- HubPages»
- Politics and Social Issues
Returning bottles "Can" Make a Difference!
Who wants to help Make-A-Wish come true?
Several years ago my cousin had a friend in high school that was not expected to make it to graduation. At that time the Make-A-Wish foundation stepped in and to quote a Fraze "granted her wish."
Her wish was to meet the musical group U2. At the time they were in a different country. The Make-A-Wish foundation told her that she and a friend could pack their bags and fly over to that country and meet them. She took my cousin with her. With this said they both flew out and spent some time in another country meeting and enjoying time with U2.
It turned out that she did not make it to graduation and the commencement was in her memory.
So where am I going with this you wonder? And why did I associate it with bottles and cans...
I am glad you asked.
Some states will have a bottle return policy of a nickle per can.
The important question is...
WHERE WILL THAT NICKLE GO!
Image - http://wish.org/
look at this can and think, where will this go? - What will it become?
Look what someone made. - This was taken at the bottle return location around the corner.
Someone tossed this away... - Droped along the road side.
Or will you return it? - Taken at a local Wal-Mart
At work people thought I was strange."OK stranger than usual" - I would spend my lunch time and break times walking the floor and picking cans and bottles out o
After one week I would have enough to do a small shoping trip. - There was an average of $20.00 per week.
In time that "Can" really add up.
After all that here is the reason for this page.
I found that after a while that there were organizations that my company was doing fund raisers for . The nice thing is that any money that was raised would be matched by them. I approached management and asked if we could get some bins set up with signs for people to return the bottles and cans to. I agreed to be the one to do the returns and to turn the money in at the end of the month.
Three great thins that have happened this year.
1) From just the bottle return we are already over $500.00 and that is before the matching.
2) There is a bottle return location near me that will count them and had over the cash.
3) They have a coupon in one of the local papers that if you bring it in you will get $.06 per returnable.
This will turn one nickel into $.12 for each can that is returned.
With this being said... Before being matched, these are the numbers:
2012
January - $84.02
February - $53.52
March - $67.35
April - $125.75
May - $206.50
June - $154.59
July: $112.41
August - $110.46
September - $82.20
October - $58.63
November - $64.16
December - $126.96
Total for 2012 - $1,246.55
Total after being matched - $2,493.10
2013
January - $190.28
February - $181.87
March - $192.92
April - $117.91
Total for 2013 - $682.98
Total after being matched - $1,365.96
Grand Total - $3,859.06
I do realize that not every nickle "Can" be matched but in the words of my grandfather, "Every little bit helps."
The image shown with this section was gotten from - The Make-A-Wish web site several years ago.
Just when you thought it was over..
Its time to pop your top.
Our local hospital has a fund raiser where they will collect the tabs for their own fund rasing campaign.
This is just something els to make that lonely nickle go a little bit farther.
Now that you have viewed this page, tell me, "Can" you help Make-A-Wish come true?
Where do your returnables go? - I realize not every state has this as an option.
Where do your cans go?
Other giving sites.
- How To Raise Money For Charity
I had found this and thought it would be another good lens for folks to look into in the area of giving. - 101 Ways to Fundraise
Look another lens with ideas on fund Raising
Please let me know what you think.
I find it hard to believe that there are still parts of the world which do not have recycling available even though the bottles are sold there. I try to recycle anything and everything I can from the items we purchase no matter what they are related to, it is a part of our world now, and if we want it to last for our children's children, we must do what we can now.
- Author
@Sylvestermouse: Very true.
Our recyclables are picked up each week, just like our trash, but we don't get paid for them. Either way, it is the responsible thing to do.
- Author
@Diana Wenzel: Nice to know you are willing to take a little bit of your own time to reach out and help. Also enjoy that next visit with your mom.
I pick up tons of bottles and cans that are thrown out car windows. They are not easy to recycle or redeem in my state, but I plan to take them with me the next time I visit my mother. Her state does pay for the returned bottles. I donate the cans to Habitat for Humanity.
- Author
@ColettaTeske: Glad to share. And if you are going down the craft path my aunt used to make hats out of the cans.
We used to save our cans for a neighborhood kid. Our only other alternative is to use cans for crafts or to recycle. Great idea and good work! Thank you!
- Author
@TaraWojt: And the scary part is there are still more that are being tossed. But I can only dig down so far.
Wow, that really does add up. I usually just recycle mine but now you have me thinking about returning them for the deposit.
- Author
@bernie74 lm: Thanks I try and keep it up to date.
What a wonderful lens and ribte, thanks for sharing
Very interesting lens, Thumbs up!
Awesome lens, great job! Squidlike
- Author
@TonyPayne: We don't either. It is mostly plasic. But you have to admit it helped play into the title nicely.
We recycle everything that the local council takes for recycling, but we rarely drink out of cans these days.
Awesome stuff - really feels good to give back. Blessed by a SquidAngel!
Wow, it really does add up! We don't have a deposit, but we do recycle and I hope someone (besides the environment) benefits.
I have 2 bags of cans in my trunk right now. When I see someone collecting cans I want to give them the bags. thanks for the article! I hope more people recycle!
- Author
@WriterJanis2: Thank you.
Such a great cause.
- Author
@anonymous: Nice to know where you are from. I have some friends from Australia that started as exchange students here in the states. They now have 4 kids. Its great to hear what your nephew pulled off in one night.
Sorry but I have to say this - It's a nickle here and you get $1. Does this mean that the exchange rate has gone up?
This is a great lens. I live in Western Australia, and we don't have returns on cans or bottles, which is insane. We did have it when I was growing up, but the government stopped it some years ago - yeah, result is more landfill and less kids cleaning up the streets. My nephew recently went to a rock concert and the organisers paid people $1 per can returned. My nephew made $300 that night, which more than paid for his ticket.
I see a lot of homeless in my town looking in trash bins all the time getting bottles and cans to return for the deposit.
.
TIP: I wash my bottles and cans out with water before taking them in. This way they are not all sticky and get my hands in a mess.
Great lens! shame people don't realise the environmental issues plastic bottles and cans cause. I created a video for a charity which is trying to ban bottled water in schools and promote life lasting bottles, which I personally think is a fantastic idea!
Great lens. If only everyone would recycle and repurpose...
We place all our recyclables in the "blue bin" and they're removed each week by an elderly woman who returns them for the deposit. Our genius mayor wants to crack down on people who do this, so we're trying to leave things in a bag for her.
26