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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
 Posted - 06/14/2008 : 12:32:15
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What is an approximate average number of aluminum soda/beer cans you all are finding it takes to make a pound?
How many pounds do you usually turn in at a time?
How much per pound are you getting? I was quoted 65-70 cents per pound this week.
Thanks!
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2008 : 12:38:57
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There are approximately 31 aluminum cans in a pound. I am getting $1.70 per pound for aluminum cans. I sell them at my work, so I don't have to make any special trips.  |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2008 : 13:13:36
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Hmmm, $1.70 per pound--guess I need to call around some more.
Thanks for the info! |
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Robarons
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
522 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2008 : 13:20:59
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HCBTT, a $1.70 a pound seems a little high. I think Aluminum is only trading at $1.30 on the exchange.
Is it that CA cash refund thing, like a deposit or just a REALLLY good scrap yard?
thanks |
Robber Baron= Robarons |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2008 : 13:42:48
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| LOL.. You busted me. It is mostly the CA CRV thing. Of course it is a REALLLY good yard.. I work there. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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fiatboy
Administrator
912 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2008 : 04:41:53
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From talking to people who regularly sell cans, most places are paying between 70 cents and $1.10 a pound, depending where you live. It varies greatly from state to state.
I only cash in my cans if I have at least enough to buy an ounce of silver.  |
"Bart, it's not about how many stocks you have, it's about how much copper wire you can get out of the building." --- Homer Simpson |
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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2008 : 10:57:04
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HCBTT: maybe I should put my cans in a flat rate box and ship them to you--ha ha. Wonder if I can crush them enough to get 30 pounds in there?
OK--so it sounds like my 65 cents is a bit on the low side, but close, depending on the local market.
fiatboy: I like your idea of using the money to get an ounce of silver--maybe I will make that my unofficial policy...thanks. |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2008 : 13:45:19
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| Nah, I don't think you can get 30 pounds in a Flat Rate box.. aluminum is kind of light. Plus they wouldn't be redeemable here cause they don't say CA CRV on top. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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Flbandit
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
851 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2008 : 15:45:45
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| It's only about .70 here. |
Are you throwing that out? |
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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2008 : 16:22:10
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OK--now I just need to step up my collecting efforts and see what happens.
HCBTT--do you think the CA CRV helps at all (in preventing litter)? Or does it just give more money to those willing to collect? |
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fiatboy
Administrator
912 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2008 : 22:50:41
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| At worst you'll get a penny per can. Not much, but it's better than nothing. |
"Bart, it's not about how many stocks you have, it's about how much copper wire you can get out of the building." --- Homer Simpson |
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Know Common Cents
Penny Pincher Member
195 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2008 : 19:49:00
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| $0.84 per pound here for cans. Had to wait in line last weekend with my paltry 28 lbs behind a Father and kids who had 312 lbs of cans. All looked like they'd been flattened by a brick. No clue where they got all of those as even the kids wouldn't divulge their secret source of the motherlode. |
Here in Wisconsin, we have some of the highest property and gasoline taxes in the US. We're squeezed so much, I have to make my daughter wear penny boxes for shoes. At least she has an endless supply. |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2008 : 19:51:23
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quote:
Originally posted by HoardCopperByTheTon
Nah, I don't think you can get 30 pounds in a Flat Rate box.. aluminum is kind of light. Plus they wouldn't be redeemable here cause they don't say CA CRV on top.
Certain cans around here have the CA CRV on top....
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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Robarons
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
522 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2008 : 20:05:10
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I think I have all you guys beat. Here they will toss you $3.10 per a pound of alum. cans. Of course they have to be un-.crushed and be from Michigan with an .10 cent bounty (deposit) on its head.
I think the bottling plants that make the cans have a 'special' can that is made for deposit states like CA or MI, and list all of them. So thats why you may see 'CA Refund' and your from Vermont (where I believe its 5 cents). As I went to Indiana which isn't a deposit state and the tops have nothing written on them. Just a theory.
For the the other cans without the bounty, my scrap yards are paying .73 cents. |
Robber Baron= Robarons |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 06:34:02
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Not a deposit state here, but some cans still have the state list on top with amounts. I'll get one at work today.
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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n/a
deleted
110 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 12:03:00
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| Not a deposit state here either. Most of our cans used to have all the states on them that paid deposit, CA, ME, MI, CT, VT and HI. I'm pretty sure that's it. Rob, my uncle lives in Indiana, he makes a trip to Michigan once a year or so with his cans from Indiana. He makes a decent amount of money from what he says. I live near Seattle, and I get .70 a lb, which is roughly 2 cents a can. Not bad. They're all over the place here. |
24 Empty Missile Tubes, A Giant Mushroom Cloud....It's Miller Time!!! |
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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 12:19:15
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| We have many states listed on our cans/bottles here as well--always wondered what was preventing people from taking them from one state where no deposit was paid to another for the refund. Seems like somehow there would be a law about that or something? |
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n/a
deleted
110 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 12:28:33
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quote:
Originally posted by kavajava
We have many states listed on our cans/bottles here as well--always wondered what was preventing people from taking them from one state where no deposit was paid to another for the refund. Seems like somehow there would be a law about that or something?
