Recycle, Reduce & Reuse Tip-of-the-Week

If you drink pop or beer, you are already be recycling your cans...right?

Invest under $10 in a can crusher at your local home improvement store. Put it up by your recycling bin, but easily assessable so you will use it. Place it low enough if it is going to turn into a child's chore. Collect the pop tops before you crush the cans. Our local schools collect them to use as a fundraiser, otherwise McDonald's collect them to use for the Ronald McDonald House too.

Now make sure you are not putting the crushed cans into the regular recycling. We have a large black plastic garbage bag inside an old laundry hamper on the landing in the garage. When the bag if full bring it to your local recycle center or scrap yard for payment. I will be bringing two bags in this weekend, and will let you know how much I got!

Now if you plan on reusing your pop cans and tops there are many options now too. Here is a sight for using the tops to make a belt. She has great up-close pictures so they are easy to follow. Or use the cans themselves to make a crocheted purse like the old beer can hats from the 70's.

If you are planning on reduce, it is easy...stop drinking pop or beer. I gave up my Diet Coke addiction after Christmas. I only have about one every other week now. Water has become my beverage of choice. I gave up drinking beer after college (long story, but I'm sure you can figure it out!). If you can't give it up, just make sure you are recycling every can. Cans are the easiest items that we can recycle.

Now for the facts about aluminum soda & pop cans:

We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans every year.

There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.

A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days.

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.

Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.

At one time, aluminum was more valuable than gold!