Ever think about those empty Pet Food Cans?

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Even though Purina has yet to make an organic and all natural food for pets- they are trying to get people to recycle all of those fancy feast and friskees that you are feeding your cat through a togetherwecanrecycle campaign.  About 3 years ago, I realized that I had to make a difference in the amount of landfill waste that my furry babies were contributing-it wasn’t pretty!  Of course, I changed my buying habits- treats and food are now bought in bulk and recycling is taken very seriously!!!!  I think I was referred to as a Drill Sergeant the other day in the kitchen!  Oh well…

Purina did the math and tallied the facts: 

•  Recycling  aluminum pet food cans is only at a rate of about 20%  each year compared to approximately 54% of other aluminum cans.  
•  Recycling one 3-oz. aluminum cat food can saves enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for more than 2  hours.
•  Recycling a 5.5-oz. can saves enough energy to power a 30-inch (95w) TV for more than 2 hours.
•  Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy used to make cans from virgin materials.

We are better with recycling!  Well..many of us! Let’s make sure that any petfood cans, made from aluminum or steel, get recycled properly.

Here are some recycling tips for your empty petfood cans:

• Do a can analysis test!. Place a magnet on the can, if it sticks-the can is made of steel and if it doesn’t-it’s made from aluminum. ( Both can be recycled but some like to keep aluminum seperate to sell later)
• Peel the labels off of the cans
• Wash and remove any food particles
• Let cans dry thoroughly
• Place cans in your recycling bin

Now, if you are the creative type and really want to re-use instead, here are some other ideas:

• Candle holders ( great for outside use)
• Desk organizers
• Pin cushions ( stuff and stick)
• Paint palettes
• Nail and screw holder
• Button organizer
• If large enough, you could even place them over the tops of your wooden fence posts to help stop the tops from splitting.  Now that’s really being GREEN!