We all know the importance of recycling today, but did you know that the instructions for recycling a typical plastic beverage bottle often say to put the plastic bottle in the recycling bin and put the cap in the trash?
This is because the bottle caps are made from a different material than the bottles themselves, a plastic called #5 (PP) or polypropylene.
Beverage bottles are typically made from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) or plastic #1. Bottles for detergents, personal care and other household products are commonly made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or plastic #2.
So, caps need to be separated from the bottles and usually end up in a landfill. Additionally, the small size of the caps can make them difficult to sort out from the other plastic pieces. While metal caps could easily be separated using a strong magnet, the plastic caps are not so simple.
Because of this, recycling facilities for bottle caps are not widely available in the United States, so the little plastic caps often end up as litter, where they can become a big problem.
Shredded bottle caps - made from #5 plastic (polypropylene)
Bottles made from #1 plastic (Polyethylene terephthalate) are more commonly recycled than their caps are.
Why is recycling plastic caps a difficult process?
