Recycling cat food cans are possible, recommended, and environmental-friendly. The cans are mostly made of steel and tin, and in some cases, you may get aluminum cans. Luckily, all these metals are recyclable.
There are recycling companies all over, and you must know one within your region. You can drop your used cat food cans there. You can recycle the food cans by reusing them for other home and decor purposes.
We will discuss this and much more on cat food cans, shedding light on why and how you can recycle the cat food cans.
Recycling Cat Food Cans
Essentially, you should recycle cat food cans because they are recyclable material. Moreover, you will prevent carbon that fills the air from making the metal cans from raw materials. Recycling prevents approximately 95 percent of air pollution from carbon.
Even after so much recycling is done, there is still a metal accessory filled with manufacture from raw materials. So, imagine how much more would require processing and how much more carbon would be released into the air without recycling.
Other than that, metal is non-biodegradable. If you leave it lying in dumpsites, it will never decompose, and over time it keeps heaping the scene is not pleasant. It can hurt and even lead to tetanus if you step or fall on a sharp edge that has been lying down for some time.
Due to the high demand for the metal for recycling, recycling companies pay for the used tins. Therefore, you can make an income from your cat food cans and still positively impact the environment.
As mentioned, most cat food is made from steel, and surprisingly, steel is the most recycled metal today. Companies that use the metal never get enough of it, hence recycling it at the slightest opportunity.
Besides, steel has the most diverse functions of the food can materials. It can be recycled into an automotive part, a food can, and much more.
Finally, recycling cans does not necessarily mean that they have to go back to the factory. You can offer them to companies and individuals who remake the cans for other uses. Or, you can come up with some DIY ideas on making something beautiful and valuable from the cans. We will look into this as well.
Can Cat Food Cans be Recyclable for Money?
Yes, they can! Due to the high demand for ready meals, most recycling companies pay for any metallic product that you bring them. Cat food cans can be paid per piece or weight, depending on your region and the company.
If you want a substantial amount of money from your cat food cans, you can store many of them before taking them to the recycling company. You will be surprised to buy several more tins of cat food from the money, saving you a fortune.
During pet food can recycling, which is currently happening in some states in the US, you will get bonus points for each can you take for recycling. Once your bonus points add up to a good amount of money, you can redeem them for cash or get a shopping voucher.
What Can You Do with Empty Cat Food Cans?
Empty cat food cans can be recycled or reused because they are non-biodegradable. You don’t have to include them in the trash bin, where they will end up in a dumpsite and become an environmental nuisance.
Like we have said above, there are tonnes of reasons why you should take your cat food cans to the recycling companies. However, you can be creative with the cans, and below are a few ideas that you should consider:
- Use Them for Kids Play
Cat food cans are, in most cases, short and wide. You can get rid of the sharp points and then paint them colorfully for the kids to play.
One most effective way I have seen work is painting letters and numbers in the tins for preschoolers learning.
You can paint them using different colors for the kids to identify colors. If you have tins in various sizes, you can let the kids stack them based on color and shapes.
- Make Scented Candles
If you can make wax and scented candles, the cat food cans are an excellent opportunity to explore your skills. You can paint them to a more attractive outlook and create beautiful and expensive candles out of the cans.
- Artwork
The best part I love about art is that you can use anything to create something completely different. Cat food cans can be transformed into a portrait frame. They can be used to draw portraits and paintings.
If you are still an amateur in the art field, you can start with the available cat food cans to make advancements.
On top of that, if you display your work and get numerous orders, you can buy cat food (using EBT, is it possible?) tins from neighbors and cat owners to advance your business.
- Home and Office Decor
There are beautiful home and office decor that you can make from cat food cans. For instance, you can paint the cans in different colors, then cut them into rings that you design for the office or the house.
You can cut the cans into different shapes for prepossessing interior decor. Or, you can hang the cans outside the house for a cute natural outlook.
- Scaring Pests in the Farm
Cat food cans are thin metals, which will make a good enough sound to scare pests such as squirrels and birds on the farm. You will only need to put several together and hang them well in strategic points on the farm.
- Flower and Plant Pots
If you love nature, you must have thought about including flowers or small plants in your home. The cat food cans can act as flower pots for the small flowers and plants, especially if large cans are sufficient for flower roots.
