• Don’t Drop the Top effectively diverts thousands of pounds of non-recyclable plastics from our region’s landfills
• Aims to prompt individuals to reflect on their plastic consumption and make conscious choices about how to recycle the plastics they use
• This grant will create additional collection bins in the North Tahoe Region to increase the recycling of plastic lids
• Benches will be made from this plastic and donated to the community

RECENT UPDATES:

• Cap collection bins are at the following locations, with pickup happening weekly or monthly, depending on location:
  • North Lake Tahoe Visitor Centers in Tahoe City and Kings Beach
  • Sugar Pine Cakery
  • Tahoe Lake Elementary School
  • Tahoe Forest Hospital Pharmacy
  • Tahoe Forest Hospital Lobby
  • Truckee Elementary School
  • Tahoe Environmental Research Center
• New laundry bag system: reusable, durable bags have replaced single-use liners in bins, reducing waste and improving transport reliability
• New installations:
  • A six-foot bench was delivered to Palisades Tahoe
  • A garden box was installed at New Moon Natural Foods
• North Tahoe Middle School students supported cap sorting as part of a classroom project.
• Prescription bottles are now accepted in all collection bins.

PREVIOUS UPDATES:

In the winter of 2024, 2,000 pounds of caps were sent to be recycled into 15 benches and 3 raised garden beds. Plaques were made for benches and garden beds, and a new storage shed was installed to hold a future increase in caps from the North Lake Tahoe region.

In the Fall of 2024, Don’t Drop the Top planned and executed the Annual Community Sorting Event. 1,959 pounds of caps were sorted by 120 volunteers (259 pounds more than last year’s collection efforts!).