A new program in some local schools and preschools is accepting the containers along with drink pouches, neither of which is included in the county's local recycling program.

A private company, TerraCycle of New Jersey, is paying the schools 2 cents for each small yogurt container and a nickel for large containers, along with 2 cents for each drink pouch.

The company plans to turn the cups into plant containers and the drink pouches into handbags that it hopes will be sold by retailers across the country starting next year.

The private sector is stepping in where local government recycling programs have not been able to, local recycling officials said.

"None of our local markets will commit to taking yogurt containers in an ongoing arrangement and some not at all," solid waste director Gayle Wilson said. "We are working to find long-term secure markets for them but have been so far unsuccessful."

TerraCycle, founded by Princeton University dropout Tom Szaky, started out feeding organic waste to millions of worms, according to a company's press release. It turned its worm poop into eco-friendly plant foods and fertilizers, packaging its products in recycled plastic drink bottles.

The new program goes one better than standard recycling, said Muriel Williman, Orange County recycling educator.

Because the plant containers and pocketbooks simply find a new use for the cups and pouches, no energy is lost melting down the plastic or in turning the used material into something new.

"It maintains captured energy," Williman said. "You don't lose any energy. You don't have to use any energy to repurpose."

More then 10 billion yogurt containers are used each year in the United States, according to TerraCycle. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 3.6 billion drink pouches are produced each year. Because the material used to makes these pouches is non-recyclable, virtually every single one is sent to a landfill, according to TerraCycle.

Local organizations working with TerraCycle include the Chapel Hill Kehilla and New Hope Elementary School, according to company spokesman Albe Zakes. The Chapel Hill News had an early deadline for today's issue and was unable to reach them for comment.