Is it true that there is a place that you can donate the aluminum tabs from cans to help people? (not a recycle company)I have heard if you collect the tabs they can help people pay for dialysis or other health problems. Have you done this before? If this IS true could you please post a link to where I could send them in.
Thanks. ******************************************************** 03-28-05, 06:59 PM methos It started as an urban legend and a lot of charities have been frustrated by people trying to donate tabs to them when they have no such program (I did a google search and mostly found pages on charities' homepages explaining that they did not have such a program). Apparently, the expense of transporting the tabs means there is little pay-off for recycling the tabs.
BUT Ronald McDonald House, inspired by the urban legend, started a program.
03-28-05, 07:10 PM Kelleygirl Yes, Clare, tis true! We collect them at work for Ronald McDonald House; there is more concentrated metal in the tab than in the rest of the can and thusly, they really add up. McDonald House loves receiving them; they help to defray the costs of taking care of families who stay here while one of their kids is being treated at a nearby hospital. 03-29-05, 06:04 AM
clarebear Methos and Kelleygirl
Thanks so much for letting me know! I'm going to send all my can tabs to them.
How great! Smile
03-29-05, 07:15 AM methos
quote: Originally posted by Kelleygirl: there is more concentrated metal in the tab than in the rest of the can.
The metal in the tab is no different than the rest. McDonalds says it uses the tabs in part because they were inspired by the urban legend and in part because it doesn't affect other programs - you get 5 cents for the rest of the can whether or not it has a tab, so recycling the tab separately gets you a little extra money. Just to put it in perspective, based on the Ronald McDonald House's numbers for how many they've collected and how much they've made, it takes 67 tabs to get just 5 cents.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: methos, 03-29-05 07:59 AM
03-29-05, 04:18 PM clarebear 67 tabs only gets them 5¢ ! Maybe I should just send them the cans. In Michigan we get 10¢ for the rest of the can. Smile
03-29-05, 08:25 PM Kelleygirl Well, I got my info on the tab having more concentrated metal than the can from my cousin who told this years ago; he is the regional manager for a can producing factory -- thought that he would know. Roll Eyes Clarebear, I think one reason they prefer the tabs is for easier storage. They also have little cardboard houses in some of their Micky D restaurants for customers to place their tabs in.
03-30-05, 07:29 AM methos I was pretty sure of that, but perhaps I'm wrong - he'd certainly have more reason to know than I would.
03-30-05, 08:53 AM aminator2002 I want to throw a bunch of little tabs at whoever started this urban legend. I wish people would just ask for money for their kids' schools.
I would MUCH rather just give someone $5 than pull tabs off of cans or buy some crappy this or that which will only net the kids 50% or less of the amount I pay. If I am doing something for the kids, I really don't want some BS outfit to make money off it to process orders and handle recycling little tabs that could just be left on the can and recycled. 05-24-06, 07:07 PM JacquelynLena The Shriners Hospitals do accept donated tabs to raise money. It only takes a moment to pull off the tab, and u'd b surprised at how fast they accumulate (we all drink too much soda/beer i guess).
05-25-06, 04:34 PM MrsS My mother in law gets sooooo vexed with me that we forget to save our tabs!
05-25-06, 05:51 PM Professor II find it hard to believe that people are being asked to detach the tabs from the cans, given the history of the pop-top and the lengths to which the industry went to develop a stay-attached tab. From Wikipedia:
quote:
Before 1974, beverage cans were opened by pulling a tab that completely removed a portion of the can's lid. These pull tabs were a common form of litter — and a lingering hazard for bare feet, especially at public beaches (as witnessed in the third verse of the Jimmy Buffett song "Margaritaville"). A further danger occurred when users dropped the tab into the can after opening it, and then drank from it; occasionally the sharp metal tab would be ingested or inhaled.
Although the idea of a stay-on tab seems simple, it took Dan Cudzik, a tool engineer from Reynolds Metals, five years to perfect it. Others had given up on trying to make a stay-on tab purely out of a metal, convinced that plastic had to be added.
If any money is to be made from recycling aluminum, wouldn't it make sense to collect the entire intact can? They are easily crushed for compacting. There are even gadgets that will do it for you, such as this one, which I've used for years. (Remember John Belushi crushing a beer can against his head in Animal House?)
But I have to agree with Aminator: If you want to support a charity, give them money directly.
05-25-06, 06:17 PM DorianGreyed Storing the cans will draw insects, unless they are rinsed out well.
05-25-06, 06:45 PM Professor Switch to artificial sweeteners!
05-25-06, 10:18 PM Kelleygirl Yeah, you saw the news the other day -- mix it with alcohol and it's suppose to get you THERE a lot quicker.
