idealist.org

Sure We "Can"

In 1983 New York State implemented the Returnable Container Act requiring a 5 cent deposit on carbonated beverages sold in glass, metal and plastic containers. Commonly known as a “Bottle Bill,” the act is intended to reduce litter, ease the burden on solid waste facilities and encourage recycling activity. To date, 11 US states and at least 14 countries have enacted similar legislation.

In addition to its intended environmental impact, the Bottle Bill has unwittingly created a necessary and important source of income for homeless and impoverished people. In New York City, people who collect and redeem containers for a living refer to their vocation as Canning. They can be seen around the city reclaiming bottles and cans from commercial and residential waste, contributing to the amount of recyclable materials diverted from the waste stream. They stack what they find in carts they call “wagons.” A popular wagon is a grocery store shopping cart, known to canners as a “$60 wagon” because of the average value of the amount of containers it can hold.

This Idealist.org Podcast from our guest contributors, Michael Premo and Rachel Falcone, is an audio portrait of a "canner" named Eugene “The King of Cans” Gadsden. He talks about the work that he and his friends and colleagues Ana Martinez De Luco and Eugene Gadsden are doing to improve the conditions of their community.

Click here to hear the story.

Click here for more information about the producers and other stories.

Photography by Michael Premo