Can Do Restructured!

From now here on out all the posts that were previously placed on the main Can Do page will now be posted in blog format right here! This will be far more manageable and should be far easier to follow along for the reader. As this is the case I have decided to add one giant post of all previous Can Do Journal entries into one post to get the ball rolling. After this 'largish' post I will continue by updating this blog daily with more bite sized pieces of information. So here it is, everything up to this day.

Total uncashed = 229 units. 
Total value = $22.90

Tuesday 23rd 2020
- 76 cans and bottles collected - NYC

Monday 22nd 2020
- 14 cans collected - NYC

Sunday 21st 2020
-14 cans collected - NYC

Saturday 20th 2020
- 16 cans collected - NYC

Friday 19th 2020
- 50 cans collected - NYC

Thursday 18th 2020
- 27 Cans Collected - NYC

Wednesday 17th 2020
- 6 Cans Collected - NYC

Tuesday 16th 2020.
- 12 Cans Collected - NYC

Monday 15th June 2020.
- 9 Cans Collected - NYC

While driving to and from work today I managed to pick up 9 cans. The market value of these cans is worth 90 cents. The total aluminium weight of these cans was approximately 134 grams of aluminium. In 2011 it was estimated that around 15 Kilowatts of electricity were consumed to make 1 kg of aluminium. This would indicate that by picking up 9 cans I have effectively retrieved an industrial material that took approximately 2 Kilowatts of electricity to make. The math is simple enough. Take 1 kilogram and convert it into grams (1000 grams). Now divide the 1000 grams into the energy it required to originally process the metal. So, 15 KW (energy consumed per kg) / 1000 (grams) = 0.015. Now multiply this value by the weight of aluminium you have collected (saved) and you will find the energy it took to create them. So, 0.015 x 134 grams = 2.01 KW. At today's current household electricity rate this 2.01 kilowatts of electricity is currently worth 53 cents. So by saving these cans I am also saving the amount of electricity that goes into making new cans, however this does not take into consideration of much energy it takes to reprocess the aluminum for reuse as new cans. I have recently read an article that mentioned that 7 kilowatts of electricity is saved for every pound of cans recycled, however this cannot be quite right as there is 2.2 pounds to a single kilogram. Following this logic this would indicate that 15.6 kilowatts of electricity is saved per kilogram of aluminium created yet it has previously been stated that it takes approximately 15 kilowatts to make 1 kg of aluminium in the first place. This would indicate that we have used surplus of energy by saving cans which is clearly not possible, at least not with the values we have been given. It may make sense if the energy used to discover and mine the bauxite is taken into consideration, along with the energy used to manufacture the cans themselves from the extracted aluminium. If these discovery, mining and manufacturing energy costs are taken into consideration this would increase the true energy cost of extracting aluminium from 15 Kilowatts per kg to something greater, a value I do not currently have access to. Whatever the case, saving cans is saving resources, there is no doubt of this. It has been said that with the energy it takes to make just one new aluminium can from bauxite ore, you can make 20 recycled cans. That's a significant energy saving. 

1 aluminium can = 14.9 grams. 67 aluminium cans = 1 kg. 1 kg of aluminium takes 15 kilowatts of electricity to make.

Market update. 
14th Of June 2020.


I have made two investments using the can money I have previously collected (not noted). After Monday’s new investment I will have three “workers” in the market. So far the previous two workers have lost value due to the market volatility caused by the current global pandemic. My two current *workers are in the Aussie Top 200 and Tech Savvy. My third $53.70 block will be invested into the sustainability leaders fund. I am giving serious thought into investing 100% of my investments into sustainability leaders as this would be far more fitting for the project. After all, I am picking up rubbish from the side of the road. In doing so I am saving resources, saving the planet and making cash. So I figure I might as well make better investment choices while I am at it. As soon as I get a good selling opportunity I believe I will put all my eggs into one basket. What do I have to lose? After all, this source of money was simply tossed out of car windows to begin with. It’s a wasteful world we live in, this I have no doubt about. 


*each $50.00 block I raise in cans will be placed into the market as a “worker”. 


From trash to cash to wealth stash.

Sunday 14th June 2020.
- 13 cans collected - NYC

Saturday 13th June 2020.
- 5 cans collected - NYC

Friday 12th June 2020.
- 10 cans collected - NYC


*NYC = Not yet cashed. 

I cashed out my can collection on Friday 12th June 2020. 
In total I collected approximately $30.00 worth of cans while working away on the side of the road. The remainder I had previously collected when driving to work or from personal consumption.
$53.70 was the total I collected. This means I have earned another “worker” that I can place into the market. I have decided to invest this “can” money into the sustainability leaders fund when the market opens on Monday 15th of June. 


Thursday 11th June 2020.
- 21 Cans Collected - Cashed.
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