Emo woman collecting pull tabs for disabled kids

Jan Hyatt of Emo has been collecting pull tabs from canned items for Northwestern Ontario when her grandchildren left grade school and entered high school.
The tabs then get recycled into wheelchair frames for disabled children.
“It takes quite a few tabs to get anywhere,” Hyatt admitted.
When Hyatt does get enough pull tabs, she delivers them to Western Metals in Winnipeg. Seven boxes of tabs, totalling 90 pounds, reaps only $54 at 60 cents a pound.
The going rate was 65 cents a pound last year, but that’s down to 60 cents a pound this year because of the rising Canadian dollar against the U.S. greenback, Hyatt noted.
A child’s wheelchair can cost anywhere from $400 to $5,000 or more, depending on the child’s needs.
The Emo Legion and Couchiching Bingo Hall help collect tabs for Hyatt’s mission. Various local hospitals, as well as the Golden Age Manor in Emo, also collect for her goal.
“You get more money for the tabs than the cans because they have to crush the cans,” explained Hyatt, adding if the can is too big, then there’s the issue of storage.
Pop cans are not the only ones that come with pull tabs. Soup, vegetable tins, and animal food also have them.
“Every bag helps, regardless of the size,” Hyatt enthused.
Hyatt said she stores the tabs in boxes and when she collects enough, she then drives to Winnipeg to cash them in. Since October, she already has collected two boxes.
Anyone who would like to help collect pull tabs for Hyatt, or those with tabs to donate, can call her at 482-1821.