Recycling is important, we all now that. Not that anyone should need any incentive to recycle in the first place. After all, saving the planet is already a pretty good reason!
Many people don’t know that you can actually make money by recycling. A lot of people are putting plastic, cardboard, cans, and glass into their recycling bins without a second thought. Disposing unneeded items into the recycling containers is the right thing to do and that’s enough, which is great. However, why not make a little money while we’re reducing our global footprint?
Here are the seven best ways on how to make money recycling:
1. Re-selling cardboard boxes
Re-selling cardboard boxes is one of the best ways on how to make money recycling. You might think that once you have your Amazon package delivered that there is no more use for the box. In fact, all cardboard boxes can be used from anything from people moving house to companies that are actively looking for high-quality cardboard that has not been soiled by pizza grease or other things that are found in many blue bins.
Even if you only hold onto the boxes for the next time that you need to move house, you will be saving money on buying boxes to pack your possessions.
2. Bio-Diesel is a real thing
Did you know that your used cooking grease is actually quite valuable? Biodiesel is a huge industry and you can sell directly to biodiesel firms. You will need to get in touch with them directly to see what they will and won’t accept. It could be a great way for you to make a little money on the side.
You should always be mindful of what happens to your cooking oil once you are done with it. After all, if you pour it down the sink you could end up looking at a sink that backs up with foul smelling water. There is a growing problem in the servers that are called fatburgers. These are giant blobs of grease and other substances that have been put down the drains and flushed down the toilets. They are just as disgusting as they sound. They are causing some significant blockages in the sewer system and are very hard to get rid of. So even if you aren’t selling your cooking grease, don’t put it down the sink.
3. Sell your ink cartridges
Lots of companies are looking to purchase used ink cartridges. Their business model is based on refilling them and selling them on. Ink is very expensive so it is no surprise that this is a thing that many companies that do a lot of printing are using. The best place to find somewhere that will buy your used ink cartridges is to simply google them. You might be shocked to find so many.
With the cost of ink being so high, you will also be helping to cut down on the net cost of every ink cartridge that you buy for your home or business.
4. Car batteries
Selling car batteries is one of the more interesting ways to make money recycling. This will vary from mechanic to mechanic, but you can often negotiate a deal when it comes to replacing your car battery. They want the spent battery so that they can take it apart and use the parts. You will probably not get a lot of money for it. But it’s always worth asking if they will knock a few dollars of the cost of a service if you give them your used battery.
You can also apply this same plan of action to every aspect of car maintenance. Just because a part of your car needs to be replaced, it doesn’t always mean that the old part is no worthless.
5. Scrap metal
If you have recently had some home improvement work done and your contractor offers to take care of the leftover materials for you, make sure you know what materials he is talking about. Older homes will have some copper and brass in the walls and these can be fairly valuable metals.
You should make sure that you keep an eye on these materials and sell them for what they’re worth. There will be lots of scrap metal yards within driving distance of you so a quick little bit of research could offer some great rewards for your efforts.
6. Wine corks and bottles
The internet is a fascinating place. You won’t need to go far to find someone who is looking for a dozen wine bottles for an art project or corks for a living room display. Yes, it is important to recycle wine bottles, but if they can find a second life as a candle holder then resuing them is much better. The best part is that you will get paid for all the hard work you put into drinking that wine.
There are many other examples of things that might be one man’s trash and another man’s treasure. Even things like empty toilet rolls. You won’t get a lot of money for them, but every little helps.
