Indian Knoll School recycles 2200lbs. of bottle caps

Indian Knoll School in West Chicago collects bottle caps for nationwide recycling project.

In 2008 Aveda, maker of hair care and beauty products, launched a recycling program nationwide. The company started collecting plastic bottle caps from all types of plastic bottles to recycle into new caps and containers for their products. In the first stages of the recycling program Aveda only collected bottle caps from employees and their families. The program was then extended to the public, offering free product samples to anyone that brought in plastic bottle caps to stores or beauty salons during the months of March, April and May of 2008.

This program was brought to the attention of Mrs. Shari Krause, teacher at Indian Knoll School in West Chicago. Indian Knoll staff agreed that the entire school would participate, with the intention of making an impact on the kids by demonstrating how bottle caps alone can make a difference in recycling. That spring, the students and staff collected over 34,000 bottle caps. (Approximately 10 large garbage bags full!) Mrs. Krause remembers how she took the bags of bottle caps into the store herself. The regional manager for Aveda was so impressed that she came to Indian Knoll on the last day of the 2008 school year and presented every student with a trial size shampoo and conditioner.

This program has now evolved to a nationwide school project endeavor by the Aveda Company, with only 1600 schools in the nation allowed to participate. There are hundreds of schools on the waiting list to get into the program. Because of their incredible contribution in 2008, Indian Knoll School is chosen to participate every year. The sixth grade leadership team, lead by Mrs. Shari Krause, coordinates this school wide effort. Since the spring of 2008, students and staff of Indian Knoll School have recycled about 2200 pounds of bottle caps, including the 590 pounds they have recycled so far this school year.