When aluminum can collectors sell their cans at the scrap dealer approx how much is each can worth?

[astro]

Just curious. Sometimes I see homeless people with huge caches of cans they are assembling for sale to a scrap metal dealer, and I wonder how much each can is worth. If you collect (say) 1000 aluminum cans how much is each can going to be worth in terms of what the scrap metal dealer will give you at current prices?.

[Snarky_Kong]

I'm finding around $0.70/lb. I dunno what that works out to per can.

[Nametag]

A pound of aluminum makes 28-30 cans, so... around $.024

[Oslo Ostragoth]

28 cans per pound.

so around 1/4 American cent per can?

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Oslo Ostragoth

28 cans per pound.

so around 1/4 American cent per can?

I don't think so.

70c per pound; 28 cans per pound.

So, 28 cans gets you 70c, or 2.5c per can, which is pretty much what Nametag said.

[Fubaya]

It varies by location. I'm in charge of the recycling where I work and we have a truckload of aluminum every couple of weeks. The prices vary according to what type of aluminum it is, but we usually have a half dozen different types and they have ranged from 20 to 45 cents per pound the past year. We haven't taken a load in a couple of weeks and I've heard prices have gone up a little lately though.

If I were homeless, I would skip the cans and steal a few car wheels or something else heavy instead. A year or two ago, China was going through a lot of aluminum and the prices were over a dollar per pound. Copper was even higher and people were breaking into things like air conditioning units outside buildings just to steal the copper.

[Fubaya]

Just wanted to add that according to this site, loose beverage cans like a homeless guy might bring in are averaging closer to 20 cents per pound.

[Broomstick]

In my area, pop cans are going for $0.30 - $0.33/pound

(Not homeless, but collects cans)

[Henrichek]

Hmm, so you don't have a recycling system where you get paid for bringing cans to a collection station? Here you get about 7c for an aluminium can, and 14c or 28c for the plastic bottles depending on size.

[Harmonious Discord]

For the people set on the higher prices, there was a severe drop in scrap prices almost a year ago. The first site I found was paying 22 cents a pound.

[Harmonious Discord]

Originally Posted by Henrichek

Hmm, so you don't have a recycling system where you get paid for bringing cans to a collection station? Here you get about 7c for an aluminium can, and 14c or 28c for the plastic bottles depending on size.

The only places you get a high return per can is one of the few states that charge a deposit on each can. It's unnecessary as most aluminum cans will be taken out of the trash cans anyplace there is a trash. there are that many scroungers.

[Henrichek]

Originally Posted by Harmonious Discord

The only places you get a high return per can is one of the few states that charge a deposit on each can. It's unnecessary as most aluminum cans will be taken out of the trash cans anyplace there is a trash. there are that many scroungers.

Ah, thanks. Here we have a national system where we pay a deposit for cans. Every grocery store has an automatic return station where you can reclaim the deposit. It's so common here that I hadn't considered that other countries do it differently.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Henrichek

Ah, thanks. Here we have a national system where we pay a deposit for cans. Every grocery store has an automatic return station where you can reclaim the deposit. It's so common here that I hadn't considered that other countries do it differently.

Some states in the US use a similar method, but most don't.

[Mk VII]

We used to have deposits on bottles but that stopped in the 1960s.

[Hello Again]

The US states with a can deposit law are:
New York
Connecticut
California
Delaware
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachussetts
Oregon
Vermont
Michigan

In every state other than Michigan, the deposit is 5 cents. In Michigan it is 10 cents (and the state of origin is not checked when you return the cans - in fact this is the basis of an episode of "Seinfeld").

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by Henrichek

Hmm, so you don't have a recycling system where you get paid for bringing cans to a collection station?

Not in my state.

[ghardester]

Originally Posted by Hello Again

The US states with a can deposit law are:
New York
Connecticut
California
Delaware
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachussetts
Oregon
Vermont
Michigan

In every state other than Michigan, the deposit is 5 cents. In Michigan it is 10 cents (and the state of origin is not checked when you return the cans - in fact this is the basis of an episode of "Seinfeld").

And the Oregon Bottle Bill was the first in the nation (US), so I'll thank you to just move Oregon to the top of this list.

And it's 5 cents a can and really no trouble and has been working quite well for a long time.

[gazpacho]

So how many people in places with deposits on drink containers take them back for deposit? I live in California and do not. I just put them in my curbside recycling bin. I am not going to pack up my bottles and cans to wait while they are counted out so I can get a buck or two. There is drying paint that needs to be monitored. I would be really interested to know what percentage of the deposits are redeemed.

[ghardester]

Originally Posted by gazpacho

So how many people in places with deposits on drink containers take them back for deposit? I live in California and do not. I just put them in my curbside recycling bin. I am not going to pack up my bottles and cans to wait while they are counted out so I can get a buck or two. There is drying paint that needs to be monitored. I would be really interested to know what percentage of the deposits are redeemed.

Well my wife redeems the cans we drink and puts the money into a little fund and uses the money on a trip once a year with her friends. It adds up. You are paying for the deposit one way or another, if you wish to throw away $100-$200 per year why not just throw them out the window and let the bums profit from your largesse?

It is only meant as an incentive not to throw them away. If you wish to throw them away go right ahead.

