Should caps be on or off bottles? ANSWER: CAPS ON
Why the change in telling people to leave caps on? I thought they were supposed to be off?
"Two key reasons: First, when recycling gets easier, participation goes up. The Association of Plastic Recyclers is dedicated to boosting participation in recycling programs. Second, the cap material is recyclable. Why dispose something that could be recycled? In the past the plastics recycling industry was not able to effectively recycle bottles with caps on so the message to remove the cap was created. Recycling collection and processing technology has improved, demand for the recyclable material has increased allowing the current caps on recycling message and process."- The Association of Plastic Recyclers
Caps are usually made of a different type of plastic than bottles. Do they have to be recycled separately?
"No. Although closures may be made of a different material than the bottle, bottles are ground into flake before being vigorously washed in the recycling process. The washed cap material is then separated from the bottle material during a water bath float/sink process. PET will sink, PP and HDPE will float. Both materials are then recycled into new items. "- The Association of Plastic Recyclers