How to Reuse Aluminum Cans

For years I’ve talked about how I try to avoid using canned foods – simply to avoid being exposed to bisphenol A. Yet if you took a peek in my kitchen cupboards, you would notice I do still buy some canned foods. Not often, mind you, but it’s handy to have canned beans if I’ve forgotten to soak dried beans. Or if I don’t feel like boiling down tomatoes I’ve preserved from last summer, I use canned tomato sauce. (I know. Canned tomato products and BPA are a horrid combination, since BPA leaches into the acidic tomatoey goodness.)

So I do use canned goods. Sometimes. Instead of always tossing the cans into my recycling bin, though, I’ve been known to reuse them.

Grease be gone

My favorite way to reuse an aluminum can is to put one in my freezer door. Then, whenever I’m finished cooking something greasy – particularly bacon – I pour all of my greasy drippings into the can and place it back in my freezer door.

The grease freezes solid – and I don’t have to worry about making a mess by dumping the leftover grease into my trash can or sending much down the drain and mucking up my plumbing.

If a recipe calls for bacon grease – and my recipes rarely do – I can scoop out a little of the frozen collection. But typically, once my can is filled with grease, then I simply toss it in the trash. No fuss, no muss.

A crafty alternative

If you’re looking for a crafty way to repurpose aluminum cans of all sizes, spray paint them. You can use them for a round, metal caddy – they’re perfect for holding pencils, pens, nails, screws, used toothbrushes (ready for cleaning purposes). In the past I’ve labeled spray painted tin cans with paint pens so I know what belongs inside.

Talk back

How do you reuse or repurpose emptied aluminum cans?

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Hilary Kimes Bernstein

Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and journalist. She writes about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. Short and sweet - like her writing - Hilary is the author of several healthy living eBooks.

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