There’s Bad News if You’re Collecting Bottle Caps for Charity

Have you been collecting bottle caps for charity? Some people have been doing it to benefit kids with cancer, others are raising the caps to buy wheel chairs for veterans in need. The bad news is that the whole campaign is a hoax.

The viral hoax as been around for several years and seems to have originated back in 2008 in West Virginia, according to Snopes.com.  "If you collect 1500 plastic bottle caps and give them to uninsured cancer patients, their chemotherapy treatment will be paid for," was one of fake campaigns. As it turns out, there is no demand for the plastic bottle caps and thus, very little value.

In 2008, The American Cancer Society put out the following statement regarding the drive to benefit cancer patients:

"After extensive research, the American Cancer Society has concluded that the Plastic Bottle Caps for Chemo program is a hoax. The origin of the hoax remains unclear, but it is similar to other “cash for trash” hoaxes that have circulated worldwide for years." - American Cancer Society

On Monday, WIBX received an email from a listener who was saving the caps for a drive that was originating from a local car dealership in Utica. Unfortunately, that effort came to an end when it was discovered, there was no place to send the caps to benefit the people in need.

When I called (the) dealership, the person I spoke with was unaware of any drop off being there and a request for a management call back went unanswered......Caps of Love website link not working....

Any idea what’s happening with it.......we have bottle caps from two states and two businesses.  - Listener of WIBX