Make money by recycling cans
For years Kelley collected aluminum cans and plastic beverage containers during the Great Recession. Many people are in need of sidebar money and one of the best ways to make it is by collecting stuff people throw away. It would be hard to make a living doing this, but as a supplement to a fixed income such as social security or SSI, this is hard to beat.
In California, recycling centers are located at many different locations in towns and cities, so check the Internet or the phone book to find the one nearest you.
These California centers will pay for items for which CRV taxes have been paid. CRV is an abbreviation for California Refund Value, which is paid by consumers every time they purchase these items — five cents for each ounce aluminum can, for instance. Moreover, the CRV value is listed on each container. This value could go up or down depending on state legislation. Please note that from here on, all information in this article will pertain to recycling only in California.
Each recycling center pays a different amount for aluminum, plastic and glass, so find the best deal and haul your stuff there.
Recyclers pay 20 to 40 cents per pound for bimetal containers, such as the ones used for Sapporo beer and some health drinks. But if you can find lots of them, then haul them away.
Plastic comes in two main types: The number of the plastic is located inside a small triangle at the bottom of the container. Better yet, bring you pickup truck or van; however, paying for gas could cut into your profits.
You may not believe this but I get up as early as two in the morning to beat all the other collectors. With plastic bag in hand, I can find cans and plastic bottles lying on the sidewalk or in the gutter or street.
Since there are plenty of litterbugs in town, this method works okay. But if you want to find many collectables in one place, you must hit the trash receptacles, those large, plastic containers, a blue one for recyclables and a green one for green wastes. Monday through Thursday people put these out near the curb so the trash can be picked up by the disposal companies. Bring along a flashlight if you like, but I usually do without, using the moon for light and feeling my way. These plastic receptacles can also be found in alleys, so you can comb through them as well, any time of the week.
However, the private disposal company that empties these dumpsters during the week uses the same key that fits all the dumpsters they empty.
So if you can get that key, you can open many dumpsters. Like most people, I have only one such key, the one that opens the dumpster behind my apartment building. Interestingly, some dumpsters have combination locks. A friend of mine named Aaron has two different dumpster keys; therefore, in theory anyway, he can open twice as many dumpsters as I can. And Aaron knows one lucky guy who has four such keys, one of which is the key to municipal dumpsters.
This quartet of keys, if you will, is the Holy Grail for local collectors! Aaron actually climbs into these dumpsters and pulls out the collectables. This down and dirty approach is beyond an old guy like me, so I simply pick out what I find near the top. The dumpsters near restaurants and nightclubs are the best to hit, but you better get there early - two or three in the morning and have some entry keys with you.
Competition is always a factor. Please be as courteous, quiet and neat as you can be while collecting; otherwise, residents and business owners may complain and send the police after you and other collectors. Also bear in mind that an article in the September 20, issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that many cities such as San Diego, California have ordinances prohibiting scavenging from curbside containers.
The reason for this law is that the city of San Diego and its registered haulers use money from the sale of recyclables to offset costs for disposal.
3 Ways to Get Money for Recycling - wikiHow
Simply be advised that you need to know what the laws are regarding collecting or scavenging in your area before you set forth with collection bag in hand to get down and dirty. Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account. No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.
Generate high and stable revenue by purchasing waste, processing it, and then selling it! My mom drinks a ton of diet coke. She goes through like 24 or so a week. I could make a ton of money just recycling those cans. It would be nice to make a little extra cash and help the environment out at the same time. I'm a big fan of recycling metal cans and plastic bottles. They are easy to find and it is not a bad way of supplementing your income.
It is also something you can get your kids involved in. I used to recycle aluminum cans quite a bit when I was a kid. I saved up for a bike that way. I used to go around my neighborhood and collect cans and bottles. It really can help out your pocketbook and help reuse our resources.
I feel like it benefits society in many ways. It is amazing that aluminum can go for 2, dollars a ton. That is not bad money. Motels can be an excellent source of recyclable's. If you get permission. Thanks for your comment, Chapper1.
Yes, indeed, one must be very careful while collecting; people love their privacy. Be careful going into peoples trash, my friend got SHOT doing that! Would have been great to read this prior to being busted collecting cans. I bumped over a big blue bin and the neighbour came down to flip out.
Homeless everywhere n local neighborhood mental persons have made this life! It is almost rediculous how they fight over blocks space also just area. You come from North Flint you'll understand. As a kid of 9yrs old I moved to Nashville, Tn with the big GMotors boom Saturn. They arent as violent but very hostile over a can. I still got sent back home every Summer. I wasnt allowed to stay in Tennnessee.. Went back to North Flint but one year returning to North Flint some times my last weeks I'd go see my second home Grand Rapids, Mi..
Anywho but my Uncle n Grandad father saved me over the summer almost 2 grand.. Would have been more if my Uncles and Cousins did take from me. They ended up locking it them up. I no idea what areas you all are in but 10c per bottle plus the cans. You could make a nice amounts.
The key is to save them all SAVE FOR 2 Summers and until fall or December 1st ; wow! Can take car of children if you none then spent that great money on a gift for any partner. Target your friends that drink pop drink soda coke I say Pop Michigan. If are going by the pound? You might just quit.. My friend had roughtly lbs. He was paid 17 bucks.. We got my many cans, his almost the same..
One more friend chipped in his cans for free Talk about pilled up but out come 17 bucks. In the UK you now need to provide photo ID at the scrap merchant before they will take your scrap. Thanks for the comment, Cas Merchant. Collecting can net a person some extra cash, but making a living from it would be very difficult.
