Dive Brief:

• The city of Madison, WI now will accept bottle caps in recycling receptacles, providing the bottle caps are deposited correctly.
• Proper deposit of the bottle caps into the city’s recycling stream requires a bit of preparation: caps should be placed inside a steel or tin can, which when partially full, should be pinched closed at the top. The can is then placed in the recycling receptacle.
• "The loose caps will fall through our contaminant screens at the recycling center and end up in the trash," Madison recycling coordinator George Deckman said. "By putting them inside a can and pinching the top shut, you ensure that the caps will pass over the screen and be picked up by our magnets and get recycled."

Dive Insight:

When it comes to educating the public on proper recycling practices, the message is the master. Many people want to know how to recycle correctly, and if they are offered clear, easily comprehended instructions, they get the drift.

And when the message is as approachable and lively as Madison’s YouTube instructional video on bottle cap recycling (which begins with the narrator saying "Madison loves beer. Especially bottled beer"), other cities across the country might try their hand at something similar. Even two- or three-step recycling processes could be quickly adopted by residents, given the right educational approach.