You can make money recycling by collecting materials that have cash value and selling them to the right buyers. The most accessible options include redeeming bottle and can deposits, selling scrap metal to salvage yards, flipping old electronics, and collecting cardboard or paper in bulk. How much you earn depends on what you collect, where you live, and whether you treat it as a casual side hustle or a more organized operation.
Redeeming Bottle and Can Deposits
Ten U.S. states have bottle deposit laws that require a refundable deposit on beverage containers, typically 5 or 10 cents per unit. You pay the deposit when you buy the drink and get it back when you return the empty container to a redemption center, reverse vending machine, or participating retailer. Michigan pays the highest standard deposit at 10 cents per container. Oregon also pays 10 cents. Most other deposit states pay 5 cents, though Maine and Vermont pay 15 cents on wine and liquor bottles.
If you live in a deposit state, this is the easiest way to start making money from recycling. Collect cans and bottles from your own household, ask neighbors and coworkers to save theirs, or pick them up at parks, beaches, and event venues after crowds leave. At 5 cents each, 100 cans nets you $5. At 10 cents, the same haul is $10. People who collect consistently near busy public spaces or after large events can gather hundreds of containers in a single outing.
The key to making this worthwhile is volume. Dedicate bags or bins to sorting containers by material (aluminum, glass, plastic) before you visit a redemption center, since some locations process sorted loads faster. Check your state’s rules on what qualifies, because not every container carries a deposit. Water bottles are covered in most deposit states, but juice cartons and milk containers usually are not.
Selling Scrap Metal
Scrap metal is where recycling starts to generate real income. Scrap yards buy ferrous metals (steel, iron) and non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminum, brass, stainless steel) by weight. Non-ferrous metals pay significantly more. Copper is the most valuable common scrap metal, often fetching $3 to $4 per pound or more depending on market conditions. Clean, uncoated copper wire and copper pipe bring the best prices. Aluminum cans, even outside deposit states, can be sold to scrap yards, though the per-pound rate is much lower, typically under $1 per pound.
Good sources of scrap metal include old appliances (washers, dryers, water heaters), plumbing fixtures, car parts, gutters, and electrical wiring. You can find these items through curbside bulk trash pickups, online marketplace listings where people give away broken appliances for free, and demolition or renovation projects. If you know a contractor or handyman, ask if you can haul away their scrap. Many are happy to let someone else handle disposal.
Before you load up your truck, call a few local scrap yards and compare prices. Rates vary between yards and fluctuate with commodity markets. Some yards require a valid ID and may photograph your vehicle or license plate, which is standard practice to deter theft. Separate your metals before you go. Mixed loads get the lowest price because the yard has to sort them. A magnet is the simplest tool for sorting: if it sticks, the metal is ferrous (lower value). If it doesn’t stick, it’s non-ferrous (higher value).
Recycling Electronics for Cash
Old smartphones, laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles hold value even when they no longer work. Functioning devices can be sold directly through online marketplaces or trade-in programs offered by manufacturers and major retailers. Apple, Samsung, Best Buy, and Amazon all run trade-in programs that offer gift cards or account credits for used electronics. A phone that’s a few years old but still works might bring $50 to $200 depending on the model and condition.
Broken electronics still have value for parts and precious metals. Circuit boards contain small amounts of gold, silver, palladium, and copper. Specialized e-waste recyclers will buy non-functional computers, servers, and networking equipment by the pound. You can also part out devices yourself and sell individual components like screens, batteries, and memory chips to repair shops or through online listings. This approach takes more knowledge but yields higher returns than selling whole units to a bulk recycler.
Collecting e-waste is straightforward. Businesses upgrading their equipment often need someone to haul away old machines. Post on community boards or local business groups offering free electronics pickup. You can also check with schools, churches, and offices that periodically clear out outdated technology.
Collecting Cardboard and Paper
Cardboard and mixed paper are low-value per pound but available in enormous quantities. Recycling centers and paper mills buy baled cardboard, and some will accept loose loads if you bring enough. Rates fluctuate heavily, sometimes paying as little as $50 per ton and other times over $100 per ton. At those rates, casual collection barely covers your gas money unless you have a reliable, high-volume source.
The people who make this work tend to have arrangements with local businesses. Retail stores, restaurants, and warehouses generate huge amounts of cardboard daily. If you can offer to pick it up on a regular schedule, saving them the hassle and dumpster space, you get a steady supply at no cost. A pickup truck bed full of broken-down cardboard might weigh 200 to 400 pounds, so you need to haul a lot to make meaningful money. This approach works best as an add-on to scrap metal runs rather than a standalone income source.
Selling Pallets
Wooden pallets are one of the most overlooked recyclable items. Businesses receive goods on pallets and often have no use for them afterward. Clean, undamaged standard-size pallets (48 by 40 inches) can sell for $2 to $10 each depending on your area and the pallet’s condition. Some pallet recycling companies pay more for specific sizes or heat-treated pallets, which are marked with an “HT” stamp.
You can find free pallets behind grocery stores, hardware stores, distribution centers, and manufacturing plants. Always ask before taking them, since some businesses have existing agreements with pallet recyclers. Once you’ve collected a truckload, sell them to pallet brokers, refurbishers, or directly to small businesses that need shipping pallets. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are active markets for pallets in most areas.
Making It Worth Your Time
The difference between pocket change and a real side income comes down to three things: focusing on higher-value materials, building consistent sources, and minimizing your costs. Driving across town for a single bag of cans burns more in gas than you’ll earn. But combining a scrap metal pickup with a pallet haul and a stop at the redemption center on the same route turns one trip into $50 or $100.
Relationships matter more than hustle. A single ongoing arrangement with a restaurant that saves its cans, a contractor who sets aside copper, or a warehouse that gives you pallets every Friday is worth more than hours of random searching. Once you have reliable sources, the work becomes predictable and efficient.
Startup costs are minimal. You need transportation (a truck or SUV with cargo space), basic tools like a magnet and wire strippers for copper, heavy gloves, and storage space for accumulating materials between runs. Some people invest in a small baler for cardboard or a trailer for larger scrap loads as they scale up, but neither is necessary to get started. Begin with whatever you can collect and haul with what you already own, then reinvest your earnings into better equipment as the income justifies it.