Highline Community College’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST) is launching the “Got Caps?” plastic bottle cap collection campaign on Saturday, June 8 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

The MaST Center is partnering with community organizations and local schools to collect bottle caps to prevent accumulation in our landfills. The caps will be reused for eco-art educational projects and distributed to partnering organizations for proper recycling.

The launch event will include workshops to teach different ways to reuse caps for things such as children’s projects or garden art, and a “Sink Your Boat” contest. Attendees that bring a grocery bag of plastic bottle caps to the MaST Center will be entered to win prizes such as a Salty’s at Redondo gift certificate, an iTunes gift card, a “sustainable” gift package and more.

Despite common perceptions, plastic bottle caps are one of the least commonly recycled items. These caps eventually become litter in our oceans, streams and beaches. Each year countless birds, mammals and sea turtles die from ingesting caps and other plastic debris. Even in a landfill, a plastic bottle cap can pose a threat to scavenging birds and land animals.

There are no measures to guarantee that municipalities recycle bottle caps. In response, the MaST Center will be collecting bottle caps to prevent further build up in landfills. School groups and other organizations are welcome to become involved in collection efforts.

The campaign was also prompted by the gray whale that beached on Arroyo Beach in April 2010 where an examination of his stomach revealed large amounts of plastic. For community awareness and education, the MaST Center permanently showcases the skeleton of the gray whale along with an exhibit of the actual stomach contents.

“After discovering the plastic debris in the stomach of the gray whale and working on a research project involving marine debris and microplastics, I realized the direct impact we as humans have on the Puget Sound and our ecosystem. I hope this campaign will spread awareness that these recyclable caps will end up in our waterways unless we properly recycle them,” said campaign director Nicole Bostic.

The MaST Center is located at 28203 Redondo Beach Dr. S. in Des Moines.

For more information about the campaign or collection efforts, contact Nicole Bostic at nbostic@highline.edu or visit mast.highline.edu/bottlecaps.php.