Value of aluminum can pull tabs?

Question

Does anyone know anything about the value of aluminum can(beer, soda, etc.) pull tabs? I have heard a rumor that the tabs are worth more than the cans and that a gallon jug of tabs can be sold at recycling centers for several hundred dollars.Anyone know if this is really true?

Answer 1

I am not sure about the several 100 dollars. But I know the Ronald McDonald house accepts the tabs so they can raise money. We give ours to them. They are cleaner and don't take up the space as the cans. I really don't think they are more than the cans, same aluminum same price. We have recycled aluminum cans for more than 30 years, it started so we could have fireworks for our kids, and now we can't stop.

Answer 2

This rumor is false.

I am glad to see that the 5 who answered before me did not quote the infamous snopes.com posting stating tab redemption to be a myth,

The type I silver aluminum pull tab (the normal pop can tab which accounts for 96.21% of the U.S. market) weighs in at about 0.65 pounds per thousand (0.0104 ounces each). These tabs have no special value other than the fact that they are scrap aluminum.

A gallon of tabs is about 3,400-4,700 tabs (they is no way to get an exact number, as I have recorded 156 different tabs, and there is the matter of the little curly thing which tangles all the tabs together and can affect volume by up to 36%), so a gallon should weigh in close to 2.65 pounds.

As scrap aluminum is going for 50 cents to a dollar, depending where you live, yoiu would therefore have a value of $1.33 to $2.65 in metal.

The story of the special value of a gallon of tabs all started during a 1998 Tab Fest (a Wisconsin Concert for charity) collection, where one of the participants wanted to turn in the most tabs, and told all of his friends that he would buy a keg of beer for whoever brought him the most tabs (i have also heard that the prize was $75, a Guitar, etc, but it was in fact a keg of beer). In this fellows little contest, the winning contributor turned in a 1 gallon milk jug of tabs. It should be noted that in 1998, the dominant tab was the Type III silver, which we now find on 24 ounce beer cans, weighing in at 14.7 ounces per 1,000, though I would assume they still would weigh in at about 2.65 pounds per gallon

$100 worth of tabs at the national average of 75 cents per pound, would take up the space of a picnic cooler, where as $100 in aluminum cans would fill a good sized van.

Anybody who chooses to believe the rumor of tabs being worth more than scrap aluminum is welcome to contact me, I'll sell you 5 gallons for $100.

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Answer 3

The Shriners hospitals take these as donations. My son collected them at his school for a community service project when he was in second grade and a PR person at the nearest hospital gave us a tour of the facilities in thanks for the donation. Or, a local Shriner will pick them up.

Answer 4

We save our aluminum cans, we have a crusher hanging in the laundry room and when we get a leaf bag full my husband takes it to city hall and they turn it into cash  for the K9-unit.

Answer 5

1490 tabs make one pound. One pound is worth 50 cents. So, one tab is worth 0.034 cents.

I collected about half a million for the Ronald McDonald house. You wouldn't believe how many people collect them.

Answer 6

The tabs have no value. The cans are the real money makers. Scrap aluminum is going for $1.00 a pound!

Answer 7

The pop-tab, as many call it, was invented in1962 by Ermal Fraze of Kettering, Ohio.  Shortly thereafter, someone took advantage of the new invention and universal gullibility to start a hoax that the pop-tabs could be collected and used to pay for kidney dialysis, wheelchairs, etc.  

In 1985, The Ronald McDonald House of Minneapolis, Minnesota was inspired by the pop-tab collection rumor to actually create a tab collecting program. Now known as the Pop Tab Collection Recycling Program, it has helped raise over $4 million in funds for all participating U.S. houses.  Tab collectors can get in touch with a nearby Ronald McDonald House to arrange for tabs to be turned in.