We CAN Build a Movement

A month ago, when I first spoke to my work colleagues about the Cans for Kili mission, there wasn’t a process for collecting cans in my workplace to contribute to our goal. Not one to wait for things to happen, I began to stockpile the cans that I consumed to take home at the end of the week. When a few coworkers saw me doing this, they too began to collect their cans consumed at work and drop them off to me throughout the day. Cans were left on my desk, in cabinet drawers, and in my bag. I would open up a drawer to grab a pen and see five Bubly cans I hadn’t put there! Since then, we’ve now began officially collecting cans at Conga via a recycling bin, but there’s a part of me that misses having my coworkers drop off cans at my desk. There was something so endearing and heart-filling about those around me wanting to support me and this mission so much that my desk itself became a can collection site.

Two weeks ago, I was on a long run with one of my neighbors when we saw a soda can lying in the bushes to our right. After I paused to retrieve and crush the can, he graciously offered to store it in his armband until we return to the apartment. While huffing and puffing our way home, I explained to him the Cans for Kili mission and my involvement in the project. Two days ago, this same neighbor unexpectedly brought to my door a garbage bag full of cans collected over weeks from personal consumption and his workplace. That he had taken it upon himself to collect cans at home and work after our brief exchange blew me away and I was reminded once again of the importance of taking a few minutes to relay our story and our mission.

This weekend, Fellow C4K team member Colleen and I went with a group of fifty Orr Fellows to tailgate at the Notre Dame game. We asked that everyone crush their empty cans and chuck them into a designated bag for collection, and managed to collect two full bags of cans from the tailgate. As Colleen and I wandered around Stadium Lot after the game, collecting cans as we walked, we marveled at how many outlandish and hilarious things we’d done in the name of can collection, including launching headfirst into trash cans, wading around under waterfalls to collect a fallen can, and stopping the car to pick up a can lying on the street.

In moments like the ones I’ve described above, “thank you” doesn’t seem an adequate enough expression of gratitude for the people who have rallied around our team and this cause, but thank you, thank you, thank you nonetheless. Thank you to each and every single person who has looked at a can and, instead of throwing it away, has held onto it, put it in a collection bin, and brought it to our team. We simply could not do this without you. With each and every single can collected, we are not only one step closer to hitting our goal, but we are also taking steps toward changing our habits to reflect our values. In the last few weeks, I’ve often said in jest, “I’ll never think about an aluminum can the same way again,” but in all seriousness, this is a sentiment I believe is shared by all members of the C4K team as well as our colleagues, family members, and friends. This statement is core to the mission of promoting conscious consumption and sustainability through community engagement, and as we continue in our efforts, we dare to hope that not one single person who interacts with Cans for Kili will think about an aluminum can the same way again.

Join the movement,

The Advocate