- Can Stove
This is the most interesting fact, that you can make a stove out of cat food cans. Since the cans are malleable, you can cut them and put fuel such as grease or wax. Then, please put it on a larger can or some other tin and light your fire for experiments and minor cooking works.
- Holders
The cans can act as candle and wine holders for an alluring interior design. Stick the cans together on a wall in a shape of your choice. Then, place the candles on the lower side of the can for a beautiful outlook.
For the wine display, you will put the short wine bottles in the cans stuck on the wall, and then your guests can have an easy pick.
Is There a Difference Between Aluminum and Steel Cans?
Yes, there is. In most cases, aluminum is used to store canned drinks, while steel is used for pet foods. However, some companies use aluminum for pet food, especially cat food.
Steel cans are magnetic, so a magnet is used to sort them from aluminum cans in the recycling companies.
When it comes to cost, you might earn more with aluminum cans compared to steel cans.
Can You Recycle Aluminum Cat Food Cans for Money?
Yes, you can. Aluminum is recyclable and can be recycled for money. Actually, aluminum cans will earn you more money compared to steel or even tin. Therefore, if you want to make good money out of recycling, aluminum cat food may give you more.
While steel is widely used in cat food cans, there are instances of cat food in aluminum cans. If you buy food from, for instance, Friskies, you will find that the cat food is in aluminum cans.
How many aluminum food cans are in a pound?
Basically, approximately thirty-two cat food cans will add up to a pound, which is the standard measure for recycling metals.
Other than selling the cans to recycling companies, aluminum cat food can scrap is in high demand in scrap metal shops. Hence, even when you think that the can is too damaged for sale at the recycle shop, consider a scrap shop, and you will be surprised.
Are Cat Food Can Lids Recyclable?
Yes, they are. Cat food can lids look small and almost impossible to consider as a recyclable material. You may even wonder whether the lids are accepted at the recycling store.
Surprisingly, the cat food can lids are recyclable, and you shouldn’t leave them behind when taking the tins for recycling.
However, there are precautions that you should take to ensure that the lids actually get recycled. Recycling companies say that the lids may end up getting sorted wrongly and probably trashed, while others may end up in the water drainage.
The good news is that they have given us a way to help. They recommend that you put the lid into the tin, then press the can at the top to ensure that the lid stays in place. The alternative is to leave the lid attached slightly to the tin so that it will not fall.
If you have so many of them pin the house without as many cans, you can stash them together in one can in such a way that they will not fall. This way, they will easily get into the melting process and be useful in the long run.
The recycling companies melt the metals into a large sheet molded into different metal products when recycling material. Therefore, even that little lid will come in handy, making something more useful.
How to Clean Cat Food Cans for Recycling
It is not necessary to clean the cat food cans before taking them for recycling. However, cleaning them makes them suitable to keep in the house as you await them to pile up. If you don’t clean them, you may attract pests and foul smells in the house.
Clean the cat food cans with water and dish wash, just as with regular utensils. You may use a disinfectant to prevent the foul smell completely. Then, dry them to prevent dampness where you keep them. Once they dry up, tore them in a bag or a shelf.
You may already know that the company will not recycle the can’ label and other plastic material lining the can. However, this should not worry you at all.
This is because once you take the cans for recycling, they will be stacked with other cans and cleaned using a chemical that gets rid of labels. Then, during the melting process, the plastic will all melt away, not affecting recycling.
Recycling Food Cans for Money
Food cans are made of tin, steel, and aluminum. Therefore, they are suitable for recycling. Actually, you will find most food cans with the recycling label on them, giving you the go-ahead.
Whether it is human or pet canned food, you can always recycle food cans. After all, you can make an income out of the deal on top of being a sustainable environment ambassador.
Recycling Cat Food Cans (Why and How)
Recycling cat food cans is vital for environmental purposes. It helps avoid more manufacture of the metals, which is harmful to the air. They minimize non-biodegradable garbage waste.
Companies that buy or take recycling material will always take the cat food cans, so you don’t have to wonder about it. Besides, how about turning creative and innovative with the cans and bringing out something awesome and unique?
In a Nutshell;
Nothing is more satisfying than knowing that what you are doing definitely makes a positive impact. When you consider recycling cat food cans, this is the feeling that you invite. You become an environmental sustainability ambassador while making money out of it.
You can get a skill or a hobby out of the used cat food cans, and who knows, probably a career?