Shaler Area students have collected more than 200 pounds of plastic caps that will eventually be recycled into two benches for the upcoming Rainbow Raccoon Park in Millvale.
But those 200 pounds are only a little more than half of their goal, according to Shaler Area High School teacher Abby Nilson.
Nilson teaches sustainability classes and helps run the high school’s Sustainability Club, both of which have been participating in the cap drive. Eventually, she said she will take the collected caps to Green Tree Plastics, a company in Evansville, Ind., to be melted into a plastic lumber material.
Though the cap drive began in October, Nilson said students have been involved in the creation of Rainbow Raccoon Park from the start — including helping to name it.
The park, which will sit between Meade Street and Evergreen Avenue next to Strange Roots Experimental Ales, is set to open in April in Millvale.
The park is the result of years of work by the Millvale Community Development Corporation, of which Nilson is vice president, and community collaborators. It will feature a basketball court, playground and a large rainbow raccoon statue on what was formerly a junkyard.
In keeping with the theme of the park, Nilson said the benches created from the caps also will be rainbow-colored.
Students have been sorting, washing and drying caps for several months, she said, though they recently started using a dishwasher to make the process easier. They can only accept thicker plastic caps, she said, like those found on drink bottles, laundry detergent or shampoo.
Even though the work can be “tedious,” Nilson said the students appreciate participating in the park project.
“I think they are enjoying contributing to the community,” Nilson said.
Kaysia Chelli, vice president of the Sustainability Club, said the drive has been fairly easy because of the abundance of plastic, but there is still work to do collecting caps.
The senior said she and others helped install a rain garden at the park last year, and she is looking forward to using the space once it is complete.
The Sustainability Club is “very engaged” in the community, but the cap drive offers chance for the community to engage with them, Chelli said.
“It’s been fun to do an ongoing project, something the whole community can help with,” she said.
For Danny White, a student in one of Nilson’s classes, the cap drive has made him feel like a part of the park’s creation, he said.
The class, he said, has been “fascinating” and made him consider daily habits.
“It’s kind of cool to see how much plastic people are willing to turn in that would’ve been thrown away,” White said.
Brian Wolovich, board president of the Millvale Community Development Corporation, said the students have been a “central part” of Rainbow Raccoon Park.
The cap drive is “in line with the vision” of the park and representative of the project as a whole, he said.
“The playground itself is like taking a junkyard and turning it into something beautiful, and that’s what the bottle caps are — they’re taking junk and making something beautiful,” he said.
He said the raccoon is an “iconic” image, a “scrappy, smart survivor.” And the park’s rainbow theme is meant to make the space prominent but also show that it welcomes everyone.
Nilson said the collection will extend until April, but she said she encourages community members to donate “quickly” so she can place the bench order within the next two weeks.
Anyone who would like to donate can leave caps at Shaler Area High School’s security office with a note for Nilson or at Lemon Tree Coffee in Millvale.
