Recycling Bottle Caps?

I don't know the answer to your question but I do know here (in upstate NY), that items that are not returnable for deposit must be recycled at a transfer station and the caps must be removed. They first land on a tray that an attendant inspects so he can see if the caps have been removed. If they are not the attendant will come over and ask to you to remove them. Then they just get tossed. So even if they are manufactured from the same plastic which is recyclable they are not recycled. I have no idea why.

"I was wondering if plastic--specifically soda--bottle caps are made of the same plastic as the bottles themselves?"

The bottles have a "2" embossed in a triangle on the bottom indicating a certain type of blow molding plastic.

The caps are a different harder plastic which may require a different recycling process.

Need a Chem. Engineer of Chemist to provide full details.

Most water and soda bottles are polyethylene terephthalate, one of the few "recyclable" plastics that actually gets recycled. The caps typically are of something stiffer, usually not PET.

I have been recycling plastic beverage bottles at my church for years. Removing the caps facilitates rinsing and draining, which keeps them from attracting ants and roaches. It also lets them dry, so the recycler pays only for the plastic, not the liquid.

Few recycled plastics have properties as desirable as virgin ones, so the markets for recyclable High Density Polyethylene, Polystyrene, and Polypropylene are very small, if they exist at all. The highest and best use of recyclable plastics may be as fuel. http://www.rexresearch.com/zadgnkar/zadgnkar.htm

The caps are made of PP. There is not enough in the recycle stream (historically) to justify too much attention to be paid to the material. The different types of plastic are automatically separated in the recycling process. All of the plastic is shredded together, then separated by airflow and buoyancy in liquid.

I am not positive, but I believe that they PP may be compatible with HDPE when used for industrial/commercial processes like synthetic lumber.

The PET is process primarily for Carpet Manufacturers. Not long ago the only efficient plants to put the PET back into the stream were located in Dalton GA, home of many if not all of the Carpet manufacturers in the US. Very little by percentage actually goes back into food/beverage use due to contamination concerns

My information goes back at least 5-years. The plastics industry grows and changes rapidly. If I am behind the times, my apologies.

I recycle plastic, as many do, as it takes millions of years to breakdown into the environment and floats all over the world polluting the wildlife. Every state has a different way of collecting plastics. Some have workers to remove the caps before the bottle is crushed, since it is nearly impossible for even a machine to crush a closed bottle. So check with your local area to see whats best. When it comes to the caps, not all bottle caps are recyclable. Until this day arrives, I'll continue to check and remove the caps to determine which ones are. The ones that are not recyclable contaminate the virgin plastic and make it useless to reuse.

I know many states request that caps be removed as it helps speed up the recycling process. If people remove the caps, rinse the bottle out, and are able to crush the bottle; this creates more space in your recycling can to recycle even more products. It gives the recycling centers more space to recycle too. Oh and please buy your own .99 cent recyclable grocery bags. Plastic bags are another hot plastic item that is destroying our wildlife. I admit after 15 years of shopping for my family of four, I just got mine and I feel badly for not getting my own bags sooner! Gee, I've now placed 25,000+ plastic bags into the environment. Aaaug! A little recycling goes a loooong way.

Lastly I'd like to say that thousands of bottle caps are getting into the environment. It saddens me that I can't find a way to help. I feel just tossing them into the trash isn't good enough compared to the masses that end up littering most every place I walk past in my state and those I've traveled to. They're small and so get into the environment easily. If anyone has heard of a solution, please let me know.

Thank you, Ms born and raised Californian/Oregonian import, who recently saw a public broadcast on plastics and the environment.

If you have noticed that many CocaCola soda bottles have now manufactured smaller and easier to recyle. They are now made out of the same plastic as the bottles themselves, so that bottles can be recycled without removing the caps.

"Lastly I'd like to say that thousands of bottle caps are getting into the environment. It saddens me that I can't find a way to help. I feel just tossing them into the trash isn't good enough compared to the masses that end up littering most every place I walk past in my state and those I've traveled to. They're small and so get into the environment easily. If anyone has heard of a solution, please let me know. "

I am a teacher, and recently I discovered there is something we can do with the bottle caps. There is a bottle cap recycling program through Estee-Lauder. They collect and recycle 100% of the caps they collect to package their products. They will take the plastic caps off of sports drinks, soda, water, soaps (pumps). My building has collected over 31,000 caps in 1 month!

