Sustainability through durability: Haws’ approach to watering cans
The material question
Sustainability in watering cans is not a marketing claim. It is grounded in what the materials actually do over time, and what happens when a can reaches the end of its useful life.
We make cans from steel, plastic, copper, and brass. Each material has different properties and different end-of-life behaviour.
Steel cans
Our steel cans are made from galvanised steel --- either hot dip galvanised, which provides corrosion protection through a zinc coating, or painted galvanised, which adds a protective paint layer over the zinc.
At the end of its working life, the steel can be recycled through standard channels. The galvanised coating and the paint do not prevent recycling. Steel mills accept galvanised steel as a standard input stream.
Plastic cans
Our plastic cans are made from injection-moulded or blow-moulded polyethylene. When a plastic can reaches the end of its useful life, the plastic body can be recycled through standard plastic recycling channels.
Recycling behaviour depends on local systems. Check your local recycling guidelines for how to prepare plastic watering cans for collection.
Copper and brass cans
Solid copper and brass cans are valuable as raw materials. Both metals are fully recyclable and are commonly accepted in scrap metal recycling streams. In many cases, the material value itself may give a copper or brass can a second life through reclamation rather than recycling.
Our packaging
The packaging is made from recycled cardboard and is fully recyclable. It contains no plastic films or synthetic liners.
The longevity argument
The most sustainable product is one that lasts. Every can replaced represents materials extracted, shaped, transported, and eventually disposed of. If a can remains in use for twenty or thirty years instead of five, the environmental impact of its manufacture is spread across a much longer period of service.
This is why we design for durability. The steel is thick enough to resist denting. The zinc coating protects the steel from rust. The handles and cross stays are reinforced so they do not flex under load. The spout is shaped to be robust rather than delicate.
A Haws can made in 1980 and still in use today, has delivered fifty years of service from a single instance of material extraction, manufacturing, and transport. That is different from replacing a lighter-gauge can every seven years.
Longevity is not guaranteed. It depends on care. Keeping a can out of freezing temperatures when full, storing it dry when not in use, and handling it without careless impacts all extend its lifespan. A can used with care will outperform one that is left full in winter or stored in constant wet conditions.
But the design starts with durability in mind. The proportions, gauge, and construction method all reflect a commitment to making something that will perform consistently across decades, not just seasons.
Repair and replacement of components
Every Haws can is assembled from components. Some wear more quickly than others. A rose can be dropped and damaged. A handle can crack if the can is struck hard. A ferrule can be bent through rough handling. These are wear items, and when they fail, they can be replaced without replacing the entire can.
Roses are available as spare parts. If a rose becomes damaged or you want to change the spray weight you are using, you can buy a replacement. The ferrule on the spout is the same across all cans in a given size range, so roses are compatible across the range.
Downspouts are available as spare replacements. If you have been using a can without one and want to add precision to your pouring, or if a downspout becomes bent, you can replace it.
For older cans, some components may no longer be in active production, but they can sometimes be sourced through our support channels or through careful salvage from other cans.
Repair of the can body itself is less straightforward. Seams can be resoldered or resealed, but this requires specialist metalworking. Plastic bodies cannot usually be repaired once cracked or split. If the main structure is compromised, the can is no longer reliable for holding water.
The design choice that supports repairability most is modularity. We separate the rose system from the can body. This means you do not have to replace an entire can if the spray system fails. You only replace the rose. The can itself can return to use with a new attachment.
Choosing durability as a value
Making cans by hand, using thicker gauges, applying protective coatings, and assembling with precision costs more than industrial shortcuts. We choose this path because we have learned that durability creates less waste over time.
A can that lasts thirty years, with roses and downspouts replaced occasionally as they wear, generates less material and less environmental impact than three ten-year cans or six five-year cans doing the same job.
This is not abstract environmental principle. It is practical logic. A product designed to perform consistently across decades, made from recyclable material, with replaceable components where wear is inevitable, is more sustainable than a cheaper alternative that fails sooner and must be discarded.
The work is in the making. The sustainability is in the result.