Recycling Water Bottles and the Caps

When you recycle plastic water bottles, or any other plastic bottle, make sure that you take the cap off before putting it in the recycle bin.  The bottles and the caps are made of different plastic material.  Most recycling plants can recycle the bottles, but not the caps.

The caps are often said to jam machines as well as contaminate the other plastic material if mixed with it when recycled.  Some counties are able to recycle the caps, but you still need to remove them before putting them in your bin.

What happens if you try to recycle a plastic bottle with a lid on it?
If a bottle is put in the recycling bin with the lid still on it, most of the time the entire bottle is thrown out.  It is too time consuming for the workers and plants to remove all of the lids that are kept on the bottles, so they are not recycled.  It is sad that your good efforts my go to waste if not done correctly.

The recycling plant in Orange County Florida is not able to recycle the lids, so they recommend throwing them away in the trash.  I would assume this would also include peanut butter lids, milk jug lids, and other heavy duty caps.

It’s hard to throw out a plastic lids after recycling for so long.  I think with a little brainstorming we can come up with some “bottle cap crafts” before throwing them out.

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