Local Charity Gets Boost from Recycling and Kenton Brothers Old Keys
If there is one thing Kenton Brothers has in excess, it’s keys: old keys, cut keys that just don’t work, keys switched out for new keys, keys keys keys…..
What many people do not realize is that most keys are made from brass. In the recycled metals business, brass sells for approximately $2/pound; while aluminum is selling for about $0.30/pound. That is almost 7 times as much, and if you are the Ronald McDonald House, that adds up to a significantly higher return on donations.
Since 2002, the Ronald McDonald House has been collecting pop tabs as a source of funding. They collect the tabs instead of the whole can because the tab contains a higher concentration of metal thereby giving the charity more money at the recycling center, with less space needed to store the donations. Unfortunately, the recession has drastically affected the price of aluminum. It has gone from a high of about $0.70/pound to the current low of $0.30/pound.
For those of you who have been to our shop, you may have noticed buckets filled with keys. These are either keys that have been cut incorrectly and do not fit a lock, keys that are brought in by customers to recycle, or various parts of hardware made of brass. In 2010, Kenton Brothers held their first ever event to help the Ronald McDonald House in their “Keys to the House that Love Built” campaign. By asking customers to bring in old keys, and by donating Kenton Brothers recyclables we were able to donate over 306 pounds of brass to the Ronald McDonald House. That’s over $600 in brass, compared to only $91 if it were aluminum!
This year, we are continuing to support the “Keys to the House that Love Built” campaign by collecting keys here at the shop. If you have old keys, or old hardware made of brass–and Barney or Vern will be able to tell you if it is–please bring these items to us at Kenton Brothers. We plan on hosting an event later this Summer to celebrate these donations and our support of this critically important local charity.
Please stop by when you are in the neighborhood. Our address is 1718 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO 64108, in the historic Crossroads District.