You Can’t Pop a Jap Without Scrap
Scrap drives were an important part of the home front’s contribution to American victory during the war, and metal, paper, rags and old clothes, and rubber were all collected and recycled for use in military equipment. The use of metal in civilian capacities was also reduced and contributed to changes in American life, for example by early 1942 the sale of dog food in metal cans was curtailed. Manufacturers shifted their focus to dry dog food.
Americans were pressed to collect and contribute anything made of metal which they could spare. Pots and pans, broken down tools and equipment, old toys, fence materials, jar lids, coat hangers, anything made of metal was accepted and its donation encouraged. In some towns, ancient cannons from previous American wars used to decorate parks or civic buildings were melted down and made use of in the current war.
Old tires were at a premium, for cars and trucks, bicycles and tricycles, and anything else which used rubber wheels. So were raincoats, galoshes and even rubber bands. Paper too was badly needed, both for the massive amount of it used in the administration of government and military and for its desirability as a packaging material.
Pulpwood for the manufacture of new paper was soon scarce due to manpower shortages, and publishers found their paper allotments reduced early in the war. This led to smaller newspapers with narrower margins as well as an increase in the production of paperback books, which surprisingly used less paper than their larger hardbound brethren.
Scrap drives were often organized by communities or by organizations such as the Boy Scouts. Government posters which encouraged the donation of any and all items which could be of use to the war effort were common, and nearly all stressed the need to provide the necessities of war to the troops bearing the brunt of the fighting.