How to Make Money by Collecting and Selling Aluminum Cans

Hey, we are all looking for a way to make an extra buck or two, right?  Did you realize that there is a small ‘gold mine’ right in front of you?  That’s right.  Aluminum is in high demand and the prices that it garners at reclaiming and recycling centers makes this worth looking into as far as a secondary source of cash is concerned.

Even though the plastic bottle has replaced the aluminum can as the delivery material of choice for bottlers, the fact remains that there is still a significant amount out there.  You have to look no farther than your own community to see this in full force.  Next time you are filling your tank with gasoline, look into the waste receptacles.  Yes, you will see aluminum cans there for the taking.

So, how much cash can one generate by collecting and selling aluminum?  It depends on where you live, but currently as of this writing, used beverage cans (UBC) in loose bags; either whole or flattened brings around $.14 per pound.  That might not seem like a lot, but consider that we have a lot of used beverage can waste in our communities.

Here are some tips to help you get into aluminum can collections for profit.

Look at less traveled highways.  If you go walking and looking for cans, look along roadsides where there is not a great amount of traffic.  This is where many people are prone to throw out their trash, and inevitably you will find aluminum cans.

Parks and public places.  Look at parks or other public locations where there are high concentration of outdoor activities.  In fact, if you can schedule your foraging right after a major event, you will score big time.

Get a crusher.  After you collect your cans, clean them out and let them dry.  Then, get yourself a crusher and flatten them.  They consume less space that way.

Check with your local recycling center to make sure that they take aluminum and then find out what the current rate for the metal is bringing.

Your search for aluminum cans might be better as a part of a search for other metals that are recyclable as well.  Copper and other metals are worth more, but are more difficult to find.  If you take a strategy of looking for everything, then you will be surprised at what you will find especially along roadsides.

While this might not seem to be a worthwhile effort, you might consider doing this with a local group like boy scouts, etc.  They like these kinds of efforts.  Also, consider that the effort you are putting forth is helping the eco system as well.  And on top of that, you get paid for it.  Not bad.