John Gray Recyclers Target Six-pack Holders

Cayman Islands, Nov., 30 - In an attempt to help reduce local waste levels, John Gray High School Recyclers have been collecting six-pack soda ring holders and on Wednesday 30 November, the students handed over 1,000 plastic six-pack rings to Bodden Beverages.
This marks the fifth time that the recyclers have presented rings which are reused by the beverage company to convert 12-pack cases of soda into the more popular six pack cases. The company benefits from the students’ efforts by not having to order and ship more rings in from the United States and in turn, Bodden Beverages pays to ship excess soda rings to a recycling facility in California.
“We have always tried to save and reuse the six-pack rings on a small scale,” said company owner and manager Rose Bodden. “But with the recyclers’ help we have advanced to a much larger scale of collection, greatly helping us, the environment and our customers.”
Recycling Foreman for the Department of Environmental Health (DEH), Angello Roy and recycling mascot Iggy the Iguana were on site at Bodden Beverages to show their support for the recyclers’ efforts. Since Hurricane Ivan, the DEH has been unable to replace recycling equipment, but staff tries to find other methods to preserve and reuse resources. ”It takes decades for plastic six-pack rings to decompose; re-circulating them ensures that they will not sit in the George Town landfill for years or pose threats to birds and other animals,” explained Mr. Roy.
The recyclers are committed to this recycling programme and have petitioned help from gas stations, stores and even their parents’ workplaces to collect the rings on their behalf. If members of the public are interested in helping to collect six-pack soda rings, the items can be dropped off directly to JGHS in care of school secretary Marguerita Thompson, or collections can be arranged by emailing the recyclers at johngrayrecyclers@hotmail.com. More information about six-pack holder recycling and other John Gray Recyclers projects can be found at www.johngrayrecyclers.org.