Lifehack logo

How to make money recycling (upcycling) cans

Make recycling a habit by upcycling cans profitably and also saving the environment

By thepavsalfordPublished 3 years ago Updated 9 months ago 3 min read
Like

When you empty a can, just remove both ends with a can opener. After that, wash the can thoroughly by using your regular washing-up liquid, remove the label, and let the can dry, or use a towel to dry it off.

Then, what you need is an anti-rust primer spray to apply to the inside and outside surface of the can, so that you can prevent oxidation of the metal. Use the instructions and apply as many layers as needed (probably one or two layers will suffice).

Now, this is the trickiest bit. You should visit YouTube and search for “geometric drawing tutorial”. There are plenty of videos to choose from, and I would personally select the following video tutorial:

Cut a piece of white paper that has the same dimensions with the cylindrical outer surface of the can (once spread out, it will have a rectangle shape), so you can wrap it perfectly around it.

Although you may find the whole thing of drawing a geometric diamond by hand a bit difficult to do, especially if you are not good at drawing, it is actually not that difficult, once you have watched carefully this excellent video tutorial. It is like going back to school again! You’ll need the piece of white paper you have cut, a pair of compasses, a ruler, a pencil, an eraser, and of course, plenty of patience. Take your time, and try to make the drawing as nice as you can. The better the result of your drawing, the higher the chances of selling your upcycled cans fast and at a good price, e.g. on Etsy.com.

Once you have finished your masterpiece drawing (don’t worry if you make made any mistakes, since you can always start the whole thing again; just have fun!), it is time to cut along the perimeter and throw away any unwanted paper.

After that, cut through the whole drawing by using a precision knife; you can get one of them on Amazon.com for less than 10 dollars. Remove the black segments and leave the white ones.

What you need next is a set of acrylic paints and brushes (you can get them cheap online from retailers like Amazon.com). After you have wrapped and fixed the diamond drawing around your can, you can start filling the gaps that you have made with the precision knife, with any color you like. The result will be a unique upcycled tin can that is painted with marvelous colors!

The next step is to use a pair of metal cutting scissors to cut the tin surface from top to bottom, so that you don’t have an empty cylinder, but a curvy rectangle surface. Bend the sharp edges inwards after you have cut the tin, in order to make the tin safer, and give it some “volume”, as well. Another reason why you should do this is in order to make as much surface of the can as flat as possible, so that you can send it to a potential buyer by using a plain envelope for sending a letter (and thus pay the cost of a letter) rather than sending it in a box as a cylinder (as it was initially), which would increase mailing costs dramatically. Of course, you shouldn’t make the tin completely flat because you want it to keep some of its curvy volume, so it can stand upright on its own without needing any support.

That’s it then!

Now you need to take a photo of your upcycled can, upload it to your Etsy store, and send it to your social media friends.

This will be a great decorative item that can be used to add color on any desk, and serve the purpose of saving the environment from more metal waste thrown away, and of course give you some extra money to sweeten your creative experience even more. I bet you can hardly wait for your next condensed milk can to empty, so you can use it for your next can upcycling project!

I would also like to thank Sarah Moore, a UK-based expert who can upcycle literally anything you can imagine, for introducing me to upcycling and being a great inspiration by watching her videos on YouTube. It’s definitely worth watching these videos, if you want to get ideas on how to make money upcycling various objects and saving them from landfill.

Further reading:

Upcycling

Recycling for profit: The new green business frontier

‘Upcycling’ saved our grandparents lots of money and rubbish. It could help you too

Can you make money from upcycling and recycling?

crafts
Like

About the Creator

thepavsalford

Hi,

I have written articles for various websites, such as Helium, Hubpages, Medium, and many more.

Currently, I work as a translator. I have studied Tourism Management at college.

See you around on Vocal Media!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.