Buddy Benches

Does your school need a Buddy Bench?  Contact Kiwanis at RedondoKiwanis@gmail.com

Rainbow Buddy Bench

Buddy Benches Work!

Recycle Bottle Caps into Buddy Benches

If you can be anything… Be a Friend.
 
Redondo Beach Kiwanis is committed to installing 500 Buddy Benches in 5 years, to promote Friendship and Kindness on the playground while providing real-life, tangible examples of recycling.  Currently, we've installed 51 Buddy Benches so far!
 
What is a Buddy Bench? 
The Buddy Bench is a simple concept that was created by six 8th graders in 2010 as their entry into a nation-wide academic competition in community “problem solving with the topic of recycling.”   
 
  1. Collect plastic bottle caps (200 pounds worth) and recycle them into plastic Buddy Benches. 
  2. Install Buddy Benches in schools, and when a child is feeling lonely, and/or wants a friend to talk to or play with, they sit on the Buddy Bench. 
  3. The other children show kindness and compassion and offer to assist the student sitting on the bench.
The Buddy Bench is a great concept and it really works.  
 
Buddy Benches come in various colors:  Rainbow, Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Purple, Pink and Grey.  

Collecting and Recycling Bottle Caps

Commercial recycling centers primarily accept and recycle the bottle, not the bottle cap, creating another plastic item that is thrown into the regular trash.  Collecting and repurposing these discarded bottle caps into a buddy bench is an amazing way to keep thousands of pounds of caps out of landfills. 
 
Also, collecting bottle caps creates an accessible project that the students can embrace and perform. It’s also an easy “call to action” for the community to collect caps without much effort.  It takes 200 pounds of bottle caps to make 1 Buddy Bench!


It takes 200 pounds of Bottle Caps to make 1 Buddy Bench!

Thank you to all that collect bottle caps!
For more information, email RedondoKiwanis@gmail.com
 
Monthly Drop-off Site:
First Saturday of Every Month
Alta Vista Park, Redondo Beach
9am - 12 noon.
 
Plastic Bottle Caps - Types #2, #4 and #5 Only Please!
If you are collecting bottle caps, please follow these guidelines:
 
  1. Plastic bottle caps and plastic lids only!
    No metal caps, plastic containers, or overly large lids (8-inch max)
  2. Only bottle caps that have the recycling numbers: #2, #4 & #5.
  3. No plastic bottles, No "orange" pill containers, No other recyclable materials.
  4. Put bottle caps and lids in a sealed/tied plastic bag.  Do not put them in cardboard boxes.
  5. Please do not include anything that is stinky, slimy, mildewy, sandy, or overly dirty.
 
Thank You!  Every plastic bottle caps and lid we collect helps our project and our environment!
 
Click to download a Flyer!