Units can earn big bucks while recycling during the 2008 Aluminum Can Challenge

By Capt. Michael Greenberger, I Corps Public Affairs Office

Did you know that you could earn money for your unit simply by recycling?

Beginning Aug. 1, the 2008 Aluminum Can Challenge, adopted from the Aluminum Can Council, will give units the chance to beef up their unit funds by recycling aluminum cans at the Fort Lewis Recycling Center.

Supported by the Installation Sustainability Program and the Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, the 90-day challenge celebrates America Recycles Day, this year on Nov. 15. Like Earth Day, America Recycles Day is time set aside to raise recycling awareness and promote participation. While specific days are set aside to promote recycling, communities are encouraged to conduct activities year-round.

The program also allows civilian organizations on post the rare opportunity to generate revenue that will go directly to the installation’s general FMWR account, helping the environment and contributing the community. Family members can also participate, earning proceeds that go directly to the units.

“People will be recycling these cans anyway,” said Fort Lewis Department of Public Works Sustainability Outreach Coordinator Brendalyn Carpenter. “They may as well make some money for their units in the process.”

To start the process, units can visit the Fort Lewis Recycling Center, located near the commissary, to receive special recycling cans to make the segregation process easier. Recycling cans and more information on the Aluminum Can Challenge can also be obtained by calling Brendalyn Carpenter at 966-1734.

Not only do units get 33 cents per pound of cans, but during the challenge they compete for prizes, depending on the size of the unit and how much they recycle. Last year, 23 units participated, recycling 710 pounds of aluminum cans in a six-week period. Thirty-four cans roughly equals a pound.

Several top recyclers earned cash prizes with $250 going to first-place winners. A grand prize of a free visit to LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma was awarded to one of the participating units in a drawing. According to Carpenter, additional prizes are planned for this year’s Aluminum Can Challenge.

“Not all cans are the same,” Carpenter said. “We are recycling aluminum beverage cans only — soda, beer, energy drinks — not the soup-type, which are normally made of tin-plated steel. Aluminum beverage cans can be recycled and returned to store shelves in about 60 days.”

Before dropping off a single can, however, units that don’t already have one will need to establish an FMWR account, which can be done by contacting Merci Lui at 966-1734 or by e-mail at merci.lui@us.army.mil. “Setting up an account is very easy,” said Lui. “Most organizations already have an account.”

“All participants need to do is bring their cans to the Recycling Center on Fort Lewis, have them weighed and the revenue earned is credited to their units’ FMWR funds accounts,” said Carpenter.

For more information about helping Fort Lewis meet its mission by managing resources and eliminating waste, visit the Sustainable Fort Lewis link on the Fort Lewis Web page.