Collect empty bottles and cans - and get a free trip!

I wonder what the rate of exchange is? Is 50 cents there worth more or less than 50 cents here? (USA)

We don't have cents in my country. Our currency is called kroner and orer, but since most members on Mylot don't know much one krone is I converted the amount from Kroner to American cents

I can imagine that it is a lot of work to earn $100 through the cans when you get 50 cents per pound. In my country we get 15 cents per can and 50 cents per bottle and that makes it much easier to earn money that way. Some homeless people collect bottles and exchange them for food, but other people with low income also collect bottles and so do children who want money for candy. It is relatively easy to earn between $10 and $20 per day in the summer months, but it is harder in the winter where no one sits outside.

I think it is a great ídea to recycle so many things. That way the things aren't wasted and it is good for the environment. We have many second hand shops where they sell clothes, furniture, books, magazines and many other things. The bottles are cleaned very carefully and then they are used again. Old paper is also recycled. I hope that we will get even better at recycling things in the future.

Yes recycling is a good idea. But your story is really amazing porcospino.

I also think that it is amazing to hear that they got a free trip that way. I know that they have spent many, many hours looking for bottles and collecting them, and I think it is great that they were so persistent and collected bottles every single day for a year. I am sure that they enjoyed their free trip very much I don't know if it is still possible to sell old newspapers in my country. In the past it was possible, but the prices were extremly low like less than one cent per kg so even if you had lots of newspapers it would be impossible to earn more than a small amount of money that way.

Here too the prices are extremely low per kg of newspapers but we do away with them to get that meager amount itself.Those who buy them make paper packets out of them which are used to sell food items on the streets.

When I was living in Italy I was surpriced to discover that you don't recycle the bottles, because I am used to that from my own country. In Ravenna I shared my apartment with an Italian girl and when she threw away the empty bottles I wanted to stop her and I said: "Don't throw them away, you will lose the money" and she looked at me and said: "What money?" She told me that you don't get money for the empty bottles in Italy and that there was no reason to keep them. In my country I don't throw the bottles and the cans away simply because it is like throwing money in the garbage bin. I think you are right that it could lead to fights if you got money for the bottles. In my country I have never experienced fights, but there are certain areas that the bottles collectors stay from because they would get in trouble if they took the bottles there. The people who hang out there protect their "territories" and want all of the bottles from that area. Yes, collection of bottles is a great way to keep the city clean. There are still other kinds of trash, but the amount of trash is kept down because people pick up the bottles and sell them.

I think that we are lucky that we get that much money for cans and bottles. The bottles are recycled and we get money for the cans as well. People know that they get money for them and many people are willing to pick up the bottles and return them to the shops, and that way the amount of trash in the streets is reduced. Some people throw empty bottles and cans in the streets - but because they can be turned into cash other people pick them up and that keeps the amount of trash down. In the summer months it is easy to find cans and bottles in the streets, in the parks or at the beach. In the winter months there are not that many bottles, because few people spend time outside when the weather is cold.

your response applies here in the USA exactly...there are many people who do very well at collecting cans and bottles and yes it does help at keeping the streets clean of cans bottles but there is so much other litter still on the streets...

10 euro a day that is great. On my island is possible to earn that amount during the music festival when there are lots of people in town, but the rest of the year it would be hard to get so much money because many people keep their bottles and sell them instead of throwing them away. I haven't heard about anyone from my country who collected bottles for a living, but I know that a lot of retired people collect bottles because they need the extra money. Some homeless people also collect bottles and they exchange them for food.

And the best part is that you're helping to beautiful the island! It's terrible to see your home trashed by insensitive people, isn't it? We have litter laws, but to see some of the things that have been thrown out is terrible. I'm from NJ and I remember the times the beaches were closed because of trash or medical waste washing up on the shores. I don't even spit my gum out unless there's a receptacle because I saw a film once that showed what happened to wildlife when they try to eat it, thinking it was food. It's NOT pretty. Maybe we should consider paying people to pick up litter?

I also think that is great that we are able to earn money that way. It takes a lot of time to collect all those bottles and cans, but it is worth it in the end. I have collected bottles in the past and I managed to earn some extra money that way. Now the music festival on my island is over and a lot of people go through the things that people have left behind in order to find cans and bottles and exchange them for cash. I just read a newspaper article about some of the people who did that and they said that it was quite disgusting to go through people's trash, but they earned quite a lot of money because many people had left their empty bottles.

If you want this job you must come to Denmark Yes, I think that the couple achieved their goal because of their determination. There is no doubt that is has taken them many hours each day to get enough money for the trip. It is not the most interesting job in the world, but the money is taxfree and I think it is worth it in the end. It must be a great feeling to achieve their goal and see the result of their work. When my husband told me about it he said: "I am almost afraid to tell this, because you could get inspired to do the same thing" Well, it does sounds inspiring to get a free trip that way.

I also think that it would be a great idea if more recyclable things had cash value. That would motivate people to return those things because they would know that they would get cash in exchange for the things that they collected. Right now there is a music festival on my island and there are a lot of tourists here. Many of the them throw their empty bottles and cans in the streets or in the parks and because it is possible to get money for those bottles and cans many people are willing to collect them. That definately keeps the amount of trash down. If we weren't able to get money for them people would simply leave them.

ya it is sad how people only recycle when you can get cash for it. I myself recycle everything possible, it doesn't matter if I can get money for it or not. It's too bad more people weren't like that.

It is great to hear that your uncle's friend has been able to get rid of his debt by collecting recyclable items. His story and the story of my husband's relatives are inspiring and they proove that it is possible to achieve your goal if you work hard. It is true that you need to work hard to do something like that, but I believe that it is worth it. I am sure that my husband's relatives enjoyed their trip a lot and I am happy for them. They don't have much money and they wouldn't have been able to travel if they hadn't collected those bottles and cans. I look forward to hearing from you. Just write me when you can

When I read the responses in this discussion I get the impression that the amounts that we get per bottle and per can are higher than the amounts that you get in many other countries. I was surpriced to hear about the couple that saved for a trip that way, but if you are very active and collect bottles and cans every day I don't think that it is unrealistic. It is nice that you get some extra money from the bottles that you collect. My husband and I have collected some bottles and cans during the music festival and we are going to spend the money that we made on your bills next month. It definately won't be enough to pay all of the bills, but it helps

I my country the rich people don't usually collect bottles, but many other groups of people do it: The homeless people, people who are retired and don't have much money and the children who want to get free money for candy and things like that. My husband's relatives who collected bottles for one year aren't really poor, but they don't have much extra money and they wouldn't have been able to go on vacation without the money that they got from collecting bottles. I think it is great that they got a free trip that way.

Here usually only the homeless people does that, maybe because persons don't know about it or probably because I think that they pay here much less than what you mentioned. Here they usually ran with carts searching for these bottles and cans in the trash, it's very sad to see when the parents take their kids to do that instead of going to school.

There is no doubt that it is possible to earn quite a lot of money if you collect bottles and cans during the music festival. My husband and I did it last year and we earned more than $100 during the festival, and I know that there are people who earn much more than that. We have also collected bottles this year, but we are not as active as last year because we have to work every day and our free time is limited. I think that it is impressive that my husband's relatives collected enough bottles for a trip. Of course it took them many hours every day, but I am sure that they thought that it was worth it when they were able to enjoy their free vacation in Greece.