Can Redemption

[Tailg8er]

There used to be a can redemption center East of Duff on Lincoln Way, but Google Maps tells me that's closed now. We used to have a big box in our college apt & take that back every couple weeks, easy money.

I've switched to liquor now most of the time, so don't have near as many cans. I'm cheap enough to take them to Hy-Vee, but I probably only have about 20 a month nowadays.

 

[cyclone87]

I've heard you can take them to fareway if you put them back in the box (they don't count them)

 

[ForbinsAscynt]

When the recycling center in Ames closed down I started throwing them away. Really should start recycling again. Wish they would just get rid of the deposit. In Many cities they just give you 2 cans and pick up up recycling every other week

 

[ISUStrEngr]

Once my town started using single stream recycling bins, we started tossing them in with the rest of the recyclables. Just not worth it to us to put up with the hassle of redeeming the deposit. I with the others who would prefer to have the deposit go away