Circular economy manager for Plastics NZ, Sandy Botterill, explained that every year in New Zealand up to 5000 tonnes of recyclable materials end up in landfills.
"Good Caps is a creative solution for lids and caps, which, because they are often small, don't get picked up in the recovery and recycling process and end up in the landfill," Botterill said.
Organisers hope that if the pilot is a success more schools will join the programme and it could become a nationwide initiative.
Havelock North Primary School is one of the 12 schools diving right into collecting and recycling caps.
Jasper, a Year 3 student at Havelock North Primary school, has led the recycling initiative after realising that not everything gets recycled correctly.
The 8-year-old brought the idea of recycling back to his class and then, through Good Caps, Room 7 implemented recycling boxes throughout Havelock North Primary School and got the local community involved.
Jasper and his classmates asked local cafes, restaurants and bars if they would be interested in helping the school collect plastic and metal caps.
Once a week, during discovery time, the class sorts through and separates more than one tonne of plastic and one tonne of metal.
The 7- and 8-year-olds now deeply understand how recycling works and where their rubbish will end up.
Room 7 teacher Sue Jarvis said Good Caps is a perfect fit for the school's sustainability policy and Enviroschools programme.
"It's a real win-win for us, and it's a fabulous platform for our children to show manaakitanga and, as a school, to do something together to make a difference," Jarvis said.
The message she hopes this programme will pass on to her students is that they can take action and make a difference, no matter how small they are.
Volunteers from the local Lions Club have been collecting the filled bags each week, which are taken to the local waste management site in Napier to be shipped off and recycled.
Lions Club member Faye Nugent said, "We're thrilled to be involved in this. The environment is a high priority for Lions and helping young people make a difference is especially important to us."
Once collected, the plastic caps are sent to Aotearoa NZ Made in Palmerston North and reprocessed to make new products such as recycling bins and plant pots.
The metal caps go to Hayes Metal in Auckland, an offshore buyer uses them to create new products such as car parts.
Sandy Botterill said, "everything the students collect will be made into something new.
"The children are learning about the circular economy, that these lids and caps are not rubbish, but valuable commodities that can be used again," Botterill said.
Any profits from the programme will go to the Kidney Kids charity through the Lions Clubs.
Participating schools also receive donations and opportunities to win prizes for the most caps and lids collected, including a live show with Nanogirl Labs.
Every participating school will also receive a Nanogirl education session in which teachers learn science activities for teaching about the recyclability and value of caps.
Room 7 believes they have a strong shot of winning the top prize because they have so many lids coming in, said the class.
