Creating a monster - True Story of Recycling

So, on last Tuesday, I was taking Sam to a little girl movie. It was a free screening to get opinions on the flick. (This happens often in L.A.) And on the way out, Sam and I took a very recycle-friendly walk through the outdoor mall.

First, we stopped at the bathroom for a very important pit stop before getting in the car for the 30 mile drive home. I noticed an empty water bottle that someone had left there, so, I took it out with me, instead of letting someone throw it in the trash. And, as we left, I noticed another empty plastic bottle on the top of the trash can. So, I grabbed that "nickel" as well. Then we continued and window-shopped as we made our way to the car. As we stopped at the water fountain, we noticed there was a water bottle in the water. I fished that one out too. And Sam wanted to carry them, so I let her, until she said, "Mommy, you hold this one... and this one... and this one too." And as we headed down the stairs in the parking garage, my three year old looked into the trash can that was at her eye-level and said, "Mom! There's THREE in there!" So, we grabbed those bottles out of the trash and took them to the car. So, six bottles rescued from the landfills, and 30 cents in our pocket. And a little girl's education about recycling has begun.

(And for the germaphobes, yes, we wash our hands when we get home.)

Zero to Five Million in 55 minutes

According to "The Good Human" Americans throw away 1,500 cans a second. A second! Man, this should make my project easy. That means, if I collected all those cans people threw away (not to mention plastic or glass bottles) I could make my five million can goal in 3333.3 seconds, or 55 minutes, 33.3 seconds. I kind of wish we weren't throwing away so much valuable material, but just look how much is out there and how much we can reuse and save!

Money on the side of the road

Would you, as you drive down the freeway, toss nickels and dimes out the window? Apparently some people would, because every day I look out the window as I go down freeway exits, and I see empty energy drinks, beer bottles, soda cans, juice cans. Some are flattened, some aren't. I really need to call the highway patrol and ask them just how legal or illegal is it to go pick up trash on the side of the highway? I know it's crazy to risk life and limb for just a few bottles and cans. But I saw about ten empties on the off-ramp to Alameda Ave in Burbank and someone apparently had a party near the Lake Ave off-ramp in Pasadena this morning. I noticed a pile of brown bottles as I drove by. What really keeps me from pulling over (aside from looking like a crazy woman) are my kids in the back seat. Don't want anything to happen to the little ones.

I looked into adopting a highway, and apparently it doesn't mean that you get to go out and clean it up yourself. You just sponsor the people that come and clean it up for you.

How many nickels did you pass on the side of the road today?

About the Five Million Can Project

I'm an out of work mom. When I had this idea, I was still working. Even then, with the cost of daycare, the cost of our mortgage, the cost of health insurance, the cost of day to day life, I didn't know how we were going to save for our kids' college fund.

This idea began that everywhere I went, if I saw a plastic or glass bottle or aluminum can-- a recyclable, that I'd pick it up and take it home and recycle it. I looked at it as a nickel. If I saw a nickel on the ground, I'd pick it up. Wouldn't you? So, these are my nickels.

After looking at the estimated cost of college in 2024 and 2027, respectively, my kids will probably need anywhere from 125,000 to 400,000 to go to college. EACH. If I can raise that minimum amount of money, then put it in a CD for the kids over the years, I should be able to have enough to pay for college for both of them.

How many of those "nickels" or cans would I have to find in order to pay for my kids' college?



Five Million Cans.

So this is the Five Million Can Project. My goals is to get Five Million Cans for my kids by the time my daughter turns 5. She is 3 1/2 now. I and my husband have currently found 416 cans and bottles. (Some bottles are worth more than a nickel according to California Recycling Value-- CRV). This is currently equivalent to 22.45. Obviously, I cannot do this alone, especially since my husband and I rarely drink soda-- Okay, I'm the soda drinker in the house-- and we have made it a rule that we don't buy bottled water unless absolutely necessary. We used to use a Brita filtered pitcher and now we have a filter built into our refrigerator. So, between our offices, where people are pitching their recyclables without a second thought and finding bottles and cans on the street, we're finding those nickels wherever and whenever we can. Even still, we need help. So, will you donate your cans and bottles to our little project?

Hopefully this will lead not only to my kids having a college fund, but also to a larger realization that empty cans and bottles have value. That wasting them by throwing them into the trash where they will just poison the Earth isn't just bad for the environment, but that you can really DO something positive when you don't waste.

Thanks!
The Can Mom.