It’s not true that every time someone cracks open a can of beer, a veteran gets his wings.
But it is true that collecting and turning those aluminum cans in for recycling is helping send veterans to Washington, D.C., on Kansas Honor Flights.
Last month, the Sedgwick County Commission honored two of the most dedicated can collectors — brothers Jim and Gene Scheer — by proclaiming it “Garden Plain Can Brothers Day.”
Since 2021, the Scheers have collected and turned in over 1.3 million cans, raising enough money to send 30 veterans on a KHF trip.
Jim Scheer is a Korean War veteran who went on an Honor Flight in 2018. Gene, who is 11 years younger, is a Vietnam War veteran who went on one of the flights in 2021.
By then, Jim had already started collecting cans at his home for the Honor Flight program. Gene started helping and decided they ought to expand the effort by placing collection sites around western Sedgwick County. The receptacles are empty fertilizer totes that can hold 250 gallons of liquid.
“My son works for the co-op, so I have a pretty good source,” Gene said.
Today, they have them in Garden Plain, Colwich, Andale, Kingman, Cheney, Goddard and Maize. Currently, Andale and Colwich are in the lead for producing empty cans. The Scheers pick up cans at those sites on nearly a weekly basis.
“Andale’s always been good,” Gene said. “Colwich took a little while to come around.”
While most collection sites are public, they put one at a friend’s house who is known to invite other friends over for a cold beverage or two.
“It keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Gene said of their collecting.
Honor Flights take veterans to our nation’s capital to visit its most important memorials. They are free to the veterans but cost about $900 per person. Honor Flight supporters around the United States have turned to collecting aluminum cans as a source of fundraising
The cans have brought in anywhere from 25 cents to 65 cents per pound at Allmetal Recycling in north Wichita, Gene said. On the day of the Can Brothers proclamation, Allmetal CEO Clint Cornejo donated an additional $1,800 to KHF.
It takes about 34 or 35 cans to equal a pound, and the Scheers have collected about 40,000 pounds. Beer cans make up the biggest percentage, and Gene revealed that Budweiser’s use of a controversial social influencer had changed which empties are most numerous.
“Budweiser used to be until they put that gal’s picture on that can. Now it’s about a third of what it used to be.”
