Do you Recycle bottles and Cans?

[dtjunkie]

How much could i possibly make doing this? I live in an apartment so I don't have a lot of room to store my empty bottles and cans. I plan on going to the recycling place once a week if i'm going to do this. I figure i'll have at least one big trash bag full of uncrushed bottles and cans every week.

I live in California, anybody have ideas on how much one bag should fetch me?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I save the very few aluminum cans we get and just give them to someone who cashes them in. I don't know the current aluminum price--I'd guess maybe 45 cents a pound. Glass, I understand, does not currently pay to recycle, in fact I think it has been years since you could even get 1 cent per pound. I know for a while my city was stock-piling glass, --huge mountains of glass that it encouraged citizens to refrain from sending to the landfill-- waiting for the price to perhaps go up so that it would at least pay the fuel cost of transporting the glass to the buyer. Other recyclable items may be more profitable, particularly metals, but most recylcables require very large volumes to add up to much money.

[PRICEPLUS]

Here in NY we get a nickel on soda bottles and cans. They are looking to expand that to iced tea and juices as well.

Money for the base material may be so low though as to make it not worth your while!

[baking23]

Originally Posted by dtjunkie

I live in California, anybody have ideas on how much one bag should fetch me?

Do you mean earning money for the weight of the recyclables, or are your pop cans worth so much cash?

Here in Michigan a beer/pop can/bottle is worth $0.10 so I collect all of them that I can. I ones that are store brands, or not taken by the machine, I recycle for the environment. I know a big garbage bag normally holds about 80 cans, or here at least, $8.00.

[poundwise]

We save any cans that we use but, with the rate for aluminum being so high right now, I am tempted to get out and walk a few stretches of road picking up cans. It may not add up to much but, then again, ...

Plus, it would be a little extra exercise.

[PRICEPLUS]

As of 16 March Aluminum was going for 1.27 American per pound. Lets say the average can weighs .5 ounce. You would need 32 cans to equal one pound. In NY you get a nickel per can and in some states it is a dime. So 32 cans get you $1.60 which is .33 cents more than selling by weight. If you get a dime it is even a better deal as you get 3.20 which is 1.93 over the weight price.

I think the poundage price comes in for bulk aluminum that is not redeemable in soda can form! I also listed a site where you can find the metal values.

Kitco - Base Metals - Industrial metals - Copper, Aluminum, Nickel, Zinc, Lead - Charts, Prices, Graphs, Quotes, Cu, Ni, Zn, Al, Pb


I don't know that you would get 1.27 per pound at a junk yard or other collectors place as I am not familiar with turning metals in for profit.

I hope this was somewhat helpful!

[getforfree]

I collect all the cans and bottles we use in the big plastic bags. Once I get about 4 big bags, I go to the recycling place. I also pick up any cans or bottles I see on my way. I always have a few grocery bags in my trank to put the cans in. I separate cans and bottles in different bags and they take it by weight. The last time I recucled, I got $22+

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yes, I recycle all cans, bottles, soda 2L. There is a pick up recycling so I recycle pretty much everything. I also carpool to work and try to use public transportation. I also walk to the store because it's good.

Did you watch an inconvient truth? Anyway I do it for the environment mainly.

[aurielle]

They are now paying $1.55/lb for aluminum cans here in Northern Cali. Last week I turned in two 33 gal bagfuls (not smashed) plus one 13 gal bag of plastic soda and water bottles and got $20 and change.

[dtjunkie]

Wow Aurielle !!so 3 giant bags and you got over $20!? That's awesome. I wish i could find a place that paid per piece for them though, that sounds more a like a better deal. Ok, you all have convinced me, i'm going to start collecting NOW.
I'm only really shooting for $5.00 a week. I'll let you all know how much i rake in next Saturday.

baking23 - 0.10 sounds pretty good too, if i were you i'd be nagging everyone i knew for their cans and bottles. 200 cans/bottles a week doesn't sound that tough to reach. $20/week = $80/month. Nice!

