{"id":10849,"date":"2013-02-04T14:00:43","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T14:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=10849"},"modified":"2013-02-03T13:31:55","modified_gmt":"2013-02-03T13:31:55","slug":"pic-of-the-day-the-tin-can-collector-harlem-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/pic-of-the-day-the-tin-can-collector-harlem-nyc\/","title":{"rendered":"The tin can collector, Harlem, NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pic<\/p>\n

All around\u00a0New York State – and particularly in New York City – you’ll often see people wheeling around makeshift trolleys piled high with bags of discarded cans and bottles. <\/span><\/p>\n

I spotted this guy trundling a well stocked trolley around Harlem, New York a few years back.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Pic<\/p>\n

[Worker at Sure We Can, Brooklyn]<\/em><\/p>\n

Folks who collect the cans are known as “canners” and they earn a small amount from the nickel (five cents) that is redeemed on each returned can or bottle.<\/span><\/p>\n

US-based website Narratively<\/a>\u00a0ran an\u00a0interesting\u00a0feature on these ‘benign scavengers,’ noting that New York\u2019s canners are mostly non-English-speaking elderly immigrants, with many from a Chinese, \u00a0Caribbean, Mexico or Central or South America heritage.<\/p>\n

The article added:<\/p>\n

Among the English speakers, almost all are black; virtually none are white. And contrary to what many assume, most canners are not homeless. While a majority collect cans because they need the money, others do it simply out of boredom, as an excuse to get out of the house.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"PicSure We Can<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded by\u00a0a small group of concerned New York City residents which included Eugene Gadsden and Ana Martinez de Luco, the\u00a0<\/span>Sure We Can\u00a0<\/a>initiative\u00a0has tasked itself with removing\u00a0<\/span>the “current hardships that come with canning, both for those who already use it as their means of survival and for those who would like to do so.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2007, the organisation set up New York’s only licensed, homeless-friendly redemption centre in Brooklyn, giving canners a place where they can redeem recyclable cans and bottles in a ‘welcoming and community-building atmosphere’.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The video below tells more about their work:<\/p>\n