What’s the cope with plastic bottle caps and plastic lids? Some communities say to depart them out of recycling, some say they’re high quality. Some communities need you to depart the caps in your bottles, others need them left off. What’s with all of the completely different guidelines in relation to plastic bottle caps and lids? Are they really recyclable and if that’s the case, how can I recycle plastic bottle caps?

The Hassle with Bottle Caps

The issue with plastic bottle caps begins with the truth that a lot of them are comprised of #5 plastic (polypropylene), whereas the bottles themselves are often comprised of both #1 (PET) or #2 (HDPE) plastic. When it comes time to soften that plastic down for recycling, it could be greatest if various kinds of plastic weren’t combined in collectively. Strike one for leaving the caps on.

But when the caps and lids are left unfastened within the mixture of recyclables, most of them are so small, they may merely fall by the disk screens on the Supplies Restoration Facility (MRF). Right here’s a fast video to indicate you what disc screens seem like and the way they separate small bits of particles from the bulkier recyclables.

Sadly, most pliable caps received’t make it by this course of, they’ll fall by into the particles or find yourself contaminating the glass shards. Strike one for leaving the caps unfastened within the combine.

If caps are ignored of recycling totally, effectively then that’s only a wasted unrecycled useful resource. Plus plastic bottle caps are an enormous downside in relation to ocean particles and air pollution. Strike one for leaving the caps out of recycling altogether.

Lengthy story quick – all of the choices kinda suck.

Your native MRF (recycling/sorting facility) has been making an attempt to find out how greatest to cope with this situation. Almost certainly they’re deferring to what the tip person of the plastic prefers (i.e. whether or not the receiving producer is okay with combined plastics, or whether or not they solely need #1 and #2). My program (for now) is asking us to depart caps and lids on. Others request you to depart them off and out of your recycling totally. Test along with your native recycling program and see what they’d such as you to do.

Is there every other method to recycle plastic bottle caps if my program received’t take them?

There was one program that was taking plastic caps for recycling: Protect’s Gimme 5 program. Nevertheless it went on maintain at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and as of this writing (Jan. 24, 2022) it’s nonetheless on maintain. I’ve been preserving watch to see in the event that they restart this program hopefully. You possibly can examine the Treasured Plastic map to see if there may be anybody close to you accepting caps for recycling. Treasured Plastic is a group if DIY plastic recyclers.

Different choices: Flip your plastic caps right into a bench or picnic desk.

There’s another choice I’ve simply found for recycling your plastic caps, and that’s to discover a native firm that makes recycled plastic benches, picnic tables and different out of doors, heavy-duty kind plastic objects. A few of these corporations have packages to take your plastic caps and make them right into a bench or desk for you. The draw back is that you simply as a person can not merely ship them your plastics, you must be ready to purchase the tip product.

It is a good mission for colleges as a result of they will purchase and put the bench or desk on the college property. I may see this additionally being a risk for a public park. If that is one thing you suppose your youngsters’ faculty or your native park would possibly take part in, you may Google “plastic caps to benches” and the title of your state to see if there are any corporations close to you which have a program like this.

Strive promoting them on Etsy.

There are folks on Etsy promoting used plastic bottle caps and it seems to be like they’ve made some gross sales to individuals who craft with them, so when you’ve got an entire field full, it is likely to be worthwhile to place them on the market are see if there are any takers.

Anybody on the market actively in search of plastic bottle caps for making into recycled merchandise? Please let me know so I can add your information to this text.

(Please don’t write to me asking the place you may take your plastic caps for recycling. I’ve put all the data I’ve on this article and if I uncover something new, I promise I’ll add it right here.)

Go to this text for extra details about what’s going on with the present state of #5 plastic recycling and your choices for coping with one of these plastic.

Associated: Can I Recycle Plastic Capsule Bottles?

[ Originally posted 2/11/2021, Updated 1/30/2024 ]