Collecting Cans to Recycle for Cash

We have tried various methods to help us raise money for our trip. One of those have been to have friends and family members save their aluminum cans for use to turn in to the recycling center for cash. The going rate is about $0.35 to $0.45 a pound and usually there are about 20 cans to a pound or there about. We spent the afternoon crashing most of them to get more into bags that will fit into our car. We don’t have a truck to carry them in unless we can get one of our family with a truck to help out. This is not a bad way to get a few dollars here and there. The problem is that you need so many to amount to any significant amount of cash. But hey, every dollar counts, right!

There are some things that we have learned about this method. One, it takes a while to accumulate enough cans to make the trip to the recycling center worth while. The second, it is probably a good idea that you rinse them out before putting them into whatever container you are holding them in. Third, it is an even better idea to go ahead and crash them as you get them. This will save much needed space in storage and makes it easier to move once you are ready to turn them in. Another important thing you might remember is to keep them outside in a covered, clean garbage can that will keep the rain out and decrease the amount of bugs and other crawling things that like these types of storage places. When transporting your bags of cans you might want to consider laying down a tarp. No matter how careful you are about cleaning and crashing the cans there will be an accumulation of liquids, especially this time of year, and where there is moisture there will be smells and other things. You don’t won’t any of these smelly things in your car or in the bed of your truck. This will necessitate a trip to the car wash. And there goes some of your profits.

We took some pictures and videos of us crashing the cans and thought you might enjoy watching us “Work”.