Caps Off!

What you may not know about recycling plastic bottle caps.

Is the rumor true that bottle caps from water and shampoo bottles are recyclable? The answer is yes, however if you are putting them in your recycle bin, they are probably not being recycled.

Paul Kallevig, Customer Service Representative from Allied Waste in Eden Prairie MN told me that I can put the caps in my recycle bin, and “Though they are not recyclable, they are made out of a chemical that floats when it is melted. Once the plastic is melted down they skim off the contaminants off the top.” That waste plastic is then thrown away. This explains why many recycle/waste haulers allow caps to be included in your recycling bin. Bad news is that it means those caps - or the melted globs are ending up in landfills.

The good news is that plastic #5 caps can actually be recycled by bringing them to any U.S. Aveda Salons. Just make sure they are clean and store them in a bag until you are ready to take them to the local Salon. Aveda is an environmentally conscious beauty products and services company and they utilize this recycled plastic into their product packaging.

Aveda has provided a handy reference sheet on what caps can be recycled. You can bring in any #5 rigid caps with threaded necks from shampoo, water, milk, detergent, flip top, and pharmaceutical bottles. Don’t include plastic pumps or non-ridged lids from things like yogurt and margarine lids. You will be surprised at how much plastic this adds up to in your household.

Aveda also has a school caps recycling program that looks easy for a group or individual student to introduce into their school.

If you want to see what one amazing, 11-year old student has done, check out his website dedicated to recycling plastic caps at: RecycleCaps.Webs.com

Now, just find your local Aveda Location, and incorporate an occasional stop during your regular errands.

Hats (or caps) off to Aveda for their sustainability initiative, and for every Ordinary Environmentalist who takes this little step to a better world.