Getting "Rid Of" your Aluminum Cans

[fidowanttobe]

I've given up on recycling cans. So go ahead and let me have it.
We don't have recycling pick up so that means I have to store them until I have a frustrating amount, load them and drive through a tire punching scrap yard for a couple dollars. The money isn't the issue, but the inconvenience, the smell, bugs, and irritation is.
35 years ago the Phoenix valley was loaded with aluminum can machines outside convenience stores that dispensed coins for cans. Do areas still have these? Ours doesn't. I would think that is an awesome idea, but at the mercy of scrap prices.
I read somewhere that the world throws away our entire fleet of aircraft in cans every year, or something to that effect.
Is my area the only one that makes it this difficult? What do you all do?

 

[PBinWA]

Our local dumps have free metal recycling drop off places. WA state doesn't do the recycling deposit thing.

 

[Diggin It]

First off, I almost never buy sodas, juices, beer or anything else in aluminum cans. If I do, it's one or two at a time, never a 12 pack or larger, so I rarely have more than a few. I have a lot of tin cans though from soups and canned veggies, fruits and sauces. Those get saved and taken to our county dump a few times a year. They have a large trailer we toss them into for no charge.

 

[hube2]

I hate cans too, and they make it easy here to return them, or at least semi easy. Stores must take them back if they sell them, they all have the machines, but we still don't bring them back. People here are always having bottle and can drives to help someone. We just let them gather and then either someone will knock on our door looking for bottles and cans or we take them to wherever they're doing their drive. We rinse them all thoroughly before tossing them in the pile to keep down on the issues of smell and bugs.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If your state had a deposit on cans and bottles, the problem would disappear. Stores here take the empties back, but the state also runs recycling centers. If you return empties at my largest local grocer, they give double credit on purchases, so $10 in returns (100 containers) is worth $20 in groceries.

 

[Mat4644]

Our county has several free drop off locations for paper, cardboard , cans and bottles. Drop the cans and bottles off together and machines and county prisoners sort them. Prisoners get money to spend on snacks and cigarettes at the jail. Plus the recycling center let's them smoke on breaks. Prisoners love getting out of jail for a shift and easily volunteer.

We recycle everything we can and compost garbage. Every 3 to 3 weeks we have a single bag of trash that costs $2.50 to drop off at recycling location.

 

[KennyG]

With a 10 cent deposit, we don't have an issue. If you don't want to take them back, just leave them outside. Someone will steal them.

 

[forgeblast]

I used to melt them down in my forge and cast them in some molds I had. Now I just bag and drop when I do my spring cleaning and take stuff to the scrap yard.

 

[MossRoad]

We have mandated recycling that we have to pay for. No way out of it. Big wheelie bin and pickup every other week. So I use it as much as I can. However, we do save our aluminum. My wife smashes them after rinsing and they go directly into a bag-lined can we have in the basement. When the bag is full, we tie it up and throw it in the back of the garage. About once a year, I take them to a scrapper to. Last month I got a whopping $28 for cans, some siding from the garage addition project, and some gutters.

Just north of us in Michigan, they have a 10 cent deposit with the return machines in many places. If I lived there, I'd use it.

 

[Alien]

Our cans and soft drink bottles also have a 10c deposit. I have a handicapped fellow that his carer brings to our place every few months and collects a full bin of them. It is his 'hobby' driving around collecting cans thrown out car windows etc. I found out about him and gave them a call. Maybe you have a charity that might like to pick them up?
I could just throw them in the recycle bin but know that others appreciate them more than our local council. I have a spare wheelie bin just for this purpose.