Award-winning project recycles cans
ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency
METU’s ‘Cans’n Caps’ project revives packaging waste and aluminum beverage cans by turning them into functional and funny products used in daily life.
The Designnobis team, led by Middle East Technical University (METU) member Dr. Hakan Gürsu, won two Green Dot Awards, known as the environmental Oscars, for a project named “Cans’n Caps” last month.Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Gürsu said the team had revived packaging waste and aluminum beverage cans by turning them into functional and funny products that could be used in daily life, such as cruets, sauce bowls, salt cellars, and pepper boxes. He also said the project drew interest during the TedxReset Conference on Feb. 2 in the U.S., and he expected it to win international recognition.
According to Gürsu, 131 billion aluminum cans are produced every year in the U.S. alone, but “Unfortunately, the U.S.’s recycling [rate] is only 50 percent. This means more than 110,000 cans are thrown to nature every minute.” He said the recycling project would decrease pollution and lower carbon emission levels.