Seriously, guys --- saving the tabs that would normally just get pitched out can really help some charities. Our local Ronald McDonald House received over $11,000 from last year's collection. They really do add up.
05-26-06, 09:01 AM aminator2002 There are a lot of false ideas about whether 11,000 for aluminum can tabs is a good yield for the effort. If you look at the Shriners link, you see some elderly volunteers handling the tabs. Those volunteers I expect would be working for Shriners even if this wonderful tab program didn't exist. Putting them to work collecting this crap is just false economy... it takes time to collect and then take this stuff to a recycling center. It takes gas to bring the tabs to the hospital, it takes gas to take it to the recycling plant. The aluminum would be recycled anyway because almost every town or city in the country recycle at this point and they do the whole can including the tab.
Giving tabs as a donation is stupid, sorry. Put out a collection dish and I bet you'd get more than a nickel a week... that would be a better donation than a pile of tabs. A full bag of tabs is a nickel... it's stupid.
Sorry but this whole thing is ridiculous and no offense to Kellygirl and other posters that support this stuff, but then the supporters run around trying to guilt people into taking the seconds to participate with every can of soda... Please just ask me for a nickel... Please.
Ever cut yourself on a can? I have... that makes it all seem that much more ridiculous.
05-26-06, 09:03 AM aminator2002 "Tabs are saved by individuals and groups and are brought to the hospital in jars, bags, boxes, crates, and barrels. They come from everywhere -- all over New England, New York, and even some from as far away as California!"
HOW MUCH DID IT COST TO SHIP THIS CRAP ACROSS THE COUNTRY? Duh.
05-26-06, 10:05 AM DorianGreyed I doubt that the tabs are shipped anywhere. I suspect that they are taken to a local business that recycles aluminum. -------- "...it takes time to collect and then take this stuff to a recycling center. It takes gas to bring the tabs to the hospital, it takes gas to take it to the recycling plant."
...it takes time to collect and then take the nickels to a (a bank). It takes gas to bring the nickels to the hospital, it takes gas to take the nickels to a bank . -------- "The aluminum would be recycled anyway because almost every town or city in the country recycle at this point and they do the whole can including the tab."
Do the Shriners get any money from the cities? -------- Saving the tabs cost the donor nothing if plastic bags from grocery stores are used to hold them. Donating a nickel cost the donor 5¢. -------- Unless you are close to one of the twenty Shriner's hospitals in the US or the one in Canada, your volunteering would be limited to...collecting donations.
I assume that KG's local Ronald McDonald house is in Cincinnati. Eleven thousand dollars would mean much more to a Ronald McDonald house than it would to the Cincinati city council.
05-26-06, 11:14 AM aminator2002 The article clearly states that the tabs are coming from all over the country to their hospital. To me that means they are being shipped. Even if it's just someone making a special trip to the hospital, that gas to and from the hospital is a real expense that could have just been mailed in to the charity.
Of course towns don't donate the recycling to a charity. My point was that it's not like the cans aren't going to get recycled if not for this tab program.
If people want to do this, that's fine by me. But before anyone bitches at me about pulling tabs, I'd appreciate it if they just ask me for a dollar. And don't try to sell me other products that I don't want either. It takes much less administrative cost for a charity to use a dollar than to process aluminum tabs and I'm happy to do it. I think the program of pulling tabs is stupid and until someone can show me actual costs including gas wasted trucking can tabs around, I'll continue to throw aluminum in the recycling bin.
05-26-06, 11:58 AM DorianGreyed I just got off the phone with the St. Louis Shriners Hospital, where I was told that they deliver that tabs directly to one of the two local Ronald McDonald Houses. I left a message at the House, and will report back if and when they return my call. (I suspected that the Shriners probably figured out that shipping the tabs across the country cost money, and didn't really do it, and I doubt that McDonalds would be that foolish, either. They seem to have some business sense.)
You can, however, donate directly to the Shriners. To make a donation to Shriners Hospitals for Children, you can send a check, made payable to "Shriners Hospitals for Children," to any of the 22 Shriners Hospitals ( addresses here ) or to the Office of Development, International Shrine Headquarters, 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607-1460. To make a donation in memory of or in honor of another individual, just include a note indicating who the donation is in honor of or in memory of, and the name and address of the individual who should receive the acknowledgement.
This message is brought to you by AnswerPool.com, a not-making-any-profit organization.
06-06-06, 02:01 PM DorianGreyed I just got off the phone with the St. Louis Ronald McDonald House. All tabs that they receive are picked up by a local recycler, and that seems to be the case in many, if not most, states that have the Houses. If the tabs are turned into a participating McDonalds, the food delivery truck from McDonalds picks the tabs up when they deliver, and the recycler gets them from the warehouse. Some people, however, mail the tabs to a specific House. While that may cost the sender more in postage than the House gets for the aluminum (50¢ per pound), the House gets the money; the post office benefits, too.
