Bottle caps are one of the top ten items found during marine debris beach clean-ups.
While they may not seem like a big deal, they can have a huge impact on the environment when they end up in the trash or the ocean. That's why some cities are encouraging residents to recycle plastic bottle caps.
Depending on how your local recycling program works, you can sometimes leave the cap on your reusable bottles when recycling them at a curbside service or your community collection point. According to the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), this practice is being supported by many plastics recyclers, and is a way to help reduce the amount of material that ends up in landfills or in waterways.
Once a plastic is selected for the bottle cap, it is injection moulded to produce a finished product. The process varies depending on the type of cap, but can include threading and dimensions, as well as a choice of wadding and embossing.