Members of Westerville Girl Scouts Troop 6661 wanted to serve their community in a pandemic world and the results of their 10-month-long service project now sit outside of Alcott Elementary.
The troop collected 208 pounds of bottle caps and worked with Plastics R Unique in Wadsworth, Ohio to convert the plastic into two four-foot benches.
Most members of the troop are third-graders at Alcott. They provided a collection box at Alcott and at their cookie sale booths, reached out to friends and families for their bottle caps, and worked with Spark Preschool to collect caps from on-site snacks. Students and their families then sorted, cleaned and weighed the caps to ensure they were acceptable. When the counting was over, the troop exceeded its goal of collecting 200 pounds of bottle caps.
“Not only does it help animals and our environment, but it’s 200 pounds less of garbage out there and that makes me happy,” Alcott third-grader Caroline Evener said.
The troop has now shifted its focus to supporting Boy Scout Pack 197, also based in Westerville, with their goal of collecting 500 pounds of plastic bags, mailers, and materials so they can also donate a recycled material bench to their meeting location.