was a child in my class some years ago who had a wish granted — and she passed away. It’s tough — and you just kind of want to do something in their honor,” she said.

“I try to teach a lot — not just academics — but empathy and caring. Even as young as they are, they really take it to heart.”

Jackson did. When his family discussed which organization would get their prize money, he was adamant that the money go to Make-A-Wish.

“It wasn’t on my immediate list, but it was for him,” his mother said. “So that’s what we did.”

Jennifer Mysliwy admits she’s looking forward to the end of the school year — and an end to the weekly washing of juice pouches — but she doesn’t regret it.

“It was fun. It was quite a journey,” she said. “I think Jackson learned so much in the process. He’s learned he can not only help the Earth, but given back to his community, as well. For a 5-year-old who just turned 6, that’s huge.”

Jackson, who also said the hardest part of recycling is cleaning the sticky containers, still thinks it’s all worth it.

“It’s to help other people who are sick,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Contact reporter Jill Keppeler at 693-1000, ext. 313.