School Drive Resources
Everything you need to run your school’s plastic film drive
Timeline
April
Time for your drive! Get set up and collect plastic film. Make sure to register for your pickup to make sure our van stops by (we’ll remind you via email).
May
On your school’s drive webpage, track your progress toward the goals of signing up 10 new Ridwell Pickups or Mail-in members. May 22 is the final day!
Your school's drive webpage
We’ve sent you a link to a page just for your school community—check your email! Share the link to help folks learn more about the drive, see your progress toward earning ongoing plastic film pickups at school, and learn more about how Ridwell helps families send less to landfills.
A peek at the page
People who visit your school’s page can register to learn more about Ridwell and even sign up to become a Pickups or Mail-in member. The page includes a counter that tracks your school’s progress toward pickups. New members must be associated with your page to count! So, they must either join Ridwell directly through the page or sign up for emails on the page, then join Ridwell through the special link we’ll send them.
What if Ridwell members visit the page?
Members who visit your page will see all the same information (including the counter), except the top of the page will show a custom share link to help spread the word.
Questions? Visit FAQ >
Plan your drive
What date(s) will you host your drive? Your school’s pickup date was emailed to you.
If you elected to receive a yard sign, where will you display it?
What container will you use to collect plastic film? Where will you put it? Do you want to set up more than one?
A successful drive starts with a little bit of planning. Here are the key things to think about:
Not sure where to start? Grab our planning guide Download here >
Advice and helpful tips from past drive leaders
Download here >
Promote your drive
Now you’re ready to promote! Where will you communicate about the drive? You know your school community best. To make it easy, grab templates and printouts from the section below.
Here are some tried and true ways to spread the word:
Flyers to send home
Plastic film info
Social media posts on the school’s channels
Blurbs in school newsletters
Email to school families and teachers
Morning or assembly announcement
Customize with your drive dates and your school’s unique URL! Get the template >
You’ll need a free Canva account.
See download instructions.
Customize with your drive dates and your school’s unique URL! Get the template >
You’ll need a free Canva account.
See download instructions.
One-page resource to help your community learn about plastic film. Print or download >
Help your fellow students understand what goes in the plastic film collection. Print or download >
Ready-made images to use on your school’s social channels.Download >
Need a caption? Use this.
Email messages, a newsletter blurb, and more to copy and paste. See templates >
Need to create your own flyer? Grab the Ridwell logo here. Download >
Get set up for your drive
If you choose to have a multi-day collection, you will need:
A container to collect film. Clean trash cans generally work well.
Large plastic bags to put in the container. These can double as the bags you give to us. Any plastic bag you can tie closed works well. Large trash bags like what the school uses are a great option. Schools in the past have filled an average of 6 - 12 large bags (as you probably already know, you can pack a lot of film in a small space!).
Signage to print:
Sign for your container
Tape the sign to your collection container to differentiate it from a garbage can.
Plastic film what-we-take poster (11x17”)
Hang up near the container to help people double check what kind of plastic is included in the drive.
Educational resources
Everything you need to know about plastic film, Ridwell, and more
Plastic film worksheet
Help kids learn about plastic film Download >
Where does plastic film go?
Find out about our partner
Read the blog post >
About Ridwell
How exactly does Ridwell work, and what do they pick up? Download >
Ridwell at home
Meet the founder!
Watch the video >
Lesson plan
A lesson plan from a former elementary school teacher (free with code RIDWELL) Download >
Test your plastic IQ!
10 revealing questions
Take the quiz >
School presentation
Use in classrooms or at assemblies.
Watch the video >
What is plastic film, anyway?
Learn all about it
Watch the video >
Program FAQ
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You’ll receive a special yard sign to display at your school (if you selected this when registering), access to a digital resources kit, and a drive webpage made just for your school where your community can join Ridwell and you can track your progress towards earning plastic film pickups for the school for the ‘26/’27 year. You’ll also have a dedicated resource from Ridwell available to answer questions along the way.
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You’ll serve as the liaison between Ridwell and your school. If you haven’t already, be sure to get any needed approval from your school. You’ll be in charge of getting the word out about this drive and sharing your school’s unique drive webpage with your school community. You’ll also be coordinating the collection, getting any needed supplies (i.e., bags or receptacles), and registering for pickup at the school.
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Communicating early and often about the program has been key to success for past participants. This might include parent/guardian emails, assembly announcements, flyers to send home social media posts, posters at drop-off/pick-up points, Facebook PTA groups, and school newsletters. You know your community best and likely have other ideas as well!
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Check your email! It's included in the kickoff email from February 26. If you don’t see it, please check your spam folder and then reach out to us at schools@ridwell.com.
Share the page as a link or QR code in all sorts of ways—for example, copy/paste into a flyer and include in emails to your community. -
We don't expect you to sort! Please do your best to explain what's included to minimize mix-ups and let people know that materials need to be clean & dry. We'll sort out any rogue materials at our facility.
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If you earn Plastic Film pickups for the ‘26/’27 school year, we’ll provide a collection receptacle, bag liners and a sign of what is accepted. This ongoing collection is meant to be for plastic film generated at school (i.e., not from families bringing it in). We’ll pick up directly from your school.
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Multi-Layer Plastic is not part of this school drive. We've received feedback that these materials are more difficult to explain than Plastic Film, and there also are higher levels of contamination. If families would like to recycle these materials, this category is available with out home-based service. **Be sure to remind your community members to sign up via your school's drive webpage, so that those signups will be counted towards your school’s goal!
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Feel free to share your school’s drive webpage with friends and family anywhere in the US, as Ridwell service is offered nationwide via our Pickups or Mail-in programs.
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We understand how this can happen and wish we can accommodate situations like this, but with a small team and hundreds of schools participating, we are only able to count new memberships that are tracked through your school's drive webpage.
Other questions?
Email schools@Ridwell.com