Did you know?
- 35,000 aluminum cans are produced every minute.
- It takes 500 years for aluminum to break down.
- Recycling your aluminum can requires 95% less energy than that required from making a new one with bauxite ore.
- Every aluminum beverage can has an average of 54.7% recycled content.
- There is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can be recycled.
- Aluminum manufacturers have been making cans lighter. In 1972 it took 22 cans to make a pound. Today, it takes 29 cans to make a pound.
- Recycling is so efficient that it can take as few as 60 days for an aluminum can to be collected, melted down, and made into a new can sitting on a supermarket shelf.
- Recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a television for three hours.
- If we recycled all of the aluminum trash that Americans throw away, we can rebuild the entire United States' airline fleet every three months.
- For every ton of water bottles that are recycled, four tons are thrown away.
- The plastic from water bottles can be turned into fibers that make carpet and sweaters. With the amount of bottles being wasted every year, 74 million square feet of carpet and 16 million sweaters could be made.
- Enough water bottles will be thrown in dumps over the next five years to create a two-lane, six-inch deep highway of plastic along the California coast.
Click here to contact a Cans for Critters representative or call us at 619-557-3915.
Join the Cans for Critters recycling drive!
Your school, Scout troop, group, or family can make a difference in the future of endangered wildlife by simply recycling aluminum cans, plastic, and glass containers.
Help save endangered species one pop bottle at a time. If you love animals and want to make a difference in the world, the Zoological Society of San Diego needs you. Our Cans for Critters program gives children of all ages the opportunity to help save endangered species all over the planet while cleaning up our own backyard.
All funds raised through the Cans for Critters program benefits our conservation and research efforts, which are dedicated to improving the health, well-being, and breeding potential of rare and endangered species such as the giant panda, California condor, black rhino, and cheetah.
Participation is as easy as these five "R"s:
- Register: Register your troop, group, school, or family online...
- Recycle: Start collecting your recyclables, such as aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles, and used cell phones.
- Redeem: Redeem your recyclables for funds at your local recycling center.
- Remit: Send in the funds collected to the Cans for Critters program.
- Rewards: Rewards will be given out to children who participate. Collect 200 or more recyclables and receive a special San Diego Zoo conservation patch; collect 400 or more recyclables and receive an invitation to a Conservation Jamboree, held at the end of April 2009; collect 1,000 or more recyclables and also receive two free San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park passes.
Download Information Packets
Important Cans for Critters dates
- Fall, 2008: Register for the program
- April 1, 2009: Recycling drive ends
- April 2009: Jamboree ce lebration
Register Now
Do you want your school, troop, group, or family to be a part of this program? Just fill out our easy online form and a packet will be e-mailed to you.
