As most people know, the use of glass beer bottles is extremely environmentally friendly. Something like 98 per cent of those brown bottles we know and love make their way back into the recycling system.
We take those bottles and wash them, using them over and over again.
Of course, cans are recycled, too. But old cans must be crushed and re-manufactured into new cans. While this is more cost effective than using new raw materials, it is not nearly as efficient as reusing bottles.
Until now, that is. We are happy to announce that we have developed the first ever (we think) aluminum can washer.
The first issue we needed to deal with was getting in to actually wash the cans. We have built a conveyor that lines cans up single file, upside down.
Fingers hold the cans in place while a small brush (kind of like a miniature toilet bowl brush, we hate to admit) is automatically pushed up through the opening in the can.
Between the cleaning solution and the vigorous rotation of the brush, the can emerges clean and ready for refilling.
However, a much more significant challenge was resealing the can afterwards.
Then the inspiration hit: we invented a new lid to fit over the old lid, seaming it into place. The new lid kind of looks like the metal lid on top of a container of peanuts. It has a ring pull on it and the whole lid pries off of the can once the seal is broken.
Once the new lid is off, you can use the existing hole that was originally in the top of the can. The edges of the new retrolid can be removed from the old can and a new retrolid can be applied over and over.
We did find that the cleaned cans still had dents in them, at times. This was an easy problem to solve. We simply slightly increased the carbonation level in the beers that we put into cans.
After the washed can has been refilled, we pass the can through a vibration cycle. The pressure created inside the cans has proved to be more than sufficient to pop out any crimps in the formerly dirty can.
So, if you find cans of beer turning up that look vaguely like they have a peanut lids on them, just enjoy the greenhouse gases you are saving. Unless, of course, you are producing methane gases of your own.
