My ECOS challenge to you!

An ode to the liquid libation capper, by David Rico - 3D Artist, Game Maker, Human

Have you ever stopped to think about the life of a bottle cap?

(I know, you’re thinking, ‘this just got weird’)

Not the drink.

Not the label.

The bottle cap itself.

That tiny piece of metal whose entire job is to say, “No… not yet.”

Let me tell you it’s story.

First, know there is an entire geological back story of eons of heat, pressure and time before we get to the good stuff.

Once upon a time, it began deep in the earth- as metal minerals buried in the ground.

And then Man changed its trajectory.

In a great escavation operation,

It was mined.

Smelted.

Flattened into massive sheets of alloy…

(Which, by the way, is a very dramatic origins story for something we flick across parking lots.)

From there, it’s shipped to a bottling plant…

coated…

painted…

and finally punched into thousands of small metal circular wafers.

Each one thinking, “I was destined for greatness!”

And each cap waits its turn on an assembly line.

Then—

WHAM!!

A hydraulic press slams it onto a bottle, bending it into shape.

That’s the moment it realizes… “This is not an office job.”

Its identity is sealed.

Quite literally.

Emotionally.

Spiritually.

And there it sits. Clinging to the bottle.

Packed.

Shipped.

Forklifted.

Stored.

Shipped again.

It might travel across countries… even oceans…

to sit…

on a shelf…

maybe refrigerated..

right next to another one that’s content tastes exactly the same.

Until, one day—

With a twist or a back breaking pry…

POP!!

It’s one glorious moment!

The drink is enjoyed.

The label admired.

And the bottle cap?...

Career over. It’s discarded. Thrown into a bin. Or worse… onto the ground.

Where it waits…

patiently…

eroding..

corroding…

rusting..

to attack the next barefoot victim.

(Sigh.)

After ALL that effort…

ALL that cost of energy…

ALL that carbon footprint to make…

That is the tragic end of its story.

Or…is it?

WHAT IF bottle caps could live again?

What if they could bring joy into the world?

Enter… the witch doctor.

With a mighty swing of a hammer, he reincarnates them into

shark attacks,

big steamy piles of horse dung,

bear traps,

and venomous viper fangs…

(Yes— those are real game pieces. I don’t run a normal game shop.)

Lose one?

No problem.

Your local bar has an endless supply.

(Seriously, ask your local bartender to start collecting them)

I think Bartenders will LOVE this plan.

They can give them purpose.

Closure.

And a few questions about recycling bins.

They can gain uniformity and unity by standing with their brethren in arms on a battlefield, or they could stand alone as an actor in a play.

As metal soldiers, they gain new powers—

Conductivity…

Magnetism…

(Which is great… until your entire game sticks together and declares itself one piece.)

And sometimes…

The witch doctor will Han Solo their ass - by freezing them into oversized molds so they’re safe for young kids…and impossible to lose under the couch.

And voilà!

The bottle cap is reborn!

No longer trash.

No longer forgotten.

It lives again— as a humble… heroic… slightly dented game piece.

A much better ending.

Don’t you think?

But here’s the truth.

I can only repurpose what I collect.

And that’s where you come in.

I’m not asking you to recycle out of guilt.

Guilt doesn’t make games fun.

I’m asking you to recycle for the sake of play.

Any, and all of these throw away items can have a second life in my world of games.

• Bottle caps

• Chopsticks

• Bamboo skewers

• Liquor corks

• Refrigerator magnets

• Child‑resistant medicine bottles

• Laundry push‑button plungers

To you, these are things you would otherwise throw away.

To me… They are game pieces just waiting to happen.

So, I’ll leave you with two final questions:

WHAT IF a recycled item… was your ticket to play a game?

WHAT IF a recycled item had commodity value?

Start collecting and stay tuned.

My diabolical plan is simple—To make recycling your purpose to play!