As progress toward a splash pad at William Zimmer Memorial Park has steadily been made over the past few months, a Waterloo nonprofit has continued its efforts toward furnishing the new attraction by encouraging residents to donate their recyclable lids.

Waterloo Citizens For a Pool President Amy Grandcolas has been present at Waterloo Park District Board meetings over the past few months to discuss her organization’s efforts.

WCP is working with Green Tree Plastics, a company out of Evansville, Ind., specializing in recyclable manufacturing. In specific, the company has what it calls an ABC (A Bench for Caps) Promise Partnership which allows customers to receive a substantial discount on benches and other furniture if they donate the materials.

Grandcolas spoke with the Republic-Times to offer an overview of this partnership program and WCP’s efforts over the past few months toward its “Park It” campaign.

She noted that the idea originally came from WCP member Dawn Rubemeyer, who reached out on social media last year to ask folks if they had continued gathering recyclables following completion of previous such campaigns in the community.

Grandcolas specifically recalled how members of Girl Scout Troop 576 in Waterloo had installed a recycled bench near the gaga ball pit at Zimmer Park.

“She got a really good response of a lot of people saying ‘Yeah, we’ve been collecting, but I don’t know anyone that needs them,’” Grandcolas said. “So she got the idea, ‘Why don’t we go ahead and collect, as WCP, and get a bench for the upcoming splash pad?’ And we all loved it, thought it was a great idea.”

The organization began looking into the idea in late summer, ultimately settling on Green Tree Plastics given how good its prices were with the ABC Partnership, as Grandcolas said.

Through the fall, WCP also began speaking with members of the William Zimmer Family Foundation, the organization which had previously expressed interest in helping fund the splash pad, though that collaboration ultimately didn’t take place.

Grandcolas recalled that the foundation was very receptive as WCP met to discuss the furnishing ideas, and it pledged to fund the entire cost of the recycled furniture, additionally paying for three shade structures for the splash pad which have been ordered from another vendor.

Altogether, WCP is shooting to purchase six tables and 10 benches, with the total amount of recycled plastic required to halve the cost sitting at 5,200 pounds.

Grandcolas said the campaign really began in October, with the first big push for community awareness at the Waterloo PumpkinFest and Halloween Trunk or Treat events.

By November, the group had collected just over 200 pounds. That figure nearly reached 400 pounds by the end of the year, topped 600 pounds at the end of January and has since jumped up to over 900 pounds at latest count.

Grandcolas explained that this progress – particularly the substantial surge that’s taken place in just the past few weeks – looks extremely promising, though there is still plenty of plastic to collect in order to reach that lofty goal of 5,200 pounds.

Given the tremendous gap that still remains, she said WCP is focusing on the long-term. Grandcolas said she’s been asked by a number of people when the campaign will end, but she has said there is no true deadline.

“As this campaign has gone forward and we’re getting a better idea of what we can realistically collect in a certain amount of time, WCP has set a goal for ourselves internally that we would like to get at least half of our initial goal collected by the summer to get at least half of the furnishings there for this summer,” Grandcolas said. “Realistically, we then think we can get the other half for next summer.”

This timeline would see WCP members twice taking a moving truck filled with caps to Green Tree Plastic’s Indiana location in order for the donations to be turned into a set of benches and tables which would be picked up later.

Grandcolas noted that, just as WCP has taken advantage of folks who have continued their recycling habits leftover from previous projects, WCP would be happy to continue organizing these recycling efforts for additional projects down the line.

“We’re open to continuing the campaign for other community and park projects,” Grandcolas said. “Recycled benches and tables everywhere.”

On top of the utility of having this furniture around the splash pad – and, potentially, even more furnishings around Waterloo’s parks – Grandcolas spoke about the personal element to this sort of campaign and how residents can enjoy getting to use an amenity they directly contributed to.

“I think it’s really fulfilling for a lot of families and children to think that the bench or the table they might be sitting on when they visit the splash pad or one of the parks was something they helped contribute to and make,” Grandcolas said. “Kids get really excited about that, and even as adults it gives you a little sense of pride, especially for those of us that have been spending so much time on this. We want to keep that sense of community and contribution to your community going for our supporters and residents for as long as possible.”

Regarding actual donations, there’s a large list of recyclable lids WCP is currently accepting.

While a full list can be found at waterloopool.com and on the Waterloo Citizens for a Pool Facebook page, the general rule is that caps or lids must be marked with a recycle number of two, four or five.

Grandcolas said that, especially on certain fast food lids, the small triangle with the number inside can be rather difficult to notice.

Some of the more common items featured on WCP’s list include drinking bottle caps, deodorant caps, hair spray caps, milk jug caps and shampoo and conditioner caps.

Grandcolas added that, while lids for liquids seem to be the most common donation, there are also plenty of donatable lids from food items. She pointed to peanut butter jar lids and butter tub lids, but the WCP list also notes coffee can lids, Parmesan cheese lids and others.

Along with a list of accepted items, WCP also points out a number of items that cannot be donated, including non-lid items like plastic bags and actual drink bottles as well as soap or lotion pumps and the tops of bottles with trigger sprayers.

Grandcolas said a great deal of progress has been made recently thanks to the help of several businesses and organizations in the community.

She noted how two local pharmacies have been donating caps from their bulk prescription bottles, and WCP is planning on reaching out to other pharmacies in the area for similar donations.

Additionally, she said local 4-H students, daycares and senior care facilities in the area as well as several businesses have been collecting caps and lids to donate.

Grandcolas urged residents to contribute to the campaign however they can.

“Collect at home. Collect at work,” Grandcolas said. “It’s so easy if you just make yourself a little box and put it on your counter that you toss the lids into as you go. Same with a break room at work. We would love to keep getting more collection sites if any businesses or facilities want to add a large bin like City Hall and (Morrison-Talbott Library) have.”

This past Saturday, WCP members and several volunteers spent some time at a local laundromat running donations through the wash in order to make sure they’re clean enough to bring to Green Tree.

One individual present was Waterloo Park Board President Gina Pfund, who expressed appreciation for WCP’s efforts and the collaboration with the park district.

“I am so appreciative. The park district is so appreciative of Waterloo Citizens For a Pool doing this,” Pfund said. “This is ideally how it should be with organizations wanting to work together.”

Grandcolas further remarked on her hopes and expectations for the campaign.

“I really find that this goal is very achievable if everyone just chips in and does their part,” Grandcolas said. “I once had another community leader say to me ‘Many hands make light work,’ and that’s exactly our mantra for hitting this goal here at the beginning of the summer to do half the work.”

As previously mentioned, a full list of accepted donations can be found at waterloopool.com, along with a single-page printable list for those wishing to share the information at their business.

Donations can be brought to Waterloo City Hall or Morrison-Talbott Library during regular hours of operation.

Businesses or organizations interested in establishing another drop-off location can reach out to waterloocitizensforapool@gmail.com.

Individuals interested in volunteering for future cap-cleaning sessions – as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, WCP can sign off on service hours – can similarly reach out to waterloocitizensforapool@gmail.com.