I had read that a beauty company was collecting bottle caps also, and that a bag of them could be brought into local stores and you would get a bottle of shampoo or something in exchange. I thought this was great and started to collect caps, but since have lost the article and do not know where i can turn them in. Do you know anything about this?

I found the company ----- Aveda Experience Center ----- (cosmetics) collects screw-on caps and sends them to their supplier who converts them back into the plastic containers in which the Aveda cosmetic products are then sold.

I called an Aveda shop here in Michigan and they said just bring them in. I work at the police station, wife works at a hospital, grand son wanted a class project for grade school this fall, so I think we are going to become a plastic-bottle-top-supplier for Aveda starting in Sep.

Aveda, the beauty product company, has just started a cap recycling program. Go to their website to get more info. It's about time someone is starting to do something with these pesky little critters! :)

what is the address or phone no. of este Lauder?I want to recycle plastic caps. thanks ann. ann byrne00@gmail.com

I found the company ----- Aveda Experience Center ----- (cosmetics) collects screw-on caps and sends them to their supplier who converts them back into the plastic containers in which the Aveda cosmetic products are then sold.

I called an Aveda shop here in Michigan and they said just bring them in. I work at the police station, wife works at a hospital, grand son wanted a class project for grade school this fall, so I think we are going to become a plastic-bottle-top-supplier for Aveda starting in Sep.

Recycle your plastic caps at Aveda: http://aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.asp

There are processes that can turn plastic back into oil. Google thermal depolymerization for more info.

Hello, I am not sure if you already received a response regarding the recycling of "plasic bottle caps". I am currently taking my collection of the buggers to my local grocher chain. ( Save On Foods, however it is a Canadian franchise so im unsure of any American franchises that recycle lids..) But they accept metal lids and plastic ones of any shape or size. I am also aware that the beauty company "Aveda" is accepting all kinds of plastic caps across North America, Primarily bottle lids and those that top personal care bottles, shampoo, conditioner etc. They are using them for new caps and packaging for they're products...quite a sound proposition as they are receiving free packaging material and helping out the enviroment, although they dont accept metal lids...it is a great start as plastic doesnt decompose...I still take my metal lids to my grocher chain though. Heres the link to look into the incentive. But as always the best option is to consume less...I use a reusable Klean Kanteen for my water and smoothies. Not to mention a reusable coffee/tea mug. But as always some things are unavoidable like personal/cleaning products among beverages.

http://aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.asp

Hope an outlet in you area is present, but mailing the lids is another option...though not very convenient. Hope this info helps!....Btw have you aquired reusable produce bags yet? Another awesome incentive when shopping for grocheries. Tend to use them more than the main bags...cheers!

just found out that Aveda hair salons have begun a plastic cap recycling project - check it out -

Plastic Bottle caps are not the same kind of plastic as the bottle. They both come from the same basic ingredients, but they have different additivies because they are made differently and so they will have different strengths. The bottles and the caps usually have to go to different plants for recycling, and there are very few plants that recycle caps from what I've heard. I don't know if this is true, but I've also heard that when a plastic bottle recycling plant receives a bottle with the cap still on, they throw it in the trash anyway rather than take the time to remove each and every cap. After all, time is money. Hope this was helpful.

PET as the bottle plastic is called here is also exported to China where it is converted into a yarn for making cheap items of clothing......not just bottles!!

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Caps are made of polypropylene plastic (#5 plastic)which is different than the plastic bottles are made from. This form of plastic can not be recycled with bottles. Because it is more rigid it requires much more heat to be melted down. Most recycling centers do not have the equipment to do this, although there are exceptions and facilities that specialize in this. It is correct procedure to take the caps off and crush the bottles before sending them away. Leaving the caps on can actually jam equipment and takes more time and energy when sorting.

Interesting to read this since there is no publicity about this here in UK and everybody I know leaves the tops on the bottles. There must be a person or a machine in the recycling centre which removes the tops otherwise nearly all of the bottles would surely be rejected. If this is the case then could all these tops not be recycled by a different process since they've already been separated? Otherwise, couldn't they all be sent to Avida. In that case it could be better to leave tops on the bottles and keep them out of landfill. Just a thought.

CapsnCups is now collecting all plastic caps! There is no need for sorting! They are also collecting #5 cups. Visit their website at www.capsncups.com for more information.