We used to do this when I was a child and to this day, I still do it for two reasons. When I open a can of food, after I empty it, I cut out the other end and put the lid inside then step on it to mash it flat. This saves space in the trash can and keeps you from cutting fingers on the loose lid in the trash when you smash the trash with your hand to make more room.
By Carol from Huber Heights, OH
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I too remember doing this as a child. I can also remember my father telling me why.....he said during "the War" (aka WWll), one took the label off, then opened both ends, inserted the lids and stepped on them...they were then recycled for War use. And recyclers today thought they invented this. LOL
We haven't done that, but will start now. We do tear up cereal boxes and newspapers into 4 sections. We can much more into the bag this way. We live out in the country and do not have recycling or garbage pickup.
I remember my grandma did this to all her cans. She lived in the country and had to haul her trash to the dump, so she compacted it as much as she could.
But don't throw away those flattened cans. If there is a metal recycling place they usually now take other cans besides aluminum. You might need to have a good supply to take. Our church collects cans and othr metal to resell.
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