This message is brought to you by AnswerPool.com, still a not-making-any-profit organization.
06-06-06, 01:34 PM Professor "...AnswerPool.com, still a not-making-any-profit organization." Here you go, DG, have a tab from my Tab -- I'll pick up the tab. Smile
Can someone explain to me why the recyclers would want the tabs while the rest of the cans -- the bulk of recyclable aluminum -- goes to waste? If they're that desperate for reclaiming a little aluminum that they'll take the tabs, why don't they insist on whole cans? I still don't get it.
06-06-06, 02:01 PM DorianGreyed Aluminum is aluminum (or aluminium), and a given weight of tabs would take up far less space than the same weight of cans, so storage and cleanliness are certainly a factor in collecting tabs only, especially at a restaurant like McDonalds, and, as Clare pointed out, the donor gets the same for a tab-less can as for one with a tab in some states.
06-06-06, 02:41 PM aminator2002
quote: Originally posted by Professor: I still don't get it.
Logic definitely gets in the way of understanding this one. My advice... give up trying to understand. 1000 tabs to a pound or 35 whole cans to a pound.
Recycling companies prefer cans because they can be compressed and bundled. Rinsing 35 cans certainly seems easier than pulling off 1000 tabs.
I love the comment that this helps the post office... too damn funny. Big Grin
03-17-07, 06:56 AM dumbpier I'm into recycling, but not a fanatic about it. I read down to the bottom of this post, wading through all the speculation, and finally found a real response from the site administrator who confirmed the real thing. whew!
(just a meaningless comment)
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
Posts: 5308 | Location: The Motor City | Registered: 06-03-02
I've collected pull tabs for more than 5 years for the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles. They're glad to get them. And you can also take the pull tabs off Friskies cat food! Take the pull tabs directly to the House instead of mailing them. You'll get a tour of the facility and see what wonderful places they are. It doesn't take a lot of effort to take the tabs off as you rinse the can and put them in a coffee can or plastic ziploc bag. Why are people afraid to make an effort for a good cause?
Posts: 1 | Location: Grand Junction, CO | Registered: 10-17-07
Although I don't save them anymore, several years ago when I worked at McDonalds, our store was involved in the "tabs for RMHF", and my whole family got into it - they would all have a baggie or coffee can where they'd put their tabs and once or twice a month they would bring them to me. I would regularly take a gallon-sized ziploc bag to work, where we had a big drum in the lobby. It always felt very gratifying to see the drum fill up each month, and there were ALOT of people in the area that saved their tabs for us.
When in small quanities, no, it doesn't add up to much $$...but when taken in the huge quantity McDonald's does, it adds up to quite a bit.
Yes, yes, yes, save your tabs! Bottle caps, too. Paper clips and staples if they are aluminum, not steel. It's about the material (aluminum), not what shape it's in. I'm sure they'll take the whole can, but most people want their five cents back (in states that do can returns). Just be sure to do your research first. Don't collect under the assumption that someone will take the tabs. The Ronald McDonald House here does NOT accept tabs anymore, but the Kidney Foundation does.
Posts: 4617 | Location: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
It is making much more sense to just have them recycled with the rest of the can at this point. Maaaaaybe if you are part of an organization that is saving them and can quickly collect a lot of cans... then it MIGHT make sense. I have a bazillion tabs that are quite possibly going to find their way into the recycle bin at home tonight after reading this thread. It appears these are not anywhere near as valuable (come on... its only Aluminum) as once rumored. Granted, I would rather someone give me or my preferred charity the proverbial "nickle" that keeps floating around here instead of the pound of tabs it takes to = $0.05. In great quantities there is some value to this whole donation but on an individual basis...
Going forward, as for me and my house, we'll just toss it in the recycle bin at home and make the city earn that $4.00 a month they charge me for the service!
Welcome to AP, darthvrla. I contacted the Kidney Foundation directly before making my last post indicating that they accept pull tabs, and to my knowledge they still do, locally at least. Your article was from 1998. There are many posts and bulletins circulating the internet indicating pull tabs are an urban legend. I think the best course of action is for you to contact the Kidney Foundation or Ronald McDonald House in your area by phone, rather than rely on an nine-year-old article. That way, you can find out if they are accepting pull tabs. I give my pull tabs to an employee of the Foundation. I expect that if they were no longer accepting tabs, she would be the one to know. If you cannot find a local organization which will accept your tabs, by all means recycle them. But don't simply throw them away without checking first.
Posts: 4617 | Location: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
