July 3, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2014
For more information, contact:
Natalie Lester
Moxley Carmichael
865-544-0088
A new recycling campaign will make it easy for pet lovers throughout the greater Knoxville area to assist shelter animals through responsible recycling, including those at Young-Williams Animal Center.
Cans for Pets, an initiative sponsored by the Alcoa Foundation to increase the number of aluminum pet food cans recycled, launched Tuesday. For every can collected, the foundation will donate five cents to Young-Williams Animal Center.
“We are thrilled to launch Cans for Pets in Knoxville,” said Justin Stockdale, Western Regional Director for the Pennsylvania Resources Council, who noted the program has been very successful in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Evansville, Indiana. “We expect the same great success at Young-Williams Animal Center.”
The pilot program of the recycling campaign launched in November 2012 in Pittsburgh and then expanded to Evansville. To date, more than 130,000 aluminum pet food cans have been collected and recycled with the Alcoa Foundation donating proceeds to animal shelters in both cities.
Individuals can drop off clean, empty aluminum pet food cans at the two Young-Williams Animal Center locations during operating hours. Cans will be collected at Young-Williams Animal Shelter, 3201 Division St., and Young-Williams Animal Village, 6400 Kingston Pike.
According to an industry survey, the recycling rates for aluminum pet food cans is significantly less than that of aluminum beverage cans – 20 percent rate for pet food cans vs. 65 percent rate for beverage cans. The Cans for Pets program aims to increase recycling of aluminum pet food cans.
“There is no limit to how many times aluminum cans may be recycled, and it takes about 95 percent less energy to make a can from recycled aluminum rather than raw materials,” Stockdale said. “Our goal is to increase the volume of pet food containers diverted for recycling and raise much-needed funds for the important work of our partners at Young-Williams. Thanks to the Alcoa Foundation, we can all help better our environment, while helping homeless animals.”
For information, visit www.prc.org/petcan or call Young-Williams Animal Center at (865) 215-6599.
