Methods to Make Money

Method 2: Collecting Cans (and OTHER Metals!) Can Earn SERIOUS Money for Kids and Teens!

Of all of the things on this planet, it seems that trash is the most
common thing that you will find. It’s all over the place! We always see volunteers and prison crews cleaning Turn Cans into Cashit up. However, did you know that ALL of those soda cans, aluminum wrappings, and almost every other metal can bring you some serious cash? No joke! Not only can you help to save the environment, but you can earn some spare money too. Whether you’re 8 years old or 14 years old, it’s a great method to try!

Who Would Buy Metal and Soda Cans?!

When you get all of your cans collected (we will detail WHERE to get the cans in a moment), you can take them to a scrap yard. You should make sure you ask your parents to help you haul off your metal once you have collected it. Scrap yards will pay you based on the total weight of the metal. After they buy it from you, they recycle it to make other products! Different types of metal bring different prices; usually, iron is the lowest paying metal, and copper is the highest paying. The amount you will fetch from your metal will also depend on the area you live in. Before you go to sell it, go to google and search “metal scrap yards [your zip code or city, state)”. Once you get the results, call each scrap yard and ask them how much they are paying for each type of metal. This way, you know which scrap yard will pay you the most!

Where Do You Find Metal?

There are SO many different ways that you can get aluminum soda cans and scrap metal. You can begin by collecting them at home. If your family drinks out of aluminum cans, begin to collect them in trash bags. You can also ask your neighbors, family members, and friends to save them for you too. Once you’ve begun to collect them this way, you can begin to scale your can collecting! You can begin to collect them at school (asking friends, teachers, and classmates to save them for you), at local parks, and even restaurants and ball fields. IF you volunteer with friends or family to clean up road sides, you can collect some cans for cash this way as well.

Cans, as we said previously, aren’t the only things you can collect. ANYTHING metal will bring you some cash. You can collect items from appliances to old silverware and construction scraps. This list below is some other great ideas that you can use:

  • Aluminum house siding
  • Old fencing and fencing posts
  • Broken metal furniture
  • Broken copper wiring (almost any wire has copper in it)
  • Broken microwaves, toasters, and more
  • Old/unwanted steel pots and pans
  • Broken bicycles

How Much Can I Expect to Earn?

Different metals will fetch different prices for different amounts. This is a huge scale, and it is difficult to say. HOWEVER, You can expect at least $5 for a trash bag full of cans that are partially crushed. If you step on each can (stand up the can, and step on the top of it) and form a small, circular piece of aluminum, you could probably expect more like $15-$20 per bag. It is VERY easy to find this many cans in large social settings, particularly events.