Collect Bottles and Cans for Deposits: Ways to make money

[jeffrey]

If you happen to live in a state that collects a container deposit surcharge when you purchase anything that comes in a can or bottle, you can collect these to earn a bit of extra money. It's the same concept of as recycling the cans and bottles for money, but the container surcharge makes it more profitable. Most states collect a deposit of 5 cents while Michigan collects a deposit of 10 cents. Here are the 11 states that currently pay you when you return bottles and cans to the store:

California - $0.05
Connecticut - $0.05
Delaware - $0.05
Hawaii - $0.05
Iowa - $0.05
Maine - $0.05
Massachusetts - $0.05
Michigan - $0.10
New York - $0.05
Oregon - $0.05
Vermont - $0.05

While this won't make you a ton of money, it's an easy way to make a bit of money quickly, especially if there is a large event in your area where lots of bottles and cans will be left behind.

[Sonja]

A good way of making some cash... for a school student

[creditcardfree]

Originally Posted by Sonja

A good way of making some cash... for a school student

Absolutely!

[mickeylily]

It's a way to make money, but it wastes too much time...

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Mickeylily, remember that we are all in different ages, stages, and "places" in our lives. What does not make sense for one can make good sense for another. One skill in life is being able to see things from other people's perspective. In fact, it is often a skill related to money earning and money saving.

[Ronin]

I don't even find it worth my time to recycle my own bottles and cans lol

[fruitbowlk]

This would be great for me I would put it towards my dd savings.

[jasonnoguchi]

The best way for a student to make money is the make a blog and monetise it. I have seen many college students sell their blogs for over USD20K before graduating. I think that makes more sense than picking bottles and cans.

[connor_zen]

This is Michigan's bottle policy if you return out-of-state bottles. Pretty harsh if you ask me, but hey:

(a) If the person returns 25 or more but not more than 100 nonreturnable containers, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100.00. (b) If the person returns more than 100 nonreturnable containers or violates subdivision (a) for a second or subsequent time, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

[junosama]

You can make a suprising amount of money doing this. If you go to high traffic areas you can easily collect several hundred bottles a day just make sure u wear gloves and figure out where its illegal to take bottles and cans from and where its not.

[Saving_spree]

I never tried doing such things before....

Dont think I will in future too.....

[cptacek]

I went to a "ballroom" once (more like a honkey tonk) that served beer in cans. By the end of the night, every table in the place was filled with beer cans. I soooo wanted to go around and pick them all up! I wonder if they do that, or if they just throw them away...

[Mike75]

Well, not exactly to earn money, but to help the environment. My daughter is extremely aware of these things and wants me to help out. So, every morning before school and before we take showers we go around collecting cans and bottles from people's garbage.

Have shamed many neighbors and they have now started recycling

[Penny Pincher]

We save all the bottles and cans with deposits and once a week go to the local grocery with my young daughters. The girls enjoy returning the bottles and cans because it is good for the environment and they get money back.

Our rule is the girls get to keep half the cash to spend on whatever they want, and the other half goes to the charity of their choice.

I hope this helps build some lifelong habits for the girls and they learn a bit about the value of money.

[pimlico]

I want to write an article about students who collect cans and bottles to make extra cash. Do you know anyone in New York who does this?
thanks!!

[Alan_MoneySanity]

We recycle too. We do it more for the environment than any financial gain, as the "profit" is only a few dollars a month for us.

[CCCFree]

yeah I knew somebody who used get like $200 for a whole garbage can filled of crushed cans.

[AtoZ]

I'm a runner and I can't help but notice now that the snow has all but gone here in the northeast that the sides of the road are covered with bottles and cans. My runs now have a second purpose. I'll be collecting those cans a few at a time this week. Money is just laying there waiting to be picked up. ha, ha.

[Starlight529]

Save my bottles and cans for a year, then cash them in.