Short answer: A recycling drive collects things families already want to get rid of (clothing, empty ink cartridges, old phones, bottles and cans) and turns them into money, usually paid by weight or by item by the company that takes them. Returns are small and slow, so a drive works best as a steady side fundraiser with a service or environmental purpose. Get the collector's terms in writing, tell families honestly where items go, wipe data from electronics, and plan where everything will be stored.
Recycling drives are the quiet end of school fundraising ideas. Nobody sells anything, nobody pledges anything, and families clear out a closet or a garage while helping the school, which makes a drive a fair ask where many families are short of spare cash. They're also one of the few fundraisers with no upfront cost that keep working all year. The trade-off is money: a drive rarely pays as much as an event, and it needs space and steady volunteer time. This page covers the drives that pay the school something. Drives that give items away, such as coat, book or food drives, are service projects; the service and honor clubs guide covers those. This page names no recycling companies, because programs and rates change and differ by region.
Four kinds of drive compared
| Drive | How money comes in | Space and effort | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing and textiles (clothes, shoes, linens) | A collector pays by weight, either for a one-time drive or for a bin kept on site | Bags pile up fast; needs a dry, locked room or a bin placed on school property | Wet or moldy bags may be refused; families may assume a charity receives the items |
| Ink and toner cartridges | A program pays per qualifying cartridge, or gives credit | A box in the office; light and steady | Many cartridge types earn nothing; payment thresholds and shipping rules |
| Small electronics (phones, tablets, laptops) | Paid per device by model and condition; some programs give credit or equipment | A locked box; someone to log devices | Personal data, batteries, devices with no value |
| Bottles and cans | Deposit refunds in deposit states; scrap value elsewhere | Bulky, sticky and sometimes smelly; needs a pickup or redemption trip | Glass, sharp edges, insects, sorting by type |
A school can run a single one-week drive, a standing collection all year, or a community event such as a Saturday drop-off in the parking lot. A standing collection raises the most over time, but someone has to own it every week. Items that still have resale value may earn more at a school rummage or yard sale, with the leftovers going to a textile collector afterward.
What to ask the collector, in writing
Most of these drives depend on a business or nonprofit that picks up the items and pays the school. Get a short written agreement before the first family drops anything off. Ask:
- What do you pay, and how? Per pound, per item or per cartridge model; check or credit; and whether there is a minimum before you pay or pick up.
- What do you accept, and what do you refuse? A written list of accepted and excluded items prevents a room full of things nobody will take.
- Who weighs or counts, and how do we see the result? A weight ticket or a count report for each pickup lets your treasurer check the payment.
- Who provides containers, and who moves them? Bins on school property need the principal's and often the district's permission, and you need to know who empties them and how often.
- Where do the items go? Resale, export, recycling or donation. Families will ask, and the answer should be on the flyer.
- Are you a nonprofit or a business? Either can be fine, but it changes what you tell families (see below).
- For electronics: how is data destroyed? Ask what the collector does with storage in devices and whether it can provide written confirmation.
- How do we end the arrangement? A bin agreement should have a clear end date or notice period.
Families often assume a collection box at school means their old clothes go to someone in need. If the collector is a business that resells or recycles items and pays the school, say so plainly: "Items are sold to a textile recycler; the school receives a payment by weight." That sentence costs nothing and protects the group's reputation.
Clothing and textile drives
Textile drives often take more than clothing, such as shoes in pairs, belts, bags, bedding, towels and curtains, while wet or soiled items may be refused. Use the collector's own list, not a list from another school.
- Bag everything. Ask families to tie items in plastic bags so they stay dry and can be weighed. Shoes should be tied together or bagged in pairs.
- Keep it dry and off the floor. A single wet bag can spoil a pile. Store bags indoors on pallets or tables if pickup isn't the same day.
- Schedule the pickup before the drive. A gym full of bags on Monday morning is a problem. Ask the collector to come at the end of the drop-off day if they can.
- Pair it with spring cleaning or a season change. Families sort closets in spring and early fall, when children outgrow clothes.
Example A school's Saturday drop-off collects 260 bags averaging 12 pounds, or 3,120 pounds. The rate here is made up for the arithmetic, not a typical or quoted figure: at $0.05 a pound, the payment would be 3,120 × $0.05 = $156. Real rates vary a great deal by region and over time, so plug in the figure from your own written agreement, and compare the result with other options in the fundraiser profit calculator.
Ink cartridges and small electronics
Cartridge and device programs pay per item, and value depends on the model. Many cartridges earn nothing, so read the program's list of qualifying models and post it by the collection box. Office staff and local businesses can be the best source: a business that goes through toner may be glad to send empties to the school.
Electronics need more care, because devices hold personal information and batteries. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's advice for anyone donating or recycling electronics is to delete all personal information first and to remove batteries, which may need to be recycled separately. EPA also says lithium-ion batteries, and devices containing them, should not go in household garbage or recycling bins. For a school drive that means:
- Families wipe and sign out of every device before they bring it. Put a reminder on the flyer, and don't let volunteers handle unwiped devices.
