Collecting Cans To Make Money

Magazine | How to Make Money Collecting Bottles and Cans

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/magazine/how-to-make-money-collecting-bottles-and-cans.html

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How to Make Money Collecting Bottles and Cans

April 8, 2016

Credit... Illustration by Radio

"Kick the bag first so the rats run out," says Eugene Gadsden, a self-described canner. After that, dig carefully: You might encounter shards of glass, dog feces or worse. The revulsion is the cost of independence. "In canning, you go where you want and do what you want," Gadsden says. "You're your own boss."

Gadsden began gathering cans and bottles in his 20s, after moving to New York from Charleston, S.C., to be near his baby son. In the 30 some years since, he has mostly subsisted on New York's 5-cent container deposits. Along the way, he has taught dozens of new canners, including a Catholic nun with whom he founded Sure We Can, a recycling-redemption center in Brooklyn. Gadsden encourages fellow scavengers to tidy up. If you open someone's bags, retie them. "Leave it the way you found it," he says.

Target a neighborhood and get to know the terrain. Research the city's recycling-collection days. Be on the street soon after people roll out their refuse for pickup. "Being consistent at the same spot means you know where the cans are," says Gadsden, who learned his trade in Midtown Manhattan and has considered it his territory ever since. First come first served is a basic canner tenet. Gadsden usually starts at 1 a.m. and works until about 7 a.m. In that time, he'll collect 1,000 or more containers, worth $50 or so.

To make any money, you need to be in one of the 10 states where glass, aluminum and plastic containers are worth 2 to 15 cents each. You'll also need a shopping cart. Find one that rolls smoothly and fits your stature and style. Fill the main compartment with evenly distributed glass; off-kilter and heavily loaded carts tip over easily. Put lighter aluminum and plastic in large trash bags and hook them to the outside of your cart using sticks.

In the beginning, prepare to feel ashamed, humiliated. People might yell at you: Stop digging through the garbage. Or, Get a real job. Don't listen. "Hold your head up," Gadsden says. "You're not hurting anybody. It's honest work."