Elementary school students recycle over 3 million aluminum cans
Implemented by the Recycling Society, the contest successfully saved 87,577 pounds of aluminum
The Recycling Society has shared the results of the 2025-2026 Million Cans Recycling Contest — students across the U.S. teamed up to recycle aluminum cans, raise money for their schools, and help protect the environment.
This year's contest included 56 schools, 21,734 students, and 4,979 books donated to participating "Can Captains."
Together, schools recycled:
- 3,065,195 aluminum cans.
- Equal to 87,577 pounds of aluminum.
Schools also raised over:
- $56,000 from recycled can payments
- More than $20,000 in prize money
The contest combines literacy, sustainability, and community engagement by providing participating classrooms with copies of The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans. Rankings are based on the total number of cans collected divided by the number of books donated to the selected grade level.
Schools that recycled over 150,000 cans
- 288,400 cans – Mt. Washington Elementary, KY
- 235,200 cans – Tri County Primary, IN
- 189,175 cans – Prospect Ridge Academy, CO
- 184,275 cans – Mendon Elementary, PA
- 160,790 cans – Fairplain Elementary, WV
Schools in 14 states competed in the Million Cans Recycling Contest
States with 2 or more schools competed for a $500 prize.
The winners are the schools that recycled the most aluminum cans in their state from October 01, 2025, to April 30, 2026:
- AL L.E. Willson Elementary – 25,935
- AZ Carrillo Elementary – 60,200
- CO Prospect Ridge Academy – 189,175
- FL Oriole Beach Elementary – 144,900
- IL Bradley West Elementary – 97,055
- IN Tri County Primary – 235,200
- KY Mt. Washington Elementary – 288,400
- LA Our Lady of Fatima Catholic – 54,110
- MO Flynn Park Elementary – 100,940
- MS New Hope Elementary – 73,815
- PA Mendon Elementary – 184,275
- TX La Vega Elementary School – 26,250
- WA Enterprise Elementary – 48,055
- WV Fairplain Elementary – 160,790
75,000 Cans Pizza Party Winners
When a school hits 75,000 recycled aluminum cans, their recycling superheroes in the grade the school selects will earn a well-deserved pizza party to celebrate their hard work and teamwork, and for rallying their entire school and community to collect cans.
2025-2026 MVR Prize Winner
Medina Academy - Redmond, Washington
This year's $1,000 MVR (Most Valuable Recycler) Prize was awarded to Medina Academy in Redmond, WA, for translating The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans into Arabic and helping spread recycling education to schools across the USA and around the world.
Their efforts showed how recycling education can cross cultures, languages, and borders to inspire even more kids to make a difference.
This prize was donated by the team at Phinix, LLC.
