Remember the old Beer Can collecting craze in the 1970's? I had a pretty big collection. Topped out at around 750 cans or so. I sold it off when I suspected the fad was starting to fade. Anybody still have a collection or know anybody who still has one? Ah! Memories! It was also a good excuse to try a lot of different beers!

Pyramid of Old Milwaukee, way high to the sky? 9 rows high? Not so much a collection, but a drunk’s challenge. We’d stack a case of cans, usually have some left over.

Did you get some good cash for yours?

I recycled mine...

I had a small collection back then, but I was 10 and just started drinking beer.

Speaking of beer cans, I heard China was buying aluminum like wild, yet the price for cans 9arond here any;how) seems to be less than half what it was a year or so ago. WTF. Perhaps with the poor economy, the market is flooded with cans from folks who never bothered to recycle before???? Anybody know? Mr. Potts, I know you must know.

Cans suck buy 40's!

Cans suck buy 40's!

^

I just saw a TV expose on this. The recycling industry is loosing big $$$ right now. Demand for recyclable materials such as aluminum, newspaper and plastic have fallen so badly due to the recession, that current market prices don't even cover the cost of collection, sorting and storage. Some cities are even considering suspending recycling until it becomes cost effective again...

^ That's weird. I would have guessed the opposite.

#8.

Funny you should mention that. I just took 7 garbage sacks (30 gal size) of cans to the local recycle center. It's a semi-trailer operated by whomever they can find at minimum wage. I got $.12 a pound. On top of that, the *itch slapped me with a $.50 charge for the cans "being too wet."

She was wearing sneakers that the soles were almost falling off of and her car was an old mustang that had no glass in the rear window, just a plastic bag taped over it and no right front fender.

I wasn't going to argue.

I took home $3.50.

Big payday!

Problem is, as I understand it, is that recyclers used to get paid for this stuff, which is how they covered their expenses and made a profit. Now, due to shrinking demand for their materials, buyers are paying much less. one recycler said he is now *paying* to get rid of newspaper and plastic...

Personal experience, March ‘08 used cans were selling for the same as scrap aluminum, about $.52 /lb. I was paid a couple hundred $ at the local scrap yard for stuff I collected.

A year ago commodity aluminum was about $1.45 according to the chart referenced below. They went below $1 Oct 08. About the time Obama proved to be a slam dunk. Today used cans are listed at around $.12 as you found out. Prices are like a yoyo. Who ever said the economy isn’t screwed up?

Commodity Aluminum charted over different time periods:

http://www.infomine.com/investment/historicalcharts/showcharts.asp?c=Aluminum 

Scrap aluminum, different types listed here.

http://www.scrapindex.com/metal/usa/aluminum/index.html 

I haven’t looked at other metals, they are all prolly way down. Paper, plastics, rubber, who knows what else has tanked?