Project "New life in exchange for caps" summarized the results of 2020. Through the efforts of its curators and volunteers in Belarus more than 55 tons of plastic capswhich were then handed over for further processing. The funds received were directed to benefit children with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The charitable initiative is implemented by institution "SocioEcoCentre" with the support of a unitary enterprise "Coca-Cola Beverages Belarus".
Plastic collection took place both in the capital and in other cities of Belarus. About 45 tons of caps were recovered from special containersinstalled in shopping centers, shops and educational institutions Minsk and Minsk region. About 10 more tons were delivered from the regions during a large eco-tour, which took place with the financial support of Coca-Cola.
During trips to the regions of Belarus The cap collection truck visited more than 35 cities, where volunteers handed over already collected and sorted plastic waste to the driver.
«In fact, the geographical coverage of this tour was much larger. Some project participants, having coordinated among themselves, independently transferred the caps they collected to nearby settlements. For example, 155 kilograms of plastic were handed over from Gorodok to Vitebskand we just took them out of there", - said the director of "SocioEcoCentre" Natalya Kuntsevich.
The collected lids were transported to a processing plant in Russia, and volunteers pre-sorted them. This stage was especially interesting for schoolchildren, who, together with their parents, while collecting caps, learned the basic principles of sorting and acquired the skills of separate collection of waste. During the largest public sorting, held in November, 2,48 tons of caps were handled.
The money received was donated to the needs of children with CNS diseases. So, for 9-year-old Dima Petrovsky, who received a birth traumatic brain injury of a severe degree, a rehabilitation wheelchair, a special anti-decubitus mattress and an aerosol inhaler were purchased. 7-year-old Petya Rabizo, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, was bought a Kimba wheelchair and the necessary medicines. And brother and sister Timofey and Maya Gursky were paid for expensive rehabilitation courses in a correctional center in Minsk, which prevent their muscles from atrophying.
In general, the volume of targeted charitable assistance to children at the expense of funds received from the delivery of caps for processing amounted to 15,6 thousand rubles.
Also, SocioEcoCentre transferred almost 2,6 thousand rubles to the Minsk Republican Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children, which were received from the delivery of caps collected in containers-houses purchased with the financial support of Coca-Cola Beverages Belorussiya.
For the sponsorship funds received within the framework of the project, the “Republican Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children” purchased various didactic materials focused on the development of fine motor skills, creativity, memory and imagination. Thanks to them, teachers-defectologists and speech therapists of the center received a number of new effective tools for the rehabilitation and adaptation of children with disabilities.
The New Life in Exchange for Caps project was launched in Belarus in 2018. Anyone can take part in it. Caps from PET bottles for drinks, household chemicals and perfumes are accepted for recycling. The main thing is that they have a special marking - a small triangle with the numbers 2, 4 or 5. To collect the caps, special yellow containers with funny characters, "roofs" are provided. You can find them in almost all regions of the country. Most often they are installed in shopping centers, shops, schools and universities.
