Recycle #1: caps and lids

Can you recycle bottle caps and jar lids? May you recycle them? I was under the impression that you were not supposed to recycle these bits of containers and that they could disrupt the recycling process, so I did some research. Here is what I found out:
* My city DOES recycle caps and lids as long as they are off of the containers, but not all towns do.
* The tops must be off the containers for two reasons. First because they are made of different materials, and secondly to encourage good rinsing of containers (food contaminants can get a bunch of material trashed instead of recycled).
*If your town does not recycle caps, you can bring some of them to: http://aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.asp... if there is a convenient store, although these does not seem like an easy choice because you would have to collect all the caps separately.
*Soda bottle caps are made of polypropylene (#5 plastic, PP) while soda bottles are made of polyethylene teraphthalate (#1 plastic, PET).
Here is a great website for looking up what your town does and does not recycle: http://earth911.com/. I know bottle tops and lids are small, but I hate the idea of all of them sitting in the landfill for decades or even centuries to come. Easy choice: leave the lids and caps off of empty containers and recycle both pieces!