Aluminum pull tabs help Vernon Lions support Camp Winfield

Photo: Contributed

There's extra money in that bag of empty pop and beer cans lurking in your basement or garage.

And the Vernon Lions Club can put it to good use.

Lions members Ralph Whittle and Mike Smith recently loaded up 459 pounds of aluminum can pull tabs at the Rona store in Vernon.

The hardware store is the collection point for the pull tabs in the North Okanagan.

Club president Sharon Cain explains the tabs are cashed in for the scrap metal value of the aluminum, and it can quickly add up.

The bonus is, removing the pull tabs doesn't affect the five-cent deposit return you get when you take your empties to the recycling centre. The pull tabs, therefore, are a hidden value that can be put to use to help good causes.

In this instance, the Lions donate the proceeds (almost $700) to the Easter Seals Camp Winfield.

Camp Winfield has been in operation since 1968 and offers camping experiences and outdoor activity for children and teens with physical and/or mental disabilities.

The money helps to purchase wheelchairs and other equipment for the camp.

You can help out, too, by saving your pull tabs and dropping them off at the collection bin at Rona.