The income gained from recycling bottles and cans can add up big time. It's a free tank of gas at the end of the month. Hey, Jlo , there ain't much science involved in collecting cans and plastic. If you prefer science, read about archaeology or astronomy, two subjects about which I write at great length.
Thanks for the comment, Jamesm I recycle all the time, and so should everybody else. Hey, MigsMcGee, many people have written stories about collecting cans and plastic - but mine's the best. Anyway, collecting doesn't pay much, but the stuff is tax free, so in some cases it's worth doing. Wow, I can't believe an article like this exists.
If digging through people bins isn't your thing, try to find a place that uses a lot of cans, such as restaurants, bars and banquet halls. If you live in a city, this may not be too feasible, because most business already have some guy who comes buy in a truck to pick up their recycle products.
Make more money from your aluminum cansI work in catering, so after some events I make sure to take the empty cans and bottles with me. Thanks for the comment, GmaGoldie. You're right - everyone should recycle, whether or not they keep the money for such. When my husband and I moved, consolidated households, picked up items left by two tenants at a rental, I was very organized and gave literally thousands of items to Goodwill yet the metal - the really heavy metal I took to recycling.
Lo and behold it paid for lunch that day! I grew up too poor to waste. I don't collect aluminum I do recycle with my municipal trash but I learned a great lesson that day.
Thanks for the comment, Angela Kane.
I agree this is a very helpful article. I work with people who are always looking for ways to make money and this hub will give them a great idea.
Hey, ckiser16, I'm not surprised many people are collecting nowadays. Thanks for the comment. And you're right, Earn4free, collecting cans and plastic is a tough way to make meaningful dough. My mom used to make me and my sister collect cans when we were younger. It was pretty embarrassing!
Lately, though, I have seen people in my neighborhood collect aluminum and things on a much bigger scale. Seems to me that everyone won in that situation! So it can be done, because there are quite a few different people who scowl my neighborhood on trash day.
What pays off much better than collecting recyclables is panning for gold.
I haven't tried it yet, but I almost certainly will. What would work best for your mother or grandmother would be working online, but earning decent money with such work is not easy as well. Good luck for all concerned. Hey Kosmo, yeah it is tax free, but as you said, unless you collect many pounds each week, which is difficult for those who are collecting such checks. Those who are on it, either are too old to do a good enough job to supplement their income or have medical issues which would also prevent them from doing so.
These are the other factors I mentioned in my first comment. My mother is 64 years old and presently works days at her present job, just to make ends meet, and her salary at that job isn't chump change, like minimum wage.
She is not a person who has good credit anymore and she is no longer interested in credit anymore. If she cannot afford it, then she goes without. My grandmother was the same way. If trash money- was to be done, it would need to be done seriously and in huge bulk.
Hey, Cagsil, living on social security is always going to be a challenge, and supplementing this low income with collecting won't improve matters much, unless you collect many pounds each week. The best thing about collecting is that it's tax free income. Hey Kosmo, great hub. However, I would like to touch on one thing you said and in my current living situation, your statement would be untrue. I am currently living at home with my mother who is collecting social security on as a part-time retiree and she would be unable to live on what she receives and collecting as you suggested.
There would not be enough income actually coming for her to live, without cutting out something important. There are plenty of other factors with her particular situation, but with just those two it would not be adequate. Just thought you should know. That's right, Kathy, collecting is an excellent way to make tax-free cash. It has certainly helped me through my recent lean times.
After living in the Silicon Valley for 10 years where recycling is required for residential pick up, we started setting the can and bottles aside for the kids, and it resulted in a nice profit for them increasing their disposable income coming from parents, birthday, and holiday cash gifts. Great article and a reminder how a little bit adds up and can positively effect your quality of life. Hey, makd, thanks for calling my article useful - that's what I always want to hear.
Yes, friends, it's easy to joke about this modest endeavor, but when you need pocket money your imagination tends to wander until you're out at two a. Thank you for opening the doors to an exciting new career path.
Think, even those of us who are undocumented though I am in the process can enter this new and entirely green field. The timing on this is funny because I just started collecting cans from my friends after weekends of beer-drinking.
I'm going to cash them in this week and see how much I can get back. Great minds think alike: Please rate this article using the scale below. The scale is from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best and 1 is the worst.
Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. HubPages and Hubbers authors may earn revenue on this page based on affiliate relationships and advertisements with partners including Amazon, Google, and others.
How to make money recycling in Adelaide South Australia.
The Art of Collecting Aluminum Cans, Plastic and Glass Updated on November 10, Photo used by permission of Henry Garciga. Blue and green trash containers. Collecting is a great way to make extra cash Many people are in need of sidebar money and one of the best ways to make it is by collecting stuff people throw away.
Who pays for these recyclables? Bimetal cans Recyclers pay 20 to 40 cents per pound for bimetal containers, such as the ones used for Sapporo beer and some health drinks. Plastic Plastic comes in two main types: Some final advice Please be as courteous, quiet and neat as you can be while collecting; otherwise, residents and business owners may complain and send the police after you and other collectors. Please leave a comment.
We need an app that would tell us if bottles or cans are inside a trash bag. Key to be Stealthy! Metal is precious and can pay. Yes, Sunnyglitter, girls can collect too. You gotta love tax free cash. How good is this article? Industries Service Marketing Retail Finance Tech Manufacturing E-Commerce Accounting. Real Estate Buying Renting Selling.
Starting a Business Business Names Business Plans.