Money for old cans , How much ?

dyrniboy

Hi,

I have just been on a website, thinkcans.com, who run a cash for cans scheme. Does anybody know how much they pay ?. i was thinking it might be a good scheme for the local school or club.

antenna

I was the regional manager for Cash-A-Can,a aluminium can recycling project run by Alcoa,the largest aluminium manufacturer in the world.
This was when recycling was in it's infancy,around 20 years ago,and when Alcoa decided to close a large part of it's aluminium plant in wales they also ended the recycling scheme.
I maintained the scheme in the south of england but a slump in the value of aluminium forced me to end the business after 18 months.
As to the value of the aluminiun cans i paid by the kilo,it takes around 52 330ml cans to weigh a kilo and around 40 500ml cans to equal 1 kilo.
Aluminium prices are sky high now and scrap value should be much more now.
We paid 40 pence per kilo of aluminium cans and sorted out the worthless (to us) of the steel cans by magnetic sorting bench,but our collectors soon recognised the aluminium cans and the steel cans became less of a problem.....i still have around 10,000 magnets that i gave to schools for the children to check the cans with......but in the mists of time i cant be sure where they are..................brian

dyrniboy

Thanx Antenna,

Would you say about a penny a can would be the going rate ?

antenna

Just a quick note regarding the magnets......no....i dont know where they are...i am not even in the same country anymore......but as i remember as British Steel was a direct competitor of Alcoa and both companies make cans British Steel used to hand out magnets so that people would only buy steel cans to preserve the steel manufacturing in wales..........now all sold to pakistan!!!!!........................how things change........brian

antenna

10 Million pounds worth of aluminium cans are thrown away every year in the uk......that was 25 years ago.........at approx 1p each that's a lot of cans.........lets not forget the poor old steel can.......about 100 are worth 1p................brian

dyrniboy

Hi Brian,

Was there much profit in it for you ?. Would it worth our School trying to sell the cans to the people you sold to ?

antenna

Nearly all recycling schemes make a loss,the main reason for manufactures to encourage recycling is to avoid the possibility of governments putting a deposit scheme on glass and metal beverage and food containers...this would drive consumers to plastic and Tetra-pak style containers.....but the 'first' recycler can make money...but if you take into account your energy,time and petrol to recycle then it cannot make money.
But it might make you feel good.....and that does not have a price......brian

slade5x5

Hi Guys

I know of a website called alupro that gives out details of local recyling merchants so you can contact them and find out how much they pay.

Hope this helps

Cheers Slade

antenna

A short story about the 'People's Republic Of Brent' in london.......spent 10's of thousands of your money on a grandiose recycling depot...champagne and canapes....i even supplied a Can-Can girl.........lets cut to the chase......my Cash A Can depot used to take all our worthless steel cans to this flagship recycling depot at Brent Cross recycling centre.....but we did not tell them.......the leader of recycling for the Greater London Council was amazed at how well 'his' centre was doing with steel cans,so i burst his bubble by telling him that my Cash A Can centre was putting all our worthless cans in his steel can recycling bins............his face dropped,the blood drained from his face,he almost looked like he lived in the real world and not from the feather-bedded world of the much lammented (by Them) GLC..................but wait....there's more............he told me he could not handle all these cans.......this recycling scheme was all front..............and he had to send all these cans to landfill.......yes landfill..........still...he had a highly paid created job......nice work if you can get it........brian

dyrniboy

How do these people get jobs ?, but i suppose the country is run by em.!!

arkonite_babe

Alupro website

Think cans, cash for cans information

Some information on aluminium can recycling and cash for can schemes.

HTH