- Collect devices in a locked box in the office, not an open bin in the hallway.
- Keep loose batteries out of the box unless the collector accepts them and tells you how to pack them.
- Don't accept large items such as televisions and monitors unless the collector has agreed to take them; some programs charge for them.
- Log what goes out with each shipment so the payment can be checked.
Some states and cities run their own electronics recycling programs or set rules on what can be thrown away; EPA suggests checking for recycling facilities in your state or community.
Bottle and can drives
Whether a can drive is worth the effort depends on where you live. In a state with a beverage container deposit law, eligible bottles and cans carry a refund value, and a drive collects that value. Elsewhere, the money comes only from scrap value, which for a school-sized collection is usually small.
According to an October 2024 report by the Connecticut General Assembly's Office of Legislative Research, ten states have container deposit ("bottle bill") laws: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont. Deposits on most covered containers are 5 or 10 cents, and the states differ in which drinks and container sizes are covered. Laws change, so check your state's environmental or revenue agency for the current rule, and ask your redemption center about any limit on how many containers it takes at once.
Safety matters more on a can drive than on any other drive. Accept only empty, rinsed containers; keep glass in its own sturdy bins; give volunteers gloves; and keep students away from broken glass and from sorting in hot weather where bees gather. Store bags outside the building if the custodian asks, away from doors.
Running the drive
- Get approval and a place
Ask the principal for the dates, the storage room or bin location and who has the key. A bin on school grounds may also need district or facilities approval. See district fundraising rules and approval.
- Sign the collector's terms
An authorized officer of the group signs, after reading the payment, pickup and ending terms. Keep a copy with the treasurer.
- Tell families exactly what to bring
A flyer with accepted items, excluded items, how to pack them, drop-off times and where the items go. A sample is below.
- Staff the drop-off
Two adults at every drop-off time, with gloves, a cart and a log. Students can help with light, clean items under supervision.
- Record and reconcile
Match each weight ticket, count report or redemption receipt to a payment, and record it like any other income. The cash handling guide covers two-person counts for deposit refunds paid in cash.
- Report the result
Tell families what the drive raised and how many pounds or items it kept out of the trash. The results and thank-you generator drafts the note.
Receipts for donated items
When families give items to a parent group that is a qualified charity and the group sells them to a collector, the families have made a gift of property to the group. The acknowledgment describes the items ("eight bags of used clothing") and leaves the value to the donor; the full IRS rules are in thanking donors and the IRS rules. Two points are particular to a drive:
- Condition matters to the donor. Publication 526 says a donor can't deduct clothing or household items unless they are in good used condition or better (with an exception for a single item over $500 backed by a qualified appraisal). Textile collectors often take worn items too, so don't suggest every bag is deductible.
- Whose bin is it? If families drop items straight into a collector's own bin, the gift may be to the collector, or not a gift at all if the collector is a business. Say which on the flyer, and don't issue receipts for items that never belonged to the group.
This page summarizes federal guidance and one state legislative report; it isn't legal or tax advice. Your state environmental agency confirms deposit rules and electronics recycling requirements, your district decides whether bins and storage are allowed on school property, and your treasurer or a tax professional can confirm how to acknowledge donated items.
Sources
- What is Connecticut's beverage container recycling law ("bottle bill")? (OLR Report 2024-R-0161), Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Electronics Donation and Recycling, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Publication 526: Charitable Contributions (2025), Internal Revenue Service (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Publication 1771: Charitable Contributions, Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements (Rev. 11-2023), Internal Revenue Service (accessed 2026-10-30)
Frequently asked questions
Do recycling fundraisers really make money for schools?
They make some, steadily, with very little cost. A single drive usually raises less than an event, because collectors pay by weight or by item and many items have little value. Drives work best as a standing side fundraiser, in a state with bottle deposits, or when the environmental purpose matters as much as the money.
Which states have bottle deposits?
An October 2024 report from the Connecticut General Assembly's Office of Legislative Research lists ten: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont. Most covered containers carry 5 or 10 cents. Rules on which drinks and sizes are covered differ, so confirm with your state agency.
Is a clothing drive donation tax-deductible?
It can be, for the family, if the group receiving the items is a qualified charity and the items are in good used condition or better, as IRS Publication 526 requires. The group's thank-you describes what was given without putting a value on it. If the items go into a for-profit collector's bin, there may be no charitable gift at all.
Is it safe to collect old phones and laptops at school?
Yes, with precautions. EPA advises deleting all personal information before donating or recycling electronics and removing batteries, which may need separate recycling. Ask families to wipe and sign out of devices before drop-off, keep the collection box locked in the office, and ask the collector in writing how it destroys data.
Can students run a recycling drive?
Yes, and it suits a service club, an environmental club or a student council. Students can make flyers, staff drop-off tables and track totals. An adult adviser should sign the collector's agreement, handle payments, and supervise anything involving glass, heavy bags, batteries or devices.