The Closure and Container Manufacturers Association and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers launched “Caps On,” which encourages consumers to keep the caps on plastic bottles at time of recycling. 

The Closure and Container Manufacturers Association (CCMA), Barrington, Ill., and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, D.C., partnered to increase the recycling rates of plastic closures.

The new program, titled “Caps On,” encourages communities to ask its residents to include caps on plastic bottles at time of recycling. In addition to developing educational resources, the groups are working with material recovery facilities (MRF) and recycling haulers.

“We are committed to increasing the available supply and the actual amount of plastics being recycled while at the same time reducing litter and waste,” says Jack Hoscheit, chairman of the board of directors for CCMA.

“We want to assure recycling coordinators, MRF operators and other collectors of recyclables that plastics recyclers will process these bottles and recover the caps for recycling purposes,” adds Steve Alexander, chief executive officer and director of APR.

There are domestic markets for recyclable plastics, especially those types of plastics found in bottles, containers, and their closures. APR member companies report growing demand for recycled plastic resins such as the polypropylene and polyethylene commonly found in caps and lids.

“The marketplace is eager to consume caps as an expanding source of material,” says Alexander.
While this change to keep closures on bottles is an about-face from industry-based recycling requirements of years before, it is an indicator of long-lasting market demand and technological advances.

“This call for caps on is here to stay. MRFs can trust in the ability to market bales of containers with caps on,” says Alexander.