Garnier announced today that Union College students in Lincoln, Nebraska will receive a green garden made from recycled beauty and personal care products for their community. These students are winners of Garnier’s national Rinse, Recycle, Repeat campaign, created in partnership with TerraCycle and DoSomething.org, the largest organization for young people and social change.

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 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,” said Victoria Nichols, team captain of the Union College volunteers. “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.”

In addition to the Green Garden instillation in Lincoln, Nebraska, Garnier 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.

Ikdeep Singh, President of Maybelline, Garnier and Essie at L’Oréal USA adds, “At Garnier, our mission is to develop naturally-derived, responsible beauty products that are good for you and the planet. We are very proud of the Union College winners and all of the students across the country who participated in Rinse, Recycle, Repeat to help us spread the word about the importance of recycling in the bathroom to make a positive impact on the environment and future generations.”