After eight months of collecting plastic bottle caps and lids, seven park benches have been delivered to Brown County schools, showing students the power of recycling.
The benches were created by Green Tree Plastics of Evansville through their ABC Promise program, designed to encourage children to recycle by bringing in enough bottle caps to make a bench.
“They are the only company in the world that does this kind of thing,” said Phil Stephens, the director of Brown County Solid Waste Management District.
It takes approximately 200 pounds of bottle caps to make a 180-pound bench, Stephens said. About 1,400 pounds were collected for this project.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Caps from milk jugs, detergent bottles, hairspray, toothpaste and ointment tubes, deodorant, spray paint and drink bottles, as well as lids from cottage cheese-type containers, peanut butter and mayonnaise jars and prescription bottles are all acceptable. Flip-top and spout caps from mustard and ketchup bottles also can be used, along with caps that have the recycle numbers 2, 4 and 5.
The colorful benches were delivered to the schools earlier this month. Each bench has a plaque on it stating that the bench was made from recycled plastic bottle caps. “The sign makes the bench, because without the sign, you don’t know,” Stephens said.
The Brown County Recycling Center coordinated the school district’s involvement with the program and was the primary collection point for all the lids students were bringing in. Other county residents also brought bottle caps into the recycling center for the project.
“We have the means to collect the caps, store the caps and sort a little more if needed along with transport (them to Evansville),” Stephens said.
Each bench cost $250 after bringing the caps. They cost $425 to buy outright without donating plastic. Keep Brown County Beautiful Coalition and the recycle center covered the cost of the benches for Brown County Schools.
“We are so grateful to our friends from Keep Brown County Beautiful and the Brown County Recycle Center for leading the way with this program,” Superintendent Laura Hammack said.
“The benches are beautiful and will serve as a lasting reminder of our community working together to increase awareness for bottle cap recycling. Keep Brown County Beautiful and the Brown County Recycle Center are treasured partners of the schools. We are so grateful for all they do for the Brown County community.”
Stephens said Keep Brown County Beautiful and the recycling center covered the costs of these benches because it’s a “great awareness project.”
And that awareness is needed now more than ever.
On April 13, volunteers were out picking up trash alongside county roads as part of the Great American Clean Up. Stephens estimated that 75 percent of the litter they picked up was recyclable items, like plastic bottles and cans.
“There’s one important reason (for the project) right there,” he said.
Solid waste district Controller Marilyn Feiock first became involved with the project after she received a call asking for pull tabs for Riley’s Children Hospital. She called Van Buren Elementary School to see if they were collecting tabs and staff there informed her about the bottle cap bench project.
“The other important reason is that (if) the kids understand that this tiny, little cap is valuable, they will understand that the bottle is, too,” Feiock added.
“If we can do this with caps, what can we do with the rest of it?” Stephens added.
All of the schools and the district’s administrative building received benches.
“The students were very excited about collecting the bottle caps. I think they really connected with the idea of keeping their community clean and beautiful,” said Brian Garman, principal of Brown County Junior High School.
Last school year, the junior high and Brown County Intermediate School participated in a challenge to see which school could collect the most bottle caps. The losing principal would then receive a pie in the face. BCIS Principal Trent Austin said he “graciously” took the pie.
“The students enjoyed the experience, as it was promoted as an opportunity to recycle and preserve the natural beauty of Brown County,” Austin said.
Helmsburg Elementary School Principal Kelli Bruner said her students love their new bench.
“The students are more excited now that they see the actual bench. It was more of an abstract idea to them, and now that they can see it and understand how it was made, they are really happy,” she said.
Bruner said a student brought in another bag of bottle caps last week.
The schools can continue to collect bottle caps for more benches if they wish, but the district would have to cover the costs of making any more benches, Stephens said.
If other organizations want to start their own ABC Promise program, the recycling center will help them coordinate it with Green Tree Plastics. The goal would be to have seven to 10 benches worth of bottle caps on order before they make a run to Evansville to pick them up.
Any group that participates is encouraged to have children collect their bottle caps. Then, those caps can be brought to the recycling center for storage. “We’re hoping as this program gains more awareness that more caps will come in,” Stephens said.
He was meeting with Cummins in Columbus this week to discuss starting a corporate collection program with their caps coming to Brown County Recycle Center. “It will be a tsunami of caps if that happens,” Stephens said.
The hope is that sharing the importance of recycling with the county’s youngest residents will help decrease littering, especially of recyclable items, in the future.
“It will teach the kids, and they will take care of the adults,” Feiock said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”New park bench project under way” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
If you’ve been saving bottle caps and lids, you can take them to Town Hall now.
Last week, the Nashville Town Council and Nashville Town Parks Commission threw their support behind a plan to collect lids and caps to create benches for the town’s new park being developed at Johnson and Washington streets.
Town Hall at 200 Commercial St. will be a collection point; the recycle center at Old 46 and Greasy Creek Road also can accept them.
Park commission members encourage local businesses and individuals to think about sponsoring a bench in honor of or in memory of someone. The cost would be around $250. Contact Town Hall for details.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
