Creative Recycling Turns Cans into Classic Cars

With the green mentality affecting the way many of us go about our daily lives today, from recycling newspapers and food packaging to cycling to work instead of driving. Drinks cans are another straightforward item to recycle, with the majority of domestic and commercial recycling collections able to take all varieties.

But for some, simply throwing a can in the recycling bin and forgetting about it isn’t enough. England-born, New Zealand-based technology teacher Sandy Sanderson is one such person. The one-time draughtsperson has taken a love for creating model vehicles to a novel new level, and for the last 8 years has been turning his used cans into scale replicas of cars!

Originally, Sanderson’s focus was on crafting stringed musical instruments, but an unfortunate bike accident left his wrist shattered and his creative bent had to be channelled elsewhere.
The one that started the whole thing off, the first in Sanderson’s ‘cannon’, was nicknamed the Coruba Climax, and was constructed in 2006 out of only 8 Coruba and cola cans. The model instigated a whole series of ‘CanCars’, with highlights including a Jeep, Roadster and more made out of disused Guinness, Heineken and other tins.

Some of the more complex creations required a few more than the Coruba Climax’s 8 cans, however. For example, the Waikato can beach buggy required 30, and demonstrated Sanderson’s attention to detail with a steering wheel, exhaust system and even a tiny dashboard. Similarly, the ‘7 Up Single Seater’ was created as an upgrade of the original Coruba model, and clearly shows how its creators craft had developed in the two years between them.
After receiving interest in his models as desirable collectables, Sanderson set up his own site to facilitate selling them. Those interested in getting their hands on one will have to have a bit of spare cash however, as Sandy’s cars range in price from anywhere between NZ$800 and NZ$2,000 (£400 to £1,000)!

If having a go yourself is more your thing though, you can also obtain the plans to create your own CanCars from the site, at a more reasonable NZ$10 (£5).
For those inspired by Sanderson’s work, finding ways to reuse your cans creatively can be a rewarding experience. For the rest of us, simply recycling our drinks cans after use should offer plenty of satisfaction. Both aluminium and steel cans can now be recycled easily. The former uses only 5% of the energy (and therefore 5% of the emissions) needed to create it in the first place, and both materials can be recycled ad infinitum without losing strength or usability.

Here at Woodford Recycling, our recycling centre allows us to repurpose over 70% of all of the waste we collect from customers. This includes not only cans, but waste from DIY and construction projects, including all asbestos and plasterboard.

For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Woodford Recycling today.