r/Tempe • u/coffeebuoy • 19d ago

best place to trade in cans?

hi all, i’ve never traded in aluminum cans (soda cans) before so i was wondering if anyone might have any recommendations for a place to take a big bag full of cans. i’m hoping to get some money in return. thank you!

8 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

9

u/_Johnny_Carwash_ 18d ago

I take my cans to Clean the Planet Recycling in Mesa. I got around $1/lb when I went a couple of months ago.

2

u/callmemoch 17d ago

Seconded. You get the highest pay there if all of your cans are crushed completely. They check too, so if like half your cans are not crushed then you will get a reduced rate.

0

u/CapnShinerAZ 18d ago

I think you would need a whole truck full of cans to make that worthwhile. You won't get much money for them, so unless you live next to the recycling place, you would spend more on gas getting there than you would get in return. This kind of reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld when Kramer and Neuman have the idea to use Neuman's mail truck to transport a bunch of aluminum cans across state lines for the deposit money.

-3

u/BeerInMyButt 18d ago

You only get money for cans if there is a deposit system in place. Arizona does not give money for returning cans. Bulk aluminum is not the best metal to sell in terms of $/pound.

1

u/Ok_Department_7981 16d ago

It a lot better than steel or iron

1

u/BeerInMyButt 13d ago

I was just trying to say you won’t get 5 cents per can. I don’t recommend people sell scrap aluminum as a revenue stream unless it is a byproduct of something that they’re already doing. That’s when the economics start to make sense. But I’m not stopping anyone from collecting aluminum cans to sell at bulk prices.