There has been a good activity of collecting pull-tabs (of drink can lids) and exchanging those for wheel-chairs. This activity is now experiencing swings.

Earlier, for most of the cans, when lid is opened, a tab used to come out and get detached. These days, there are cans with tabs, which when opened, do not get detached. Forcefully trying to pull the tab out of the can may hurt. Hence some tab collection associations have started rejecting collection of such cans. But still there are many schools and groups which are collecting the tabs and are now getting confused because of collection being rejected by associations.

Earlier a movement "Collect tabs and get wheelchair" became widely known through a famous singer's radio program. In this movement, the tabs were sold to the association and money received was used for buying wheelchairs.
At that time, the tabs were detachable and the tabs lying around here and there on streets was not a good scene.
Hence this movement became popular, as by means of a mere small action of picking tabs, it helped environment as well as social work.

Later, the cans got modified and got lids with non-detachable tabs.

A group in Osaka, still collects upto 400 kg of tabs (at peak) weekly. They are collected by concerned association. The group has donated 321 wheelchairs in last 7 years.

Translated by: Ms. Pallavi Gokhale from Pune