Can You Recycle Plastic Bottle Caps in the UK?

Yes, in most of the UK you can recycle plastic bottle caps. The best way is to screw the cap back onto the empty bottle before it goes in your recycling. Loose caps are too small for sorting machines and usually fall through the gaps. Check your own council, as rules differ.

I am George, and this is Forma Designs Collective, a workshop in Aberdeen, Scotland, that turns retired climbing rope into belts, keychains and coasters. We are now doing the same trick with plastic, so I think about caps a lot more than a normal person should.

Can you recycle plastic bottle caps in the UK?

Yes. Years ago the advice was to take caps off. Many councils have now changed that. The cap stays on, so it travels with the bottle and does not get lost on the sorting belt.

Rules still vary by council. Look up your postcode on your council website and check. It takes one minute.

What are bottle caps made of?

Most are HDPE (code 2) or PP (code 5). Milk bottle caps are HDPE, the same tough plastic as the bottle. That matters, because HDPE melts at around 120 to 130 C and can be remade into new things.

What can you make from old bottle caps?

Quite a lot. I melted my first bag of milk bottle caps in the workshop. It came out ugly, and you can read how that first prototype went. It has got a lot better since.

Our recycled plastic hexagon coaster is £8 and comes from this same idea: plastic that was headed for the bin, made into something you use every day. Want to try it yourself? Here is the home method with an old iron.

Does Forma take bottle caps?

Not through the post. The plastic work is local to Aberdeen for now, so please keep caps in your own recycling for the moment.

What I do take by post is dead climbing rope. If you have one in a cupboard, see how to send me your rope. Prefer something already made? Have a look at the climbing rope coasters, from £4.

Stay classy and remember,
Make Waste Useful.

George