Do you get paid to recycle?

[btatro]

No, but I think that would be a fantastic incentive to get more people to recycle! I recycle as much as possible, so an incentive would just be a little icing on the cake.

 

[Gina145]

The only recycling that gets collected where I live is paper. Anything else we have to take to the dump or some other collection centre ourselves.

Although we don't use them, there seem to be places that pay for recyclables because there are poor people who walk around the suburbs with a trolley and go through everyone's bins to see what recyclables they can find, so somebody is obviously paying for those items. I sometimes feel guilty about the fact that we don't put anything useful in our bins because those people could be making some money off the stuff we give away.

 

[Mika]

If I take it 30 miles away I could! But it isn't worth the cost in gas. Our city forces recycling and we will get a fine if we don't participate. They do random searches through garbage every few months. We got a $50 fine for two bottles once. I picked them up outside and they had mold so I tossed them in the trash... wrong day to do that. It's pretty annoying how they penalize us though.

 

[globulon]

I wish! We pay a recycling fee included in the cost of recyclable products, at least with plastic bottles or juice boxes. If I were so inclined, I could collect them all up, take them to a recycling depot, and get that cost back. Or if I were lazy, I could just leave it in the recycling bin and let the city take it! I don't mind though. It's a small price to pay for great environmental benefits!

 

[Gina145]

There isn't that much being done to encourage recycling in South Africa yet. We have our paper collected once a week, but for the rest it's up to us to dispose of our recyclables as we see fit. Plastic shopping bags have been treated as an issue over the last few years and we now have to pay for those at supermarkets and some other shops (though not all). In my family we use those bags over and over again before recycling them, but it never ceases to amaze me how many people are prepared to pay for new bags every time they go to the supermarket. I doubt those people recycle them either.

 

[bluzkluz09]

I don't actually get paid to recycle. However in my community they pick up recycling every Saturday and we do receive an incentive. There is a website called Recycle Bank. Our bins have unique numbers linked to our addresses. We sign up on the website and collect points. The points can be converted to gift cards, coupons and other stuff. I enjoyed it, until recently they said they were ending the program. A user can also earn points on the website by clicking on slides or taking quizzes or other activities so I still participate on the website. Now they just pick up the recycling which is still good for the environment rather than allowing it to fill our landfills.

 

[Micheleteresa]

The thread title struck me a a bit funny because I do get paid for recycling since I work in an organic recycling yard! but locally the only way you get paid to recycle that I know of is when you do can and bottle returns. would be nice if this was done with paper also.

 

[MrsJones]

Newspapers can recycled but I think you would have to have tons of them. What can you use newspapers for when gardening? I don't have a subscription to one but if it can become useful I'll stop throwing away the ones I do buy.

 

[MrsWilson2012]

I have recently began collecting soda cans. If i get a few hundred and take them to the recycling plant, they will give me money. It will probably be like $10-20, but it's better than nothing!

I wonder if my town has a program like the one you described? I will look into it!

 

[MrsJones]

I used to recycle a lot when my sons were smaller. They would help me. Pop and beer would be flying all over the place because they would be throwing them like basketballs after they crunched them. I've been considering recycling again because there are so many pop and beer cans in my neighborhood.

 

[Gilcano]

In the community that I live in, we all recycle and the garbage company comes each week to pick up our recycle cans. As a result of recycling, we get a little money knocked off of our bill based on the weight of the community efforts. Do you get paid to recycle?
In NYC the city gets all the recycled materials and sells it (Recycling is mandatory). Some people collects soda and beer cans and bottles which can be recycled for $0.05 ea. We have a lot of "scrap" metal places that pays for aluminum, cooper, brass, etc. Other than that you get nothing.