(KAIR)--A $500 reward for recycling initiatives undertaken by students at Atchison High School.

According to a news release, the school's recycling team also placed in the top 20 schools competing in the Summertime Recycling Initiative Contest, sponsored by PepsiCo, Inc.

The team's goal was to recycle during summer school by adding additional bins at the Atchison Middle School where the Summer Food Program was held.

The Middle School kitchen was included in the effort.

The recycling team is spearheaded by the National Honor Society and the Ambassadors Club.

Both have co-sponsored the program for three years, through a partnership with Recycle Rally, a nationwide recycling program for K-12 schools.

In the two years that Atchison High School has been a part of the program, more than

72,000 containers have been recycled.

The team has also raised money used to install three bottle-filling water fountain stations at the high school, and has asked the City of Atchison to install recycling bins at each of the Atchison schools.