ripvanwinkle
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All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
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Post by ripvanwinkle on Sept 21, 2021 0:50:24 GMT -5
Last month my daughter and grand kids drove up from Calif and visited me and other relatives. While she was here she noticed I didn't recycle coke bottles and juice bottles. I don't have curb side garbage service. I take it to my work and use the dumpster there. She kept at me so I relented and said I'll start recycling them. Last Saturday I took the big garbage bag to the store to use the bottle and can redemption machine. Cash value was 10 cents each. I had about 50 items. That was a mistake. There was a line to use them. They had bags and bags of cans/bottles. I waited about 30 min in line and then said screw it. The odor was also very strong. I gave my bag to someone. That's the last time I'll do that. Next time I'll just drive up and give the bag to someone. Not worth my time. And the people there looked spooky too.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Sept 21, 2021 6:45:56 GMT -5
It sounds like you are in Oregon. There are other options, if you have an official bottle drop location in your area. They have the green/blue bag option where you sign up for an account and then purchase a box of 10 bags for $1.50 and print some labels. You can then drop you bags in the drop off section, someone else counts them and credits your account appropriately. Green bags are for personal accounts and blue bags are for various charities. Also usually for one bag they let you cut the line and they will manually count the cans at the counter. I just generally go about 1/2 hour before closing and rarely is there a line.
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grumpyhermit
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Post by grumpyhermit on Sept 21, 2021 8:15:09 GMT -5
I live on the outskirts of a metro area, so we get a fair number of people that pick through the trash cans on trash days looking for cans. I also can't be bothered to return the cans for 5c each for a lot of the same reasons listed in the OP. I just bag them up in clear bags and put them out on the curb on trash day. Either someone will take them, or they will get recycled. Either way, I don't really have to deal with them.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 21, 2021 9:23:08 GMT -5
What about choosing a different day to visit the recycle place? Aren't weekends notoriously bad for doing any sort of "chore" that every one else also needs to do?
If I could combine a trip to the recycle place with some other weekday "errands" and if it might take me 15 minutes to get $5.00 (50 items .10 each) and if I didn't have to wait in a line (or be around a lot of other people) I'd probably do it.
I'd guess the recycle place isn't very busy during the day during the week.
(FWIW: aluminum and steel and glass and plastic pop bottles are worth recycle-ing so getting them to the recycle place - even if you give them away is a good thing. )
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Sept 21, 2021 9:59:16 GMT -5
In our area we have a limited number of recycling places and the line will be out the door and wrapped around the building most days. Like the OP said people with multiple large bags of cans. They have been trying to limit it to 350 can returns a day but the limit isn't usually enforced. That's why I try to keep it to about 50 cans (1 kitchen garbage bag) so I can skip the line and get a hand count at the counter.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Sept 21, 2021 10:12:47 GMT -5
Our city takes our recyclables. It is called singe sort recycling. You throw all your cans, glass, plastic and cardboard together in a large cart and the city picks it up every other week. We used to set the Aluminum cans aside and FIL took them in for recycling but then the prices went down and he didn't get around as well anymore, so we just throw it in the cart and let the city take it. I figure I am doing my part to save the environment and it also theoretically holds our taxes down a bit.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Sept 21, 2021 10:16:29 GMT -5
In Oregon you pay an extra .10 per can/bottle when purchase the item and that is returned to you when you take the empty back to the bottle drop store. We used to be able to return them to the grocery stores but that was becoming so overwhelming for the stores they started creating these bottle drop stores. In some more rural areas you still return the cans to the store but most areas now have a bottle drop store.
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toomuchreality
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Favorite Drink: Sometimes I drink water... just to surprise my liver!
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Post by toomuchreality on Sept 21, 2021 11:32:53 GMT -5
I save the pull tabs from cans of soda, for someone else, that turns them in. Because turning them in, is not something I want to bother with.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Sept 21, 2021 11:43:37 GMT -5
In Michigan we have had a $0.10 deposit on cans and bottles for years, it seems weird the throw them away when I travel outside the state. Bottle return money is big business here, many people make their living picking up cans/bottles and the roadsides have never been cleaner.
Picking up cans is also a standard fundraiser for youth groups, sports teams, etc as you can earn hundreds of dollars in a weekend just going door to door picking them up (we also have organized drop off locations). Anyway, every place that sells pop/beer has a can return location so cashing out is easy.
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toomuchreality
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Post by toomuchreality on Sept 21, 2021 12:08:41 GMT -5
In Michigan we have had a $0.10 deposit on cans and bottles for years, it seems weird the throw them away when I travel outside the state. Bottle return money is big business here, many people make their living picking up cans/bottles and the roadsides have never been cleaner. Picking up cans is also a standard fundraiser for youth groups, sports teams, etc as you can earn hundreds of dollars in a weekend just going door to door picking them up (we also have organized drop off locations). Anyway, every place that sells pop/beer has a can return location so cashing out is easy. It used to be this way in SLC. Years ago.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 21, 2021 13:29:19 GMT -5
I don't have curb side garbage service. I take it to my work and use the dumpster there. Does your workplace do recycling? Could you put your pop bottles and such in the recycle bin at work? I'm kind of assuming your "work" is your own business... because I suspect if you are employed by a business - the business probably doesn't want employees using their dumpsters for trash (cause the business has to pay for that trash removal). But then it might be a "work perk" for employees that the employer pays for.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Sept 21, 2021 15:36:42 GMT -5
My dad used to give me his soda cans, that were worth a nickel when returned. That was my "pay" for running errands.
I gladly gave them to someone else. By the end, Covid hit and nobody would taken them. I had 12 cans left and I put them out with the recycling.
We have some of those big centers, but they keep going out of business. At .05 cents per can, there isn't much money to be made. I hate going in those places because they are loud and smell.
I don't drink soda or anything that comes in cans that require a deposit, so everything goes to the curb.
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ripvanwinkle
Well-Known Member
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke 1729 -1797
Joined: Jan 9, 2011 22:36:42 GMT -5
Posts: 1,328
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Post by ripvanwinkle on Sept 22, 2021 22:44:42 GMT -5
I don't have curb side garbage service. I take it to my work and use the dumpster there. Does your workplace do recycling? Could you put your pop bottles and such in the recycle bin at work? I'm kind of assuming your "work" is your own business... because I suspect if you are employed by a business - the business probably doesn't want employees using their dumpsters for trash (cause the business has to pay for that trash removal). But then it might be a "work perk" for employees that the employer pays for. Its a unofficial perk at work. Others do it also. Management has never said anything about it. My boss occasionally brings bags in.
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