Does anyone know of a company/charity that will reuse beer bottle caps? One of the areas we would like to target in our spring cleanup is the collection of the twist-off caps that patrons and staff tend to litter on our sidewalks. If we can find a way to encourage the collection by the bar staff (such as a friendly competition that could then be donated to a charity) then we could reduce the amount of cap litter.
Janice Dama
Environmental Public Relations Program Coordinator
Clean City Committee
City of Windsor Environmental Services Division
3540 North Service Road East Windsor, ON N8W 5X2
(519) 974-1010 ext 231
fax: (519) 944-3161
[email protected]
Visit Clean City at www.cleancitywindsor.ca
Beer Bottle Caps for Charity
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Dear Janice,
Further to our phone conversation, c.Mar.1, and apologies for being asleep at the wheel, I know of no Dept. of Health that would allow beer caps to be reused. However, pubs in our area routinely save their caps from the bar in tin cans, suspended from the bar by a metal tie. When the can is full, staff replace the can lid, pressing down on contents, and crimp the can top with pliers so it stays, thereby locking all the beer caps in the tin can. They place tin cans in the blue bag or clear bag. That way, the tin can can be processed at the recycling plant, without beer caps spraying all over. We encourage residents to do the same, so that can lids do not get stuck between the conveyor and guide plates. The conveyor travels under the electro magnet, which hauls tin cans (including those full of caps and lids) off the conveyor by this means, along with all other ferrous (magnetized) waste products. This works, though not an elegant answer. You were asking about websites for local programs. www.rrfb.com covers the whole Province of Nova Scotia. RRFB is the arm of the NS Government that handles deposit-refund et al. activities (including stewardship agreements). www.ecomom.org is the local Region website that hosts, among other things, the signage that I developed for the Lunenburg area. I worked with local fast-food restaurants (including McDonalds, Wendys, DQ, Arbys, A&W, the schools' cafeterias, some municipalities et al.) to better source-separate waste. We boast a 70% diversion rate in some communities (Bridgewater and Mahone Bay, where I live), in part attributable to these means. If you want to see more signs and bins produced locally, check www.signsofrecycling.com .. I recommend Busch, Nik and OMG systems highly. As I am sure you are aware, many bin producers are making advertizing space available on the sides of their bins, which generates savings to the municipality for placement and collection. You'll find a more extensive list of producers on the RRFB website, under Resources. I just tried their site and cannot access it temporarily. If you have a problem finding the list let me know. One other site which is probably the best site I have ever visited for waste reduction, pollution prevention, climate change, GHG reduction etc. and a great resource for the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sector, developed by the Eco-Efficiency Centre in Dartmouth, is www.mgmt.dal.ca/sres/eco-burnside/links.html. Bit of a mouthful, but it's worth the effort. If you require further info., don't hesitate to call.
Best regards,
Richard Wilson
902-624-1233 902-497-7020
(cell) [email protected]
Yes in fact we are the first bottle cap recyclers in the world. We recycle both metal and plastic bottle caps and have done this now for 7 years. There is 2 division http://hookedonrecycling.tripod.com & http://nascarjackets.webs.com
Norm Price
CEO
The Redneck Lure & Hooked On Recycling
Canada