The Bottle Top Recycling Project

Are you worried about the effects of plastic ending up in the landfill and environment?

Did you know your plastic milk bottle lids (HDPE No. 2 plastic) can no longer be put into your green recycling bins? If you put them in, they are too small for detection and can contaminate all other recycling that has been carefully washed and sorted.

The folk at Connections Centre, helped by a group of pro-active people in Dunedin, want to reduce the amount of small plastics ending up in the landfill or the ocean. The problem is big and we are starting 'small' with plastic milk bottle lids. If there are enough people wanting to make a change, then it will gain momentum.

We want to raise $19000 to design and build our own small plastic shredder here in Dunedin. We wash, sort into colours and safely shred the lids so that they can be recycled into more useful long lived products.

The processing of the bottle tops will also provide part time supported employment for a person with a disability. And the collecting of the bottle tops will enable people who attend Connections engage in a fun, meaningful and community-based activity that is good for people and the planet.