By the time you’re done with this article- which should, in my opinion, take you all of 3 minutes- you will be smarter about…wait for it…your trash.
Oh, don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m serious.
Your trash is valuable! Which means it can get you money.
Money. That’s right. Dollars.
Okay, so let’s get down to basics. When you first separate your trash into recyclable and non-recyclable waste (my biggest pet peeve is when trash doesn’t end up where it’s supposed to), this waste is then picked up by collecting trucks. The collecting trucks then take your trash to a recycling facility where it will be further broken down to raw materials that can be sold to manufacturers. These manufacturers use these raw materials to build more products. Companies want your trash. They want it to build their products. They’re willing to pay money for it. Valuable.
Charity Begins At Home…
…they say. So does recycling. In my household, I encourage my kids to take up chores around the house to earn their allowance. And then it occurred to me that one great way to make them to learn about recycling and earn their allowance (everybody needs an incentive!) was to encourage them to take on the task of collecting cans around the house and neighborhood and store them in our garage till the end of the month. I’d then take them to the nearest recycling center where they’d get paid for it. Allowance! A friend of mine from Frankfort, NY has started a neighborhood drive where all the cans from their neighborhood are taken to the SIMS Metal Management center and the money they get is used for neighborhood expenses.
Look In The Right Places…
Where do you go looking for these cans? Your home is where you start, but these cans are everywhere. Ball game in your area? You’d best believe there’d be scores of beer and soda cans strewn all over the stadium. Your local park? There, too. It’s simple, really. Where there are people, there are cans. Think about places where you’ll find people. That’s where you’ll find the cans. The good thing is that there are recycling centers everywhere. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find one in your neighborhood if you did a little research. Call ahead and ask them what the rate for a pound of aluminum cans is.
But Wait There’s More!
Sometimes all you need is a nudge in the right direction. A small nudge followed by a tiny reward. Recycle bank is one of my favorite ways of making money through recycling. You become a member, take up small tasks towards green living, earn points and then get rewards. It’s fun and takes up hardly any time at all. In fact, if you don’t want to take your trash to a recycling center (we all have our lazy days, it’s alright), the recycling center will come to YOU! Terra Cycle will send you a free box and a shipping label so you can send your trash to them and accumulate points.
There’s always a place for all your trash! And in the three minutes you’ve spent reading this article, you’ll know exactly what to do with your trash in future.
