BOTTLE CAPS FOR CHARITY
Story and photos by Ardian Nrecaj Public Affairs Specialist
O
ne bottle cap may not seem like much, but when you collect 570 pounds of them, it could help change the life of someone in need of a wheelchair. The collection of bottle caps started on Camp Bondsteel as an idea of Valdet Gashi, the environmental of?cer for Area Support Team Balkans. “We started the cap project at Camp Bondsteel in June 2012, and our goal was to collect 570 pounds of bottle caps,” said Gashi. “That is how much bottle caps are needed for a purchase of one wheelchair.” Camp Bondsteel has a recycling program where trash gets separated into plastic, paper and metal. Before, plastic bottles with their caps would go in one basket, but since the cap project started they added another basket to separate the caps. “When we recycle a plastic bottle we are saving the earth 400 years. That’s how long it takes to dissolve a plastic bottle, and if we separate the bottle cap from it, then we are giving somebody a chance to have a wheelchair,” said Gashi. “So this is an enhancement of the recycling program; it brings in a humanitarian aspect.” Gashi said they have plans to change the design of the bottle cap collection points on Camp Bondsteel to make them more visible and recognizable. “This is an ongoing project. The ?rst test was to get one wheelchair. In the future we will try to collect more bottle caps,” said Gashi. “So far Camp Bondsteel has collected 1,145 pounds
of bottle caps [since the start of the project].” After the bottle caps at Camp Bondsteel are collected, they are taken to the American University in Pristina and delivered to Korab Ahmeti, the coordinator of the Kosovo Cap Project. It was Korab’s brother, Kushtrim, who started the project after he saw a mother carrying her child on her back because she could not afford a wheelchair and he wanted to ?nd a way to help. “Our goal is to provide a wheelchair to everybody that needs one and cannot afford it,” said Korab. The World Cap Project has spread to 44 different countries since it started in December 2011. The ?rst shipment of collected caps was transported to Turkey with help from the Turkish Embass H[?????? ? H ?X?X?[????\[?H]^?Y?\?[?\??\?H\?]Y[\?K ??\?[?[?\??[Y?Y[Y[? ?] H?\?X[???\[?H? ??????Y[?Z\????X? ?ZY?X?]\?H? X?\?Z?H?[\?? ?Y[??X?[???? H?\ ? ^H ?\?HX?H ???X? L?
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