Will someone please explain to me the deal about pulling the tabs off of aluminum cans to send to charity? I understand the point of donating to a worthy cause, but all the rigamarole with pop tabs seems like a massive waste of effort. Who’s actually doing the donating — the soda companies? There’s no identifier on the aluminum tab, so how would the manufacturers know it was theirs. Then there’s the mailing cost, which has got to be more than the recyclable value.
If you want to donate, just donate. Dig into your wallet and pull out some of those cold green dead presidents. Write a check. Put it on your credit card. But peeling tabs off of cans and mailing them in?
Update: A reader writes in to suggest that this may be what they’re used for.
Also found this on Snopes: “Pull tabs from aluminum cans have special redemption value for time on dialysis machines.” FALSE. Well, that warms my heart. Do I dare tell the guys in the next room, or do I just smile and nod at their folly? Or do I kidnap all their saved tabs and make myself some chainmail?
But then I read that the Ronald McDonald House actually collects them. Go figure.