Elementary School Students Compete to Win in 2 Million Cans Recycling Contest

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) announced the start of the 2 Million Cans Recycling Contest. This contest is an exciting partnership with Recycling Is Like Magic! to engage students in recycling empty aluminum beverage cans at schools across America. The competition, which runs through April 30, 2025, will inspire environmental awareness, hands-on learning, teamwork, and community engagement with young learners.

“Last year, we challenged participating students to collect a million aluminum beverage cans, and they went above and beyond collecting more than 1.3 million cans for recycling,” said CMI Senior Vice President of Sustainability Scott Breen. “This year, the 2 Million Cans Recycling Contest is setting the bar even higher. The goal is to engage more than 1,600 2^nd and 3^rd graders in recycling best practices to see if they can recycle even more aluminum beverage cans.”

Schools from across the country will earn valuable funds and prizes throughout the contest to support vital school programs and infrastructure. Funding for schools occurs in one of two ways:

“Recycling aluminum beverage cans comes with significant environmental and economic benefits, especially when we all work together as a team to collect and recycle as many cans as possible,” Breen said.

Aluminum can makers and suppliers are stepping up to support schools in 12 states: Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. See the full list of participating schools at: recyclingislikemagic.com/2millioncans/

Every 2^nd or 3^rd grade student participating in the contest will also receive a free copy of The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans, the book that inspired this recycling contest.

“This initiative will teach students about the value of recycling used aluminum beverage cans, and how it makes a difference for people and our planet,” said the book’s author, Jessica Alexanderson, a.k.a. Scuba Jess, who is also the President of Recycling Is Like Magic! “Our youngest minds are leading the way in the 2 Million Cans Recycling Contest, and I’m excited to see what they will achieve this year.”

Follow along and track the progress of students participating in the 2 Million Cans Recycling Contest online and across social media with the hashtag: #2MillionCans.

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The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) is the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the United States. The can industry accounts for the annual domestic production of approximately 131.6 billion food, beverage, aerosol, and general line cans; employs more than 28,000 people with plants in 33 states, Puerto Rico and American Samoa; and generates about $15.7 billion in direct economic activity.

Recycling Is Like Magic! Founded in April of 2022, coordinates the Million Cans Recycling program, serving as a vital link between schools, CMI, and scrap yards. The organization’s mission is to eliminate metal waste from the landfill within the next 30 years by teaching students that all metal has value and can be recycled at their local scrapyard. Aluminum, in particular, can be recycled indefinitely—so it should never be thrown in the trash. With recycling, that same can could one day become a new can, an airplane, an iPad, or even part of a space shuttle. Through engaging books, and hands-on educational programs, Recycling Is Like Magic! empowers students to see how their everyday actions can create lasting, positive impacts for our planet.