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What to Do With Your Old Soda Cans

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Don't let your aluminum cans go to waste

What can you do with your used soda cans? pop cans? beer cans? What are your choices? Think your have two options: trash it or recycle it? I assure you, there are many more options than that. People worldwide are using aluminum cans in creative and amazing ways. Find out how to release the potential that lies within a used soda can.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. With aluminum cans too RECYCLE is too often limited to cans with a deposit, and REUSE is forgotten altogether.

Run Your Car on Hydrogen

Okay, so not really practical, and not a project for the average person. But, hey, if you are the science experiment type, then give it a whirl.

Run Your Car on Hydrogen from Aluminum Soda Cans and Lye: James Burgett of computer recycling fame shows me his test setup at ACCRC for running his Lincoln on aluminum soda cans. They threw this rig together quickly to test the concept. The concept works.

What do you do?

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Make a Suit of Chainmail Armor

Using a couple hundred soda can tabs and some wire, you can make for yourself a custom fit suit of chainmail.

This will be perfect for the next Renaissance Festival, or any a role-paying event. Make a suit for Halloween!

How To Make a Suit of Chainmail Armor

Thanks to LauraSchofield who brought this one to my attention.

Project Ideas

Aluminum Can Craft Ideas

This site has some of the most amazing aluminum can projects that are within the range of possibility for most crafters. Included in three e-books are step-by-step directions on making hundreds of wreaths, ornaments, centerpieces, floral arrangements, handbags, baskets, wall art, and more.

Several samples projects are provided for free on the site such as Easter Lilies, Fireworks, and Star Ornament, among others.

Aluminous Publishing's Aluminum Can Craft E-books
Recycle aluminum soda beverage cans to wreaths, baskets, Christmas ornaments, wall hangings, pull-tabs purses with full-size patterns, pictures and instructions. Download, recycle and create.

Make a Soda Can Hat

Knit an aluminum can hat

Learn to make your own aluminum can hat from the Tin Can Alley. They have a tutorial for two styles of hats, a bag and a tissue cozy! Apparently there is a long tradition of this handicraft.

Another pattern is available at knit1mag.com

If you are not one to crochet, then you may want to pick up one of these hats:

Soda Can Sculpture

Use soda cans in a sculpture whether small or grand. These are a few examples of talented use of this aluminum medium.
This gallery shows many other talented sculptures as well.

curated content from Flickr

Important!

Aluminum Can Fact:

You can make 20 recycled aluminum cans with the energy it takes to make one new aluminum can from bauxite ore.(Community Recycling, Belington, Washington)

Cover Your House with Aluminum (Can) Siding

A new whole new take on aluminum siding

Architect Richard Van Os Keuls, a resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, has put up new aluminum siding on his house. Well, the siding is new, the aluminum is not. In fact, it's not really "siding", it actually covered in aluminum can shingles...flattened beer and soda cans laid over each other, covering the exterior of his house.

Van Os Keuls - Innovative building materials from everyday tin cans: eco-artware Recycling Rag Newsletter: Richard Van Os Keuls' Soda Can Covered House
Van Os Keuls - Innovative building materials from everyday tin cans: eco-artware Recycling Rag Newsletter: Richard Van Os Keuls' Soda Can Covered House
Washington Post Article on Van Os Keuls House: Drinks on the House - When the Root Beer Is Gone, the Can Lives On

Make a Pop Can Stove

A backpacker's handy burner

Build your own stove with just two soda cans and a few common tools. Being lightweight and cheap, this is a great item for backpackers and campers.

Learn more about the stove at this lens: Pepsi Can Stove. Graphics showing the physics of these is available at wikipedia.

How To Build A Pop Can ( Alcohol Stove ) Pt. 1: by THREEFLOORSDOWN1 | video info

66 ratings | 40,035 views

curated content from YouTube

Lotus Flower Tealight

Lotus Tealight made from an Iced Tea Can: From the Craft Chi Blog, Amy Ybarra Murphy gives instructions and a pattern to make a beautiful lotus flower tealight holder out of an Arizona Iced tea can (or any other can).

Thanks to a_willow who brought this one to my attention.

Other Soda Can Ideas

Soda Can Mini Golf - remove the lid from a soda can, and cut a few 1/2 inch lines vertically going around the top, fold them back (so it is not sharp). Next go out in the back yard and dig holes to fit the cans. You have a mini golf course ready to play!

Other Pop Can Ideas

Pop cans: by Kalashnikov210 | video info

0 ratings | 1,732 views

curated content from YouTube

Make a Shark

Tesscar Aluminum Craft -- Recycle your favorite beverage can into a work of art!: Recycle aluminum cans into this adorable shark.
Free instructions available.

Incentive?

Despite the fact that the deposit system used in some states includes only carbonated drinks, and therefore excludes canned lemonade, iced tea, bottled water, etc., do you think that the system of paying a deposit is appropriate.

