Money is a tool for survival and it is only applicable for humans. We spend our earnings on food, medications, recreation, and sometimes to help each other. It does not buy happiness and it will not guarantee a long life but you need it.
To get some money, you have to do your job, whatever that job is. And if you don’t have a job, find one… But that is easier said than done. You can either find a job create one from scratch by turning your trash into cash.
Finding a job can be easy if you can be satisfied with a crappy minimum wage job. You have to think “outside of the box” if you want a job of your dreams. The one job that will make you feel like you are the boss. However, what exactly can you offer something others are not? How to make your business stand out when every other company has already done whatever there has been left to be done? Have you ever been thinking about trash?
How can trash become cash?
We are taught from the earliest days about the importance of money and how to earn some. Lemonade stands are the first idea that comes to my mind when thinking about those earliest forms of jobs we get introduced to. Besides that, as kids, I and my friends used to collect all kinds of scrap materials and later on traded them for money so that we could buy candy at a local grocery store. And we didn’t know that this kind of job can turn into a full-scale business.
Trash is a resource
Have you ever heard of a saying: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? Well, trash is one of those resources and businesses that see trash as a resource and make a significant amount of money by removing it from your homes or collecting from landfills and recycling it. They make money and our planet heals in that process.
A spokesperson at O’Connor’s Waste Removal told us that there are many different ways to earn some cash from waste, or trash. You simply find someone who knows what to do with your trash.
The valuable materials you can use to earn some money are:
Cardboard
This is one of the most environmentally effective materials suitable for recycling and one of the most used materials for several reasons. However, cardboard in its original state takes a lot of space and when it decomposes it releases large amounts of methane. On the other hand, cardboard is very expensive because it is widely being used as the main packaging material.
Aluminum
You can’t get rich from recycling the aluminum cans, but this is an easy and sure way to add some cash to your wallet while cleaning your community. The main reason why aluminum is so important for the process of recycling is that aluminum can be recycled an indefinite number of times. It practically means that you can recycle one aluminum can over and over again, making all kinds of different objects from that material and still get the top-quality material every single time.
Plastic bottles
Plastic is all around us. There is even an island in the Pacific Ocean solely made of plastic. It is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and, as the name says, it is full of garbage. It is our garbage. We made it! It contains at least 79.000 tons of wasted plastic, and it takes about 617,800 square miles of the surface of the water (1.6 million square kilometers). This is why recycling is so important for us and our world. This plastic is all around us, in our rivers, in the ground, etc. But it doesn’t have to be like this.
Plastics recycling keeps still-useful materials out of landfills (and our oceans) and encourages us and businesses to develop and produce new products using old materials. Because of this, many countries are encouraging individuals to collect plastic bottles and other objects made of recyclable plastics and recycle them for cash.
This trend is probably only going to get more important and bigger.
Glass bottles
This is nothing new. Just search your area and you might be able to find a local recycling center, a homebrew supply store, a brewery, or a vineyard that still accepts glass bottles for cash.
Toilet paper rolls
Teachers use leftover cardboard rolls from toilet paper and paper towels for all kinds of school projects. A box of empty rolls can bring you about $15 on eBay. This cardboard can of course you can recycle your toilet paper rolls with your other cardboard. You can also compost them.
Junk batteries
If you don’t use your car regularly, the battery will discharge and sulfate. You won’t be able to use it anymore. You can either try to recharge it with a special charger or try to sell it at the local junkyard. Most auto parts stores would also probably discount your new battery when you give them your old one.
Wine corks
You can sell your old wine corks on eBay for about 0.10 cents per cork. Auctions for wine corks sell in lots as small as 20 and as large as 500.
Old appliances
You must have some old appliances waiting in line to be tossed away like some junk. Most of us decide to keep some of that old stuff “just in case”. However, the reality of things is that you are probably not going to use any of those appliances in the future. One of the solutions is to sell them on sites like eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, VarageSale, etc. If they don’t work then you could probably sell them for spare parts on the same websites.
Reclaimed wood
This junk can also be sold. Many companies would pay money for ash, elm, maple, walnut, white oak, and hickory wood. Just ask around and you will find someone interested.
Cooking oil
Did you know that you can sell your old cooking oil for money? Yeah, the used cooking oil can be converted into biodiesels and some companies that have the required equipment could pay you for it $1 per gallon. And if you refer a restaurant grease account, they will send you an additional $25.
What do you think about this resource? Are you recycling? Are you one of those people who look at trash and see cash? Tell us your story.