Recycling for cash may bring up images of scrap metal merchants for some and of children returning glass soft-drink bottles for others. As many people are now finding their cash to be stretched, more and more are finding that there’s money in old rope, bottles and cans, out-of-date gadgets and ink and toner cartridges. Sometimes it’s just a few pence, but in other instances, it can be as much as £150 for an item.
To make recycling smaller items worthwhile, the recycling needs to be done in large numbers, and sometimes even then the payback isn’t that large. On the other hand, ink cartridges used in photocopiers and computer printers can bring up to 80 pence each, provided they haven’t been previously refilled. According to recyclingappeal.com, 60 million ink cartridges are used each year in the UK, and only 10 per cent of them are recycled.
Aluminium cans typically have to be collected until there are around 70 of them, which yield around 40 to 50 pence. Around Britain there are nearly 300 centres which give cash for the cans, and the locations can be found on thinkcans.com.
A scheme offering 10 pence for each drinks can or plastic drinks bottle is a focus on the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
In the 1950s children returned glass soft-drink bottles for a few pence that they could spend at sweet shops. Although that tradition seems to have died out, the Scottish Executive is looking at introducing a type of reverse vending machine that would accept bottles and pay out refunds.
www.recyclingappeal.com
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