Dennis Swinton, a member of the Rochelle Kiwanis Club, has collected more than 6,000 pounds of recycled plastic to create benches and picnic tables for the local community. The project ‘Bottle Caps to Benches’, which began in 2020, has grown into an annual initiative that provides seating for schools and parks throughout the Stateline.
The initiative was first launched at the Rochelle High School Kiwanis Club with the goal of cleaning up the community through bottle cap collection. Swinton and his wife would collect hundreds of pounds worth of plastic and transport it to a company in Evansville, Indiana, where it is processed into durable outdoor furniture.
“You know, a lot of people say we’re saving the landfill,” Swinton said. “We’re saving the world. We’re just, that’s a big part of it. The biggest part to me is the number of people that come together and feel good about doing something.”…