[baking23]

Originally Posted by dtjunkie

baking23 - 0.10 sounds pretty good too, if i were you i'd be nagging everyone i knew for their cans and bottles. 200 cans/bottles a week doesn't sound that tough to reach. $20/week = $80/month. Nice!

I think a long time ago there was actually a Seinfeld ep where two of the guys tried to bring a truckload of cans to MI. I pick up all the cans I see, and bottles, that way I can recycle them if they are sold. My parents had ten years of old pop leftover and we got some money back on all teh undrunk stuff, but empting out all those containers was a pain.

I've also been writting the codes on Coke and diet coke lids at friend's houses for points. I'll have quite a few now and get something free out of it. I don't drink pop so it's two things for free. One year I made $400 just by picking up empty cans and bottles.

[disneysteve]

Around here, they pick up our recyclables with the trash. We recycle cans, bottles, plastic (#1 and #2) and paper. I do it for the environment. I don't get any money for it.

If I lived somewhere that had a return fee, I'd definitely do that. In fact, we've done it when we've vacationed in those areas.

[shelbylovesmelby]

We save cans in a plastic trash cart outside.

They fetch around here last time I took some in around .85 a lb = 26 cans

They don't pay for glass.

I don't know if they pay for news paper anymore or not. But it was next to nothing per 100lbs!! & that was some years ago.
Better off recycling that stuff. Or if you know someone who composts they may be interested in your newspaper for weed control & to put in their compost.

[nanamom]

We donate our cans to a local church youth group that recycles them for the cash. Everything else we leave with the garbage for the recycling truck. If the youth group didn't take them I'd give them to the local animal shelter.

[cptacek]

I put out some trash cans at work with a "recycle your cans here" sign and people did...alot! People really drink more pop than you think they do. I then gave the cans to my nephews who smash them and recycle them for entry money for kids rodeo.

[Aleta]

The problem with recycling is that some want you to clean up the can and remove the label. Since, we are having problems with a water shortage; I don't know how efficient that is. You're using one resource to save another one.

[ktmarvels]

I just moved from Oregon (which has a deposit on cans) to Florida (which doesn't). I've been seeing cans on the side of the road and would like to recycle them for $$, but I don't really even know how to begin. Do all recycling places accept them for money? Do they need to be in any particular condition?

[kealina]

our center (which conveniently is fairly close by) pays 5 cents a can/bottle for certain containers... we recycle those whenever we get pretty full and usually make $15 or so every month and a half... we drink tons of water so our cans add up slowly even tho we collect cans other places as well...

we also recycle whatever else they accept as well as dropping off our newspapers at the elementary school recycle center down the street... that's more environmental than anything else... we always try to find another home for stuff before we trash it...

[Ima saver]

I don't think we have anyplace that pays for cans around here, so mine just go in the garbage.

[PetMom]

I use our recycle bin and have already been in the habit for a long
time to recycle things (I even recycle toilet paper rolls). I did not
realize that garbage bags were going up in price so in a way
I am saving by recycling as much as possible - I use less
garbage bags.

I don't have a garbage disposal in my sink
(it broke when we moved in and I never wanted to get
it fixed plus it takes electric power to run). I learned from
someone to put food waste into a plastic store bag and
freeze it until ready for garbage day. That way I don't have
smelly garbage (food causes most smells in garbage can).
We reserve one little section of our refridgerator freezer
for this.

We use a shredder for personal papers and I take the
shreddings and put in my compost and it seems to do well.

I had not known that aluminum cans fetched so much, but now
will be more on the look out for them. A man at my park I walk
at gets there at 6:30 a.m. (during daylight savings time) and
goes over all the garbage on Sunday and Mondays - now I
know why.

We set out an old broken dishwasher and someone drove
by and picked it up before the garbage could collect it. My
husband used to work with a landfill and people would pick
up things like this and take it in for money for the scrap
metal money.