How to make money recycling is a question I have been asking myself for the past few weeks. I have accumulated lots of old and used stuff like books, magazines and electronics of all kinds, and even construction material through the years.
And while I was watching an episode on Discovery channel about going green, featuring a guy who owned a recycling business, I thought it’s a brilliant idea to recycle stuff, contributing to a cleaner and greener planet while earning some cash at the some time.
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So, I set out to do some research, and find out how I can make money by recycling papers, plastics, cans, electronics, Ink Cartridges, golf balls and anything that can be recycled.
I found over a dozens of websites and resources that anyone can use to earn money by recycling their unused items. Most of these websites offer free shipping. They will send you prepaid packages, so you can ship your items to them for free.
If you like to learn how to make money by recycling, here are 20 sites and resource that you can use to get cold hard cash for recycling your old stuff:
Paper/Cardboard
Cash 4 Books
C4B is an online used book store where you can buy and sell used books. Simply enter your book’s ISBNs and instantly find out how much they pay for it.
Used Cardboard Boxes
The buy used cardboard boxes and sell them to people and businesses that need them for moving.
BoxCycle
This is a unique site where you can list individual cardboard boxes for sale. there is no fee for listing items and since lots of people use this site, you can offer local delivery or pickup instead of shipping.
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Online book stores
They don’t recycle books per se, but you can sell your used books on sites like Half.com, Amazon.com and even eBay (though Half.com is part of eBay).
Electronics
YouRenew
Get cash for recycling your old electronics. They pay you for anything from calculators, cell phones, laptops, digital cameras, mp3 players, gaming devices and DVDs.
Gazelle
Very similar to YouRenew. They pay you for all the stuff that YR pays you for, plus a few more items such as camera lenses, camcorders and PDAs.
BuyMyTronics
Pays you cash for all kinds of electronics, whether old, used, new and even broken electronics.
MyBoneYard
Another great site that pays you for electronics recycling. They have an option where you can donate the money to national and local nonprofit organizations.
Second Spin
Sell old DVDs and CD’s on their site.
Flipswap
An exclusive site dedicated to recycled cell phones.
Cell for Cash
The name says it all!
Envirofone.com
This one is for the U.K. residents. It is the leading mobile phone recycling company/site in the U.K. They help almost 4 million people recycle their phones and get cash for it.
Ink Cartridges
Cash4Cartridges
Get paid for recycling your laser printer cartridges and old inkjet.
Toner Buyer
They pay you for more than just ink cartridges. You can get cash for empty printer cartridges, copiers, fax machines and printers.
Advantage Cartridge
Make money by recycling empty inkjets, laser toners cartridges and used cell phones, laptops, tablets and iPods. They also pay for new unused printer cartridges and new electronics.
eCycle Group
Get paid for recycling inkjet Cartridges, toner Cartridges, cellphones and also mp3 players.
Staples and other office supply stores
Many office supply stores such as Staples also pay for ink Cartridges.
Sporting Goods
KnetGolf
Have lots of used golf balls? Why not get cash for recycling them! Get cold hard cash for them on http://www.knetgolf.com/. They pay up to $0.90 per gulf ball.
Play It Again
They buy old and used sporting goods. They have stores all over the country, so finding one near you is not hard.
Clothing
Plato’s Closet
Yes, you can make money recycling your old clothes as well. Second hand stores like Plato’s Closet pay decent amounts of money for old and used brand name clothes.
SmartBride Boutique
You can sell and buy wedding dresses, bridesmaid gowns, decor, accessories and more.
Car Parts
CF-Core
One of the best ways to make money recycling is recycling batteries. Cf-Core, a battery recycling company based in Florida. They pay $8.00 for batteries in Florida and $5.00 – $6.00 for batteries out of Florida.
Tires
Tire recycling centers usually pay up to $4 or more per tire depending on the seize of the tire. If you are interested in earning cash for old tires, read my how to make money recycling used tires. If you are interested in taking tire recycling one step further, read How to Make Money Recycling Used Tires
Miscellaneous
Recycle Bank
It’s a rather unusual rewards sites where you can make money by recycling. You get points for taking green actions. Once you earned enough points, you can redeem for gift cards, merchandise, coupons and discount codes for all kinds of items.
Metal
As for recycling and getting paid for things like Copper, Stainless steel, Lead and Brass- like door hinges, home decor, fittings, plumbing- take to scrap metal center. Best place to get paid for these items is your local scrape dealer.
Jewelry
Old jeweleries are often melted down and used for making new jewelries. So, most jewelry stores will buy old jeweleries from you. Take your old jewelry to a few local jewelers and see what you can get for them.
Glass Bottles
No specific website, but you can always take your used glass bottles to your local Scrap dealer.
Conclusion
Remember, if you do have some old stuff that you can’t get money for recycling them or you just want to something good with them, you can always remember your old stuff through various organizations such as Goodwill. Remember, some donations are also eligible for tax deduction.
Please use the comment box below to leave a comment and/or share with us if you know of any other site or resources that can be helpful for people trying to learn how to make money recycling.