FAQs

Good Caps is a trial programme designed to divert plastic and metal lids from landfill. Because the lids are often small, they are not able to be recovered during recycling, so they end up going to landfill. It is really important that we try to avoid things ending up there, so we have designed a programme to see how many caps we can collect and save from ending up in landfill.

For the pilot programme we will be sending plastic caps to Aotearoa NZ Made in Palmerston North. This material is reprocessed to make new products like recycling bins and plant pots. Method Bins will also be using our plastic caps to manufacture Recycling and Rubbish bins.

The metal caps are going to Hayes Metal in Auckland and they have an offshore buyer for this material who will use it to create new products such as car parts.

Everything we collect will be made into something new!

Yes please! This is a really important step, so please take the time to wash and dry your caps before placing them in your collection bag. It may be a good idea to leave them drying in the sun while you are at school.

You are participating in a special trial which is limited to schools in your area who have chosen to participate. If this trial is successful and a lot of caps are collected, more schools will be added to the programme.

Just take your filled bag with you to school and place in the designated collection bin in your classroom. Your caps will be tipped into the large collection boxes, and you will have your bag returned to you ready to be filled again!

Yes! If you don’t fill your bag during the trial, that is OK! You’ve still diverted caps from landfill which is so great for our environment. Take whatever caps you have collected, and they will be added to the collection bin at school.

For this trial, we would like you to use the bags provided so we can assess their suitability for future use if the programme is successful. By using a clear bag we can easily see that the caps and lids are correctly sorted and clean before they are tipped into the bigger collection bins.

The zip lock will also make sure they don’t spill in your school bag when you’re taking them to school. You will have two bags, one for metal and one for plastic. It is really important that we can see the plastic and metal lids are not mixed.

Notify your teacher. There will be spare bags available for you.

After the trial, perhaps you can think of other ways you could use this bag in your house. It might be useful for your wet togs, taking drawings home from school, a book bag or you could store some of your Lego or craft supplies in it? Get creative! Alternatively, you can place your bag into a Soft Plastics recycling bin for recycling when you no longer have use for it (not your kerbside bin).

Crown caps (e.g. bottle caps), jar lids, ring pull caps, wire from sparkling beverages, metal screw top lids.

No, metal tabs are attached to aluminium cans which are already captured and recycled through kerbside recycling programmes, so we don’t need to include these.

Plastic hinge caps, screw cap lids, plastic milk bottle lids, drink bottle caps, plastic ice-cream container lids, plastic yoghurt, and dip pottle lids (not peel off film), supplement pottle lids.

Yes, there are prizes available to be won, as well as a monetary donation for your school for participating in the programme. There will be New World vouchers to be won as well as the opportunity to win a live show with Nanogirl Labs for you and your fellow students, and some pre-loved Method Bins (made using recycled plastic). Every participating school will also receive a Nanogirl education session, where your teachers will learn a lot of exciting science activities to share with you to teach you about the recyclability of caps and ensuring these materials aren’t wasted!

If you have any questions, go to your school’s Good Caps co-ordinator, speak with your teacher or you can visit: www.goodcaps.org.nz

Good Caps is a trial programme designed to divert plastic and metal lids from landfill. Because lids are often small, they are not able to be recovered during the recycling and recovery process, so they end up going to landfill. It is estimated that up to 5000 tonnes of recyclable material is ending up in landfills throughout NZ each year.

For the pilot programme we will be sending plastic caps to Aotearoa NZ Made in Palmerston North. This material is reprocessed to make new products like recycling bins and plant pots. Method Bins will also be using our plastic caps to manufacture Recycling and Rubbish bins.

The metal caps are going to Hayes Metal in Auckland and they have an offshore buyer for this material who will use it to create new products such as car parts.

Everything we collect will be made into something new!

The programme is designed to illustrate to students the importance of separating waste streams (as this makes the recycled materials more valuable), material recovery and using creative solutions to divert materials from landfill. By participating, they are actively engaging in sustainability and circular economy activity, which are critical skills for our future generation to understand.

These are our future innovators, consumers and thinkers! By empowering them at an early age to understand the concepts of sustainability and circular economy, they may go on to become sustainability leaders in their community.

Yes, absolutely. As a “thank you”, Good Caps is providing your school with a donation. In addition, we are delighted to have engaged the team at Nanogirl Labs, led by Dr Michelle Dickinson to provide each participating school with a Nanogirl teacher Professional Learning Development (valued at $1265). The 1-hour Professional Learning Development session will be led by a Nanogirl Science Communicator and is designed to give your teachers practical enquiry-led experiments aligned to the NZ Education Curriculum that use common plastic and metal items found in homes and schools.

Yes please! This is a really important step, so please ensure students take the time to wash and dry the caps before placing them in the collection bags. Contaminated or damp caps will cause mildew and odour issues in the collection bins.

You are participating in a special trial which is limited to schools in your area who have chosen to participate based on logistics efficiency. If this trial is successful and a lot of caps are collected, more schools will be added to the programme. If you have a school outside of your region that is interested, they can contact us at info@goodcaps.org

Each participating school will receive flat packed, pre-labelled cartons with liner bags for each material stream (one for plastic and one for metal). Your enrolment levels will dictate how many boxes are sent initially. There will be collection bags included for all participating students – enough for each student to have one set of bags to take home, with additional bags available for lost or damaged bags. The kit will include instructions on collection which will be done by volunteers of the Hawkes Bay Lions Clubs.

Students will bring their two collection bags to school when they are full (or on a designated day). It is suggested each classroom appoint a pair of Good Caps monitors for the day/week with each monitor assigned a material stream (Metal or Plastic). The student will take the collected bags and tip them into the corresponding collection bins held by the school.

Minimising the risk of cross contamination of the two material streams is vital to the success of this trial. Hence the suggestion of assigning one waste stream per monitor.

For this trial, we would like students to use the colour-coded bags provided so we can test to see if they are suitable for use long term if the programme proves successful. We need to assess that the bags supplied are suitable to re-use without becoming damaged. The clear bags will also help us in reducing the risk of cross contamination.

After the trial, it is suggested you encourage students to find ways to re-purpose their bags. It might be useful for wet togs, taking drawings home from school, a book bag or for storing toys or craft supplies in etc… Encourage them to get creative! Alternatively, they can place the bags into a Soft Plastics recycling bin at your local supermarket or The Warehouse for recycling. Please do NOT place the collection bags in household kerbside recycling bins.

Yes! The top three schools who collect the most caps per number of enrolled students will receive a Nanogirl Live Show (valued at $1265).

There is also a prize pool of New World vouchers and products, as well as pre-loved Method Bins that have been made from recycled plastic.

Crown caps (e.g bottle caps), jar lids, ring pull caps, wire from sparkling beverages, metal screw top lids.

We would prefer that metal pull tabs are NOT included as these items are already attached to aluminium cans and are successfully recovered through New Zealand’s recycling efforts.

Yes, you can – just ensure they are clean and dry.

Plastic hinge caps, screw cap lids, plastic milk bottle lids, drink bottle caps, plastic ice-cream container lids, plastic yoghurt, and dip pottle lids (not peel off film), supplement pottle lids.

Visit our website www.goodcaps.org.nz or email us at info@goodcaps.org.nz

Collection of the cartons will be done by volunteers from the Hawkes Bay Lions Clubs. The volunteers will come into your school 1-2 times per week to collect the caps. They will take them to Waste Management where they will be stored until they are shipped to the different metal and plastic re-processors.