A hallmark of a good environmental club is that they take steps to follow the 3 R's: reducing, reusing, and recycling. These are all amazing, but what separates good clubs from great ones is their ability to give back to the environment a little more directly. The aforementioned 3 R's keep a lot of trash out of our landfills, and Cans For Clubs builds on that. Over 4,000 beverage containers are thrown away every second, and we focus on the easiest one to recycle: cans. By taking these cans to a scrap metal recycler or a redemption center, we are not only are able to keep them away from landfills, but directly give back to the environment. This year (2025-26), my school's environmental club was able to buy over 70 native plants and plant them along local trails (scroll down to see some of them!). Do the math: once we have 50+ schools in the Cans For Clubs network, we will be able to plant over 3,500 plants per year! All that stands between us and that goal is locating students who have the determination to make it happen across America, so sign up now and become a part of something greater!

Just like mighty trees grew from small seeds, Cans For Clubs grew from a single program at Saint Joseph's Preparatory School. In the autumn of 2025, the Environmental Justice Committee at the Prep started a can collection program. Throughout the year, I (Joseph C.) volunteered countless hours with the program, collecting hundreds of cans, and preparing them for recycling. At the end of the year, the club was able to purchase around 70 plants with the raised funds. Working on trails was nothing new to us, but I vividly remember digging holes to put the plants in, and thinking: "We're able to achieve this from literal garbage." That's the moment I realized that this shouldn't stay isolated to our school. That's what led me to start Cans For Clubs. In a world where so many things are stuck behind paywalls, I wanted an easy, free way for any teen anywhere to be able to contribute to making our only home, Earth, better.

As of June 2026, we have collected around 23,679 cans total, and planted ~70 plants. In these coming months, we aim to grow this program to at least 25 participating schools and collaborate with other environmental initiatives across America. Long term, we also hope to raise advocacy for a bottle bill in more states amongst the youth; we are the future after all!