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Pop Top Purse or Belt

Novica connects artists worldwide this shoppers equally as worldwide on eBay. Through Novica, Neide Ambrosio has the outlet to sell these amazing and hot handbags made with soda pop tops. Amazing!

Soda pop-top handbag, 'Shimmery Chic in Turquoise'

Soda pop-top handbag, 'Rustic Golden Fan'

Soda pop-top handbag, 'Black Shimmery Chic'

Soda pop-top shoulder bag, 'Silver Mandala Energy'

Soda pop-top belt, 'Midnight Chain Mail' (wide)

Soda pop-top coin purse, 'Sky Blue Style'

Soda pop-top cell phone pouch, 'Three Colors True'

Soda pop-top shoulder bag, 'Mandala Ash White'

Donate Them

A nickel may not mean very much to you, but it means a lot to some.

Many local boy scout troops collect soda cans for fund raising.
-or-
Donate your aluminum cans to Habitat for Humanity:

CansForHabitat.org: Cans for Habitat is a partnership between The Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity International that promotes the value of aluminum can recycling. Through Cans for Habitat, aluminum cans are recycled to raise money for Habitat for Humanity to build decent, affordable housing with low-income families nationwide. Established in 1997, the program now boasts more than 1,000 member affiliates and 3,000 participating recyclers.

Photos of More Great Uses for Aluminum Cans

curated content from Flickr

Important!

Aluminum Can Fact:

An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now.

A recycled aluminum can be made into a new aluminum can in as little as 60 days, and then be recycled again over and over.

Make an Airplane

How to Build a Model Airplane out of Beer Cans: Here is the actual pattern for the airplane shown in the photo to the right.
Do it yourself: make your own soda can airplane: Aluminum soda cans can be used in crafts; instead of recycling them all, why not use some to make a model? Find out how to make your own airplane with these step-by-step instructions.
SODACAN AIRPLANES: SODACAN (soda can) AIRPLANES AND BEER CAN (beercan) AIRPLANE MODEL KIT

Make 'Em Dance

Become a better videographer by directing your very own soda can stop motion animation. Very Sesame Street; very cool.

Pop Canz: by OkLater | video info

4 ratings | 1,894 views

curated content from YouTube

More Ideas

Soda Tab Chain - Instructables - DIY: How to build a super-cool chain out of soda tabs.
Recycle Cans into Ashtrays/Votive Holders: Create a simle yet beautiful ashtray, candy dish or votive holder. Another idea would be to make a wax potpourri burner by taking the top off one can and cutting pieces out of the sides (for smoke), then place one of these trays on top to melt a was potpourri tart.
Canned Heat: Solar Heater Built With Soda Cans: Some of the highest technology in the world is being brought to bear on the problem of saving energy.
CRAFTS : Natural & Homemade : Soda Can Art: Transform soft drink cans into purses, jewelry and decorator accents with this how-to from B. Original host Michele Beschen.
Recycled Pull Tabs - Ecoist Accessories: handbags
Pop Can Framed Mirror: Build a beautiful framed mirror.
Heat your garage: Create a soda can solar furnace to heat your garage.
Build a car, ship, truck or other vehicle: Recycle aluminum cans of your favorite beer or soda into works of art with TESSCAR ALUMINUM CRAFT construction plans. Build models of aircraft, race cars, trucks, locomotives, farm and construction equipment, ships, motorcycles and insects using templates and instructions.

Recycle

Recycle Recycle Recycle

If you don't think that any of these projects are for you, or that you simply won't get to them, then the very least you can do is recycle your cans. Whether your state has a deposit system or not, recycling aluminum cans may be more important than you realized.

These are just a few reason why you should recycle your cans:

The mining, processing, and manufacturing necessary to produce aluminum cans are responsible for large quantities of toxic solid wastes, the widespread destruction of wildlife habitat, and the displacement hundreds of thousands of indigenous people around the world. (Container Recycling Institute, 2002)
The energy needed to replace all the aluminum cans wasted each year is equivalent to 16 million barrels of oil-enough to keep a million American cars on the road for a year. (Container Recycling Institute, 2001)
A recycled six-pack of aluminum cans could save enough energy to drive a car five miles. One can equals the amount of energy a can half-full of gasoline would produce. (San Diego County Office of Education 1991. RAYS - Recycle and You Save.)
Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months, and enough iron and steel to supply all our nation's automakers every day. (cleanair.org)
Aluminum cans comprise only 1.4% of a ton of garbage by weight, but they account for 14.1% of the greenhouse gas impacts of replacing an average ton of garbage with new products made from virgin materials. (Container Recycling Institute, 2001)

Reusing Other Household Items

If you are interesting in reusing household items in fun and creative ways, then this is the place to go! This group has thousands of ideas on reusing item. Go Green!

Guestbook

Please let us know what you are up to with your aluminum cans. Do you know any interesting or amazing projects that we haven't yet discovered?

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oakstreet Feb 6, 2012 @ 3:02 am | delete

This len really make me feel amaze. Very creative and fun to see all these ideas. I like the armor. Great len and a "like" from me.