M ateri al s Used Work s Ci ted

"The story of how the tin can nearly wasn't," BBC

News Magazine, April 21, 2013,
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-2168
9069

?Toxic Metal: The Health Dangers of Tin,? Global

Healing Center, Dr. Edward Group, May
16, 2013,www.globalhealingcenter.com/n
atural-health/toxic-metal-health-dangers
-of-tin/, Accessed on November 10,2019.

?How Long Does it Electronic Waste Take to

Decompose?,? ERI, November 3, 2015,
eridirect.com/blog/2015/11/how-lon
Tin Cans Already owned g-does-it-take-electronic-waste-to-de
compose/ Accessed on November 7,
. 2019.
Twine Already owned
?It?s Elemental,? Jefferson lab,
education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele0
Seeds x3 $3 50.html, Accessed on November 9,
2019.

Paint/ Spray Already owned ?Guide to Tinplate,? SlideShare, Tony Wallace,

paint October 16, 2014,
www.slideshare.net/tonywallace/gui
de-to-tinplate, accessed on
Stencils $5
November 7, 2019.
A L IC E L AY N E

?What are Tin Cans Made of?,? Sciencing, Tyler

In total I spent $8. This shows how Lacoma, April 20, 2018,

easy and inexpensive it is to make sciencing.com/tin-cans-made-5344942.h

tml, Accessed on November 7, 2019
something new from old materials.
Hi story of Ti n
Tin was first used in 3500 BC. It was
combined with copper to make
bronze for weapons and other
essentials at the time. It is widely
agreed that tins largest
contribution to society has been
the tin can. During the American
civil war, tin cans became
extremely popular for being light
and preserving food for long
periods of time. Since then people
have discovered that Steel cans will
last much longer. Tin cans now are
made if steel with a thin layer of tin
to prevent corrosion ( Lacoma ).
Ch emi stry of Ti n
Tin comes mostly from the mineral
cassiterite ( SnO2 ). The cassiterite
is burned with carbon to remove
the oxygen and get the pure Tin.
Tin only makes up 0.001% of the
earths crust and comes primarily
from Malaysia ( It's Elemental ). The
chemical formula for the tin plated
steel used to make tin cans is
99.73% lead, 0.12% carbon, 0.15%
Tin ( Wallace ).
Wh ere w oul d
th ese cans be i f
th ey w eren't
up-cycl ed?
Most likely, a landfill. Tin is an easily
recycled material but not everyone
knows this. So what happens to tin
in landfills? Tin can take more than
50 years to decompose in a landfill
and even then it never fully
decomposes ( Group ). Tin also
poses health risks if littered or
improperly disposed of. Tin can
cause many health issues when it is
inhaled it can cause lung disease,
tumors, and infertility in men. Tin
particles in dust are much more
harmful than any fumes released
when tin melts ( How Long ).