Storing aluminum cans for recycling/sale

GAFarmer2 · Feb 3, 2017

OK, I need some assistance from the great minds of TBN.

I have decided to start holding my aluminum cans to save for recycling or to sell at a later date. Thing is, I hate carrying just one bag to town at the time. It just ain't worth the effort. So, I need some kind of outdoor storage ideas. Anybody got any suggestions? I have thought of building some kind of trailer, but I really don't know where to start with that. I've seen a few around hauling cans around town, but most of them were just dump trailers...and that is a lot of money to have tied up in can storage.

And go!

Ehanson · Feb 3, 2017

Can you crush and still get refund?
Crushing to quarter size is 4 times volume?

4570Man · Feb 3, 2017

I'd say the cost of the welding rods or wire and shielding gas is about equivalent to the value in cans.

RNeumann · Feb 3, 2017

How are they unloaded? If they dump or unload it's a far different story then if you have to do that.

This sounds like some serious beer drinking! I may be hanging out at the wrong place!

beowulf · Feb 3, 2017

Buy a cheap can crusher and crush them as you use them and put in large plastic bags. You can haul a lot of crushed cans in just about any vehicle. Keep them dry though- once when I was waiting for my cans to be weighed, they deducted 25% off of the weight of a guy's cans because they were wet - had some water in them.

4570Man · Feb 4, 2017

beowulf said:
Buy a cheap can crusher and crush them as you use them and put in large plastic bags. You can haul a lot of crushed cans in just about any vehicle. Keep them dry though- once when I was waiting for my cans to be weighed, they deducted 25% off of the weight of a guy's cans because they were wet - has some water in them.

Or get them really wet.

GAFarmer2 · Feb 4, 2017

Ehanson said:
Can you crush and still get refund?
Crushing to quarter size is 4 times volume?

Good point. Never crossed my slow mind to crush them.

GAFarmer2 · Feb 4, 2017

4570Man said:
I'd say the cost of the welding rods or wire and shielding gas is about equivalent to the value in cans.

Valid point. However, I have set my mind to this, so it shall be done (hard headed and all, you know

)!

GAFarmer2 · Feb 4, 2017

RNeumann said:
How are they unloaded? If they dump or unload it's a far different story then if you have to do that.

This sounds like some serious beer drinking! I may be hanging out at the wrong place!

I will have to check. I think the closest one has people who unload for you because of liability (I know when I took scrap steel they wouldn't let me touch it for that reason). But, I wonder if that means they pay a smaller price...

And there isn't THAT much beer drinking, my wife won't let me.

GAFarmer2 · Feb 4, 2017

beowulf said:
Buy a cheap can crusher and crush them as you use them and put in large plastic bags. You can haul a lot of crushed cans in just about any vehicle. Keep them dry though- once when I was waiting for my cans to be weighed, they deducted 25% off of the weight of a guy's cans because they were wet - has some water in them.

Will those plastic bags stand up to being store outside? I'm thinking I'd probably need to buy/build something to keep them in. Maybe I'll just go get 3-4 big industrial trash cans and be through with it.