The Girl Guides of the Cape West region attempted to break a world record for the longest string of plastic bottle caps, at the Old Mutual Sports ground in Pinelands yesterday, April 4.
The event was also part of a drive to collect plastic bottle caps for recycling to raise funds for Operation Smile, an NPO which provides surgery to those born with cleft lips and cleft palates.
Lauren Bright, country manager of Operation Smile South Africa, said the event was a good way to get the community engaged in their fund-raising.
“The money that is raised from the recycled bottle tops enable us to give cleft and palate surgery to children and adults in rural and marginalised areas,” said Ms Bright
The Girl Guides attempted to break the previous record of 117 040 bottle caps stringed.
Before the event they collected over 1 million bottle caps with support of the community, Operation Smile SA and Fair Cape Dairies.
Yesterday they attempted to string between 120 000 and 150 000 caps which, once completed, would be 2km long.
Tanya Prinsloo, event co-ordinator and director of Girl Guides Cape West region, said that apart from promoting the function of Girl Guides, the world record attempt would help put smiles back on children’s faces.
Approximately 280 Girl Guides working in eight different shifts of 35 girls a shift were hard at work yesterday to break the record.
Zoe Prinsloo,15, from the Bothasig Girl Guides, said: “It is amazing, a lot has gone into it, obviously with my mom being a organiser, it is a lot of stress on me, I have bottle caps coming out of my ears, there is a lot of preparation.”
The Girl Guides were making good progress and were on 61 000 caps stringed by 1pm yesterday.
The event was to continue until 5pm.
