Comet Bay College is collecting plastic bottle tops for the Envision Hands Project and has amassed more than 600 in its first week!
The project recycles plastic milk and soft drink bottle tops into bespoke aids for disabled children in under-serviced communities around the world.
First Aid Officer Lorry Rule implemented the project at the College after reading about it online. She is urging all students, parents and staff to donate rather than throw away.
“It is such an easy way for everyone to be involved in charity work,” Lorry said.
“Every household would throw several bottle tops out each and every week, and yet, simply collecting them can make a difference to someone else’s life.
“It is really wonderful to be able to do that, and also look after our environment.
“By donating the bottle tops, we are removing them from our landfill, or worse, our waterways.”
Through the project, the high-density polyethylene is extruded from plastic bottle caps to create functioning filament for 3D printers, which produce hands, other mobility and disability aids, aged-care gadgets and STEM training tools.
The Envision Hands Project has already collected 1,000,000 bottle tops – which was enough to produce 100 hands. It now has its sights set on 2,000,000 caps