Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Getting Ready to Recycle
• Method 2 of 2: Renting out bottles and cans
• Tips
• What do you need

Reusing materials not only benefits the environment, but it can also be great for your wallet, giving you a little extra money. The easiest way to recycle is aluminum cans and plastic bottles: they can be handed over to recycling centers, which usually pay for the weight or quantity of items handed over. Keep reading this article to learn how to recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles to make money.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Getting Ready to Recycle

1. 1 For example, in the United States, some states have bottle recycling laws. The first state to pass a bottle-drop off law was Oregon in 1971, under the leadership of Governor Thomas Lawson McCall. The Bottle Delivery Act sets the price of any beverage container; consumers pay this money when they buy a drink and can return an empty container to get their money back. In practice, however, many people throw away containers, so collecting them can give you a return on your investment.
   • If you live in the United States, you can check these sites at http://www.bottlebill.org/legislation/usa/allstates.htm to find out which states currently have bottle recycling laws. (Some state may not have such a law, but if a person lives on the border with a state in which such a law applies, he can collect aluminum cans and plastic bottles in his state and return them for money in a neighboring state).
   • For information on other countries regarding bottle recycling law, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_deposit_legislation.
2. 2 Find out the location of the nearest material storage and recycling center. Collection centers, which can pay you by weight for aluminum cans, are usually located on the ground floors of scrap and paper recycling firms. (Those located in paper recycling centers can also give you a refund for the used paper). Centers that can give you back your money for aluminum and plastic containers based on quantity can be found in supermarkets and large beverage stores, either in or near the store.
   • Most centers have limits on how many containers one person can donate per day.These limits range from 48 to 500 pieces, generally it will be 144-150 pieces.
3. 3 Understand what exactly can be taken to such centers. These centers generally accept bottles of carbonated drinks (beer and sweet water), but some may also accept containers from non-carbonated beverages such as wine, liquor or bottled water. In addition, most stores will reimburse you for the brands they sell on their own.
   • More recently, some collection and recycling centers require that certain beverage containers bear a sign indicating the company that supplies the beverage to stores.
   • Jars and bottles must be clean, empty, relatively undamaged and must be level. An aluminum can can be straightened by pushing a wooden or metal rod inside and leveling the walls from the inside. (However, do not apply too much pressure to avoid breaking the walls of the can.) Plastic bottles can be straightened by breathing air into them.
4. 4 Look for markings that indicate that the can or bottle can be returned. On aluminum cans, you will find these markings on the top or bottom. If we talk about bottles, then their markings can be found on the neck or on the sides, and sometimes on the lid itself.
   • Due to the fact that cans and bottles are marked in this way directly at the factory, the marking indicates where such containers can be returned. A can or bottle does not have to be returned in a specific place, it is quite possible to have a container that you cannot return at your place of residence.
   • Remember, if the can or bottle is not labeled, you can still recycle it, for example, take it to a recycling center or take advantage of your city's packaging recycling program.

Method 2 of 2: Renting out bottles and cans

1. 1 Collect the required number of cans and bottles. Handing in a kilo of aluminum cans or 6-12 soda bottles at a time will not make much money and will likely spend more on gas than you get. Try to collect as many containers as your collection center accepts and / or a few full bags of aluminum cans; you can also visit more than one center to take everything if needed.
   • When collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles, you can store them in your garage or basement throughout the winter, or in your yard when the weather is fine. But keep in mind that the residual sugar in soda bottles will attract bees, ants, and wasps.
2. 2 Separate recyclable containers from non-recyclable containers. Labeled aluminum cans and plastic bottles can be returned to collection centers, unmarked aluminum cans will go to recycling centers, and unlabeled plastic bottles to a recycling container.
   • Non-changeable aluminum cans can be crumpled so they take up less space and can be given more and in fewer bags than if you hadn't crumpled them. Crumpled cans, however, will not be accepted if you want to return them for money.
3. 3 Separate the returnable cans from the bottles. Most drop-off centers require bottles to be separated from cans. Bottles can be placed in cardboard boxes or plastic milk crates, while aluminum cans should be placed on a flat cardboard surface, in the small boxes in which these cans are delivered to stores. These small boxes usually hold 24 cans, which will help you conveniently count the number of cans and have an idea of ​​how much money you can get for them.
   • Most drop-off centers have a number of these small boxes that you can put cans in before you return. You can also take the boxes in advance so you can place the cans there while at home.
4. 4 Fold cans and bottles by brand. Although not required, you can fold all brand containers to save time at the drop-off center. (This will also make it easier for the centers to return your boxes to you if you collect them.) Grocery stores have different brands of drinks from different distributors, and when you return empty containers to stores, those stores return them directly to the distributors who sold drinks to those stores, they require the containers to be sorted by product line before shipping. their distributor. Most distributors work with 3 big sweet water companies: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Dr. Pepper / 7-Up. Below is a list of products that are produced by each company:
   • Coca-Cola: Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Sprite, Fresca, Mr. Pibb, Barq's, Fanta, Tab
   • PepsiCo: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Free, Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist
   • Dr. Pepper / 7-Up: Dr. Pepper, 7-Up, Diet 7-Up, Cherry 7-Up, A&W Root Beer, Crush, Diet Rite. Squirt
   • Specialty store beverage containers can only be dropped off at the store's drop-off center. Store these containers separately from national brands, which you can drop off at drop-off centers at other stores.
5. 5 Count cans and bottles. This will help you know in advance how many cans and bottles you are handing in, as many drop-off centers may ask you how many containers you are handing over, rather than counting them. Any cans or bottles not sold in this store will be returned to you along (usually) with your empty boxes. You can be paid either at the very center, or they can write out a receipt for which you can receive money at the store.

Tips

• Collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles is a great way for some organizations to make money. Several people can drop off containers and collect aluminum cans for recycling, thus increasing the amount of money the organization makes.
• You can also use rings to open aluminum cans to make bracelets by pulling a woolen thread through them. This will allow you to generate additional income from things that can be recycled.

What do you need

• Cardboard boxes and small boxes
• Plastic garbage bags (for collecting containers and delivering aluminum cans for recycling)