Plastic caps can be recycled through Aveda

The plastic bottles that most of us put in our recycling bins are #1 or #2 plastics - those are the most easily recyclable plastics. The caps that are one those bottles, however, are often made from a thicker plastic - #5. Most people toss them right into the recycling bin with the bottles, but when they get to the recycling center they need to be separated and end up in the trash.

Aveda cosmetics has a program now that makes it easier for those #5 caps to be recycled instead of ending up in a landfill. It's the Recycle Caps with Aveda Program.

The program accepts caps that are rigid polypropylene plastic, sometimes noted with a 5 in the chasing arrows recycling symbol. This includes caps that twist on with a threaded neck such as caps on shampoo, water, soda, milk and other beverage bottles, flip top caps on tubes and food product bottles (such as ketchup and mayonnaise), laundry detergents and some jar lids such as peanut butter.

Excluded from collection are pharmaceutical lids and non rigid lids such as yogurt lids, tub lids (margarine, cottage cheese), and screw on lids that are not rigid. If you can bend or break the lid with your bare hands, then it does not meet the rigid plastic definition. Please do not include any metal lids or plastic pumps or sprayers. Unfortunately, too much of the wrong types of materials can contaminate the recycling process. We appreciate your efforts in keeping it clean!

You can bring your caps into any Aveda store and they will be recycled into new Aveda packaging. For store locations, click here.

Image: Casey West