How many times have you finished up your beverage, in a plastic bottle, screwed back on the cap, and tossed it into the recycling bin. It’s all plastic right? Shouldn’t it all get recycled together?
You’d think these would be easy questions to answer, but not everyone knows what to do with their plastic bottle caps once they’ve twisted them off a bottle. Many end up just tossed in the trash, or worse, accidentally dropped as litter along the way.
According to the Ocean Conservancy, plastic bottle caps are the third most collected item during coastal cleanups worldwide. That means not everyone is tossing them into the recycle bin with their empty plastic bottle. This creates issues that go beyond an increase in litter.
Not only are we making more trash when we don’t recycle our plastic bottle caps, but these plastic bottle caps are an environmental hazard in other ways. Many are small enough for animals to swallow, harming digestive systems and the overall health of our wildlife. Bottle caps also break down into micro plastics, which end up in our drinking water among other places.
So, what do we do when we’re done with our plastic bottle caps?
The best way to recycle plastic bottle caps
Initially, the message was muddled. Recycling companies, at first, asked that you separate your bottle cap from your plastic bottle and flatten the bottle. Both items could go into the recycling bin, just not together. This increased the chance of bottle caps being left behind since many were more likely to toss the cap in the trash instead of holding onto it until they made it to the recycle bin with the empty bottle.
Technology has advanced though, and now it’s perfectly acceptable to toss your unflattened plastic bottle, with the cap on, into recycling. The actual process that takes place is pretty fascinating too. First, the bottle and cap are ground into flakes and then vigorously washed. While in a water bath, the cap material gets separated as it’s heavier than the bottle pieces. Cap material sinks to the bottom so it can get recycled into new items just like the bottle pieces. This process only works though when the bottle and cap are kept together then thrown into the recycle bin, and it’s uncertain whether this message has made it to everyone.
A possible solution — tethered bottle caps
Since people don’t always hold onto their caps once they open a bottle, the bottling industry has rethought bottle design and come up with a solution — tethered caps. Seen primarily in Europe right now, tethered caps remain attached to the bottle even after you’ve opened it. They won’t fall off during use, and they make it infinitely easier to prevent plastic bottle cap litter.
There are three types of tethered caps:
- The Relax Model uses two bands to tether the cap to the bottle, keeping both the mouth and neck clear.
- The Soul Model lets you bend the cap back on the bottle neck where it stays put and won’t spring back while you’re drinking.
- The Dance Model keeps the cap attached to the closure or safety ring so you can set it at any position you want.
While becoming more prevalent right now in Europe, California is also pushing hard to have tethered caps attached to all their plastic bottles.
Keep shifting away from plastic
It’s hard to find a replacement material when it comes to bottle caps. Plastic still very much reigns supreme, and there’s currently no easy answer as to what to do next. However, the best, sustainable course of action for right now is to double check that your local recycling plant accepts plastic bottle caps and continue sending them in attached to their original, empty bottle.
Sustainable packaging should be everyone’s mission
In the U.S, we use 2.5 million plastic bottles every single hour. Each one has its own cap. This is a lot to overcome, but companies working with IMPACT COLLECTIVE are committing to doing better. In areas like sustainable packaging, reducing or offsetting waste, and more, members of the collective are leading by example as they create the change they hope will inspire others.
Learn more about IMPACT’s work and the strides toward sustainability our members are taking.