I'm pretty sure there are laws too. If you only had a few cans I don't think anyone would care, but if for instance, I drove down to Oregon (which is a deposit state) with hundreds of pounds, I'm sure they'd want to see my Oregon drivers license. I'm not sure how my uncle gets away with it in Michigan. Maybe he goes from store to store, cashing in only a few bucks at a time? Or maybe they don't bother to question him. Who knows? |
24 Empty Missile Tubes, A Giant Mushroom Cloud....It's Miller Time!!! |
Edited by - n/a on 06/17/2008 12:29:47 |
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aboxaweek
Penny Collector Member
USA
326 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 15:36:29
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| in WI cans are .86 at high |
*HUCKABEE*
___08'____
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 16:30:36
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| The price of gas would be one thing that would prevent it. Also, most places will not accept material from you unless you have ID proving you are from that state. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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JerrySpringer
Penny Hoarding Member
669 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 17:57:56
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Some states have automated machines that read the bar code. I suspect the bar codes can be correlated to which states the container may be sold in originally. When I lived in Iowa, we had a 5 cents per can deposit. They just counted the cans and gave you credit at the store. As far as places seeing a driver's license, that is a new one for me. I wonder why that should matter if the cans are kosher otherwise? Maybe they take down the person's info in case the containers are from out of state? Anyway, a Seinfeld episode featured the Michigan 10 cent deposit free lunch:
You must be logged in to see this link. |
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Robarons
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
522 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 18:43:51
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Ok so the 'special' can theory holds no water, oh well.
Here in Michigan they have those automatic bottle return machines that can tell and wont accept non-deposit cans. Here at the local supercenter they have two signs posted: $25 limit on returns and its illegal to try to return non-refundable cans punishable by $500 fine and/or up to 90 days in jail (Not legal Advice!). Its older store and is in a shaky part of own where people try to do such scams. Once in a while you will see a pile of out of state or even Candian cans in the trash at these places
However at party stores or gas stations that dont have such equipment you could return out of state containers for the deposit. They often too have limits because their small stores. |
Robber Baron= Robarons |
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n/a
deleted
91 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 20:18:55
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| We are a couple hours from the border though and i assume the stores pay a little closer attention around the border. Our local store just ask how many you have and take your word for it. |
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knibloe
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1066 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2008 : 20:31:03
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| NY has a deposit of .05 per can. Seinfeld had an episode based on Cramer and Newman saving cans for the nickel and driving them to MI for the dime. Also, some men were arrested in a "crime ring" last year for returning non-deposit cans from Ohio into MI. |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2008 : 10:16:20
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I tried the cross-border Indiana-Michigan thing once out of curiosity on a very small scale only because I was going to Michigan anyways. It does work (sort of), but I doubt anybody could figure out a way to make it practical. Here is what I learned:
1. Not all or many cans in Indiana are stamped with the Michigan deposit. It has to do with where the stuff is canned. For example if it is canned and sold in Indiana, it will not have the deposit stamp.
2. I don't see any reason that returning non-stamped cans wouldn't work, but I wouldn't try it as it obviously illegal and anybody doing it on a large scale or frequently is going to get caught.
3. They don't take crushed cans from Joe Blow off the street. So there is a volume issue when transporting.
4. The stores with the redemtions machines don't have to take cans from stuff that they don't sell. So even if the can has a deposit stamp on it, it can still get rejected based on the barcode. This is a problem because much of the stuff in Indiana that has the deposit stamp on it, is a less common beverage stuff that is not sold everywhere and has the stamp because canning locations / distribution centers are limited.
So to make it work you would have pull and sort cans out of your regular Indiana aluminum cans based on these questions:
1. Does it have a deposit stamp?
2. Is the can crushed?
2. What is the brand?
3. What store sells that brand in Michigan?
4. Do I have enough of these "special" stamped, uncrushed cans that take up a ton of space to pay for the gas to drive them to Michigan?
In other words, get a job at McDonalds. It is easier, probably pays more, and is legal. 
By the way, Knibloe mentioned that there was a related arrest. The one that I read about, probably the same one, was an "inside" job and not done by a Joe Blow of the street. The deal is that crushed and bundled cans are eventually sent to the state for redemtion. Somebody or somebodies with enough credentials to pass as a legimate seller figured out that they could make a ton of money selling crushed and bundled out of state cans to the state. So the were injecting cans into the stream AFTER the normal returns by Joe Blow into the automated machines.
Selling bulk more or less directly to the state is probably the only way that an illegal can return operation would be practical and look where it got them....
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Edited by - horgad on 06/18/2008 10:25:24 |
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knibloe
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1066 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2008 : 20:54:49
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I was too lazy to look up the particulars. Yes the case Horgrad is talking about is the same that I was talking about.
When I was in college, some of my friends worked at an amusment park. My younger brother and I got season passes and we went on the days that they had concerts. After the part closed, we would drive around the parking lot throwing cans and bottles into the back of a truck. One would drive and the other would grab and throw. It would take an hour for the parking lot to clear out enough for the security to see us and ask us to leave. By that time we would always have $100 in cans. |
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Aluminum cans
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