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Cans for Habitat

In 2004, Habitat for Humanity of Howard County began participating in the “Cans for Habitat” Program.  During the last 4 years, the program has grown substantially.  We raise nearly $2500 per year from recycling aluminum cans. Mike Hill, Vice-President of  Maryland Recycle, says that aluminum cans are worth more than you might think--50 cents or more per pound. It takes only 33 cans to make a pound, and every pound counts! If you do the math, we keep 1250 lbs or 41,250 aluminum cans out of the landfill each year by recycling with Maryland Recycle Co.

Maryland Recycle Co. allows individuals to recycle their cans on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Howard County. To participate, simply bring your cans to their Elkridge location, mention that you are recycling for Habitat for Humanity of Howard County, ask them to hold the receipt or take it home and mail it to us at PO Box 56 Columbia, MD 21045, and Habitat will receive the proceeds. Its really that simple!

You might think that you have to have truckloads of aluminum cans in order to recycle them...not true. You can recycle 5 lbs or 50 lbs, you can take your family’s cans, collect from your neighbors, or get your Congregation involved.  Every recycled-pound of cans helps Habitat build affordable housing right here in Howard County and helps the environment by keeping the aluminum out of our landfills.

“The partnership with Maryland Recycle Co. is crucial if we want to continue growing this program within the County”, says Volunteer Coordinator Faye Conley. We have a growing group of volunteers that collect cans from local businesses, places of Worship (ie Churches, Temples, etc.) and our 2 drop off sites in Columbia.  Enabling our community to drop their cans or start a recycling program in their neighborhood to benefit Habitat’s mission of eliminating substandard housing and homelessness is truly an outstanding opportunity to get extraordinary results.

For additional information on the “Cans for Habitat” program visit our website at www.howardhabitat.org or contact the office at 410-997-4949.

Maryland Recycle Co. has 5 convenient locations, including their Elkridge location at:

 5618 Furnace Ave., Elkridge, MD 21075
  Hours of operation: Mon-Fri, 8am-5 pm, and Sat, 8am-3pm
Visit: http://www.marylandrecycle.com/  for details.

Maryland Recycle accepts aluminum, brass, copper, and other non-ferrous metals. This includes aluminum siding and windows, and hubcaps. Call for further information and support our recycling partner.
**Remember: you must specify that the cans are for Habitat for Humanity of Howard County.**

A little over a year ago local Boy Scout Troop 75 member, Aaron Mogren, came to Habitat for Humanity of Howard County (HFHHC) full of energy and excitement about the possibility of completing his Eagle Scout project.  Renee Ferguson, HFHHC’s Operations Manager spent a great deal of time working with Aaron to ensure that the collection container was large enough to hold the ever increasing number of cans that were being brought to our drop off location on Dobbin Road, and that the design was functional for those who brought the cans and the volunteers that retrieve the cans.

Aaron and his Eagle Scout Coordinator Richard Barnes, worked hard on the design of the bin, working and reworking the plans until they had them just right. As Aaron began soliciting companies for donations of materials in support of his project, a treasure fell into the hands of HFHHC. Edward Swing of Ellicott City, contacted HFHHC to see if we would be able to use the wood from his recently disassembled deck. We were told the deck was made of Ipe wood, a rare South American hard wood of exceptional quality. With a little more research, Aaron found out the wood is also very resistant to weathering,  making it an excellent match for the project at hand.

Knowledge and participation of our “Cans for Habitat” program has increased greatly over the last year. Thanks to Aaron and his team of scouts, we are able to meet the storage demands that come along with recycling over 2900 aluminum cans every month. Recycling cans not only raises money for Habitat it also protects the environment.

Aluminum cans can be dropped off at 6570 Dobbin Road (behind Cornerstone Community Church and PlayWiseKids), Columbia, MD 21045 at any time. For additional information on the program and where you can drop your cans off, please contact the office at or send an email to [ email ].

A special thanks goes out to Aaron Mogren, Richard Barnes, the boys of Troop 75, John S. Wilson Company, Lowes of Columbia, and Kendall Hardware and of course Mr. Swing, who has impeccable timing. Without you this project would not have been possible!

Cans for Habitat is a program through the Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity Affiliates through local community efforts to recycle aluminum cans.  In Howard County, for each pound of aluminum recycled, Habitat for Humanity earns 55 cents.  In addition, the aluminum association provides various grants to Habitat Affiliates who reach predetermined recycling goals up to $50,000.

Anyone can participate in the aluminum can recycling.   Individuals may recycle cans in their homes and  bring them to one of our collection bin behind Cornerstone Church 6570 Dobbin Road, Columbia, MD 21045.  For more information please call 410-997-4949.

There are a couple of different places you can drop off your cans.

Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church
6410 Amhurst Drive
Columbia, MD 21046

Cornerstone Church
6570 Dobbin Road
Columbia, MD 21045

Maryland Recycle
5618 Furnace Avenue
Elkridge, MD 21075
*Special Note* Tell them you are recycling for Habitat for Humanity of Howard County, they will give you a receipt, you can either mail the receipt to us at PO BOX 56 Columbia, MD 21045 or drop it by the office at 9192 Red Branch Road Suite 150 Columbia, MD 21045. We collect the money from the receipts every other week.