[ZenBeam]

Originally Posted by gazpacho

So how many people in places with deposits on drink containers take them back for deposit? I live in California and do not. I just put them in my curbside recycling bin. I am not going to pack up my bottles and cans to wait while they are counted out so I can get a buck or two. There is drying paint that needs to be monitored. I would be really interested to know what percentage of the deposits are redeemed.

When I lived in CA, in an apartment with no curbside recycling, we took them to the recycling center for our 2.5 cents/can or bottle. We didn't want to just throw them out. When we bought a house, with curbside recycling, we used that like you do. ghardester, from what I recall, people did go around ahead of the garbage/recycling trucks, taking out the cans.

Here in MI, 10 cents/can adds up a lot faster, so I redeem them.

[Henrichek]

Originally Posted by gazpacho

I would be really interested to know what percentage of the deposits are redeemed.

Here in Sweden, 85% of the can deposits are redeemed. I don't know how large share of that is by the original depositor though.

[jharvey963]

Last time I recycled my cans here in California I got $1.74 per pound -- which is about 6.2 cents per can. This is a little better than the CRV (California Redemption Value) of 5 cents a can.

J.

[bouv]

Quick question:
Here in Vermont, we also have deposit on liquor bottles (15 cents, and just hard liquor, not wine.) Does any other state do that?

[gazpacho]

Originally Posted by Henrichek

Here in Sweden, 85% of the can deposits are redeemed. I don't know how large share of that is by the original depositor though.

California has similar numbers 83% of cans. However they don't break things down as to curbside recycling or individuals bringing the cans into a redemption center.

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dor/N...s/Biannual.pdf

[gazpacho]

Originally Posted by Oslo Ostragoth

28 cans per pound.

so around 1/4 American cent per can?

The updated answer in this link says 32.5 cans per pound.

The Ball corporation has been reducing the weight for years and says they get 34 per pound.
http://www.ballcorporate.com/page.jsp?page=173

[DrDeth]

Originally Posted by ghardester

You are paying for the deposit one way or another, if you wish to throw away $100-$200 per year why not just throw them out the window and let the bums profit from your largesse?

It is only meant as an incentive not to throw them away. If you wish to throw them away go right ahead.

By gazpacho "I just put them in my curbside recycling bin" he is actually reducing the cost of trash pick up. Of course he gets no direct benefit, but the value of whatever the city gets from recycling is used to subsidize pick-up. So, he's not "throwing them away" by any means.

[TBG]

Originally Posted by ghardester

It is only meant as an incentive not to throw them away. If you wish to throw them away go right ahead.

It's also meant as an incentive to not litter them all over the place. It's worked pretty well in that regard, at least in Michigan. If some cretin does throw a bottle/can on the ground, someone else will pick it up for the deposit.

[WarmNPrickly]

Originally Posted by Henrichek

Ah, thanks. Here we have a national system where we pay a deposit for cans. Every grocery store has an automatic return station where you can reclaim the deposit. It's so common here that I hadn't considered that other countries do it differently.

These automatic return stations are the work of Satan. Every third can gets rejected five times. You can't crush the cans, so they take up a lot of space. In Oregon, you had to return the can to the specific store that sells the beverage. You have rotten beer dripping all over your hands as you bang on the machine that stalled and requires maintenance.

I am much happier not getting any money for my cans. I can crush them, and just dump them in the bin with no hassle.

[Henrichek]

Originally Posted by WarmNPrickly

These automatic return stations are the work of Satan. Every third can gets rejected five times. You can't crush the cans, so they take up a lot of space. In Oregon, you had to return the can to the specific store that sells the beverage. You have rotten beer dripping all over your hands as you bang on the machine that stalled and requires maintenance.

I am much happier not getting any money for my cans. I can crush them, and just dump them in the bin with no hassle.

Hehe. I haven't had such problems here very often. We have a countrywide system here and you can return the cans at any grocery store. It usually works smoothly. Our machines read the barcode, and then down the rabbit hole it goes. Some foreign cans are rejected though. I agree with the other complaints. It is really a chore to align the barcode and wait for the machine to swallow each can when you have a plastic bag or two full of them. For those who have kids it's usually not hard to delegate it to them, as long as they get to keep the profits.

[Tastes of Chocolate]

Originally Posted by TBG

It's also meant as an incentive to not litter them all over the place. It's worked pretty well in that regard, at least in Michigan. If some cretin does throw a bottle/can on the ground, someone else will pick it up for the deposit.

I remember when Michigan put their deposit system into place. Before that, I used to see beer cans all over the road side on the drives to visit my grandparents. Then one day, *POOF*, not a beer can to be seen.

[gaffa]

Cans are wonderfully recyclable, but the real shame is that glass bottles are even more so, but very few places exist where you can do so. A bar I used to work for recycled all their bottles back in the 70s. They had bins for clear, green and brown and a service picked up all of them and recycled the glass using far less energy than it takes to turn an old can into a new one.

Apparently either the garbage business figured out that it was more profitable to not recycle (a full dumpster is money) or the lawyers got involved and decided that bins of glass were too much of a liability.

I'd love a glass recycling system for bars that would crunch all the bottles as they were deposited, reducing the volume required. Then the crunched bits would be picked up in a dedicated container and taken back to the recycling center where the bits would be washed to remove labels and sorted by color. It wouldn't be that difficult a piece of engineering.