Norpro 1305 Can Crusher

• CAN CRUSHER
• KW's: can crusher

Amazon.com Review:
Here's a nifty little item for consumers of canned beverages, especially those whose local government levies fees based on the size of their recycle bin, those wanting to work on their arm strength, and regular Janes and Joes who believe in reducing garbage and recycling mass. Just slightly indent any empty aluminum can, grasp the lever, and pull down sharply to flatten the can to a height of 1 inch. The can crusher mounts into the studs of a permanent wall; be sure to choose a comfortable height for the main crusher in your household. You'll be able to compress a couple of cartons of soda cans, build a bigger bicep, and still have room in the bin for mixed paper and bottles. --Tony Mason

Simple, but a little messy:
I bought this at a local hardware store for $13.49 before taxes. I had a hard time finding a place to install it in a small kitchen. I didn't want to mess up my cabinets by drilling holes in them. I didn't want to install it directly to drywall either. While searching for a place to mount the thing it occurred to me to hang it on the fridge. I talked myself out of this, but thought it would be nice to have a fridge with a crusher built into it. Can crushers are notoriously messy. From high priced to low priced. It is the little bit of fluid left in the can that spills out that makes a mess. If the can crusher was built into the fridge next to the water and ice dispenser that little mess created in the crushing process could spill over into the water dispenser's spill over tray. Every time you go to the fridge for another, you could bring back your empty to the same spot, crunch it, get another, etc. Anyway this particular crusher takes about a 5 inch can and turns it into about a 1 and a quarter inch puck. Now I can make one trip to the recycling bin instead of 5, and that for me is what crunching cans is all about.

Can crusher:
I got this for my mom and it broke in less than a week. She told me afterwards that it was missing some screws or something so the handle falls off. I'm very aggravated with it!