PARKERSBURG, W.Va. -- A use has been found for thousands of plastic bottle caps residents across West Virginia collected for cancer treatments before finding out the drive was a hoax.

Hair and skin care company Aveda will use them to make new caps for its products, said West Virginia American Cancer Society spokeswoman Amy Berner.

Aveda is a green company that also contributes to breast cancer research, she said.

"This is not a facility that cashes in caps for cancer treatments,'' Berner stressed. "But it is a place where the caps will not go to waste.''

A hair salon in Princeton will collect the caps. The caps can be mailed to Hairstudio, 313 Locust St., Princeton, WV 24740.

Churches, schools, businesses and individuals from Wheeling to Bluefield collected the caps this summer, hoping to redeem them to offset the cost of cancer treatments for patients. Since the hoax has been exposed, Berner is worried the collected caps have all been discarded.

Aveda's decision to take the caps comes too late for Aleta Brace of Parkersburg, who collected more than 20,000 bottle caps. After finding out about the hoax a few weeks ago, Brace took her caps to a recycling center.

Hair and skin care company Aveda will use them to make new caps for its products, said West Virginia American Cancer Society spokeswoman Amy Berner.

Aveda is a green company that also contributes to breast cancer research, she said.

"This is not a facility that cashes in caps for cancer treatments,'' Berner stressed. "But it is a place where the caps will not go to waste.''

A hair salon in Princeton will collect the caps. The caps can be mailed to Hairstudio, 313 Locust St., Princeton, WV 24740.

Churches, schools, businesses and individuals from Wheeling to Bluefield collected the caps this summer, hoping to redeem them to offset the cost of cancer treatments for patients. Since the hoax has been exposed, Berner is worried the collected caps have all been discarded.

Aveda's decision to take the caps comes too late for Aleta Brace of Parkersburg, who collected more than 20,000 bottle caps. After finding out about the hoax a few weeks ago, Brace took her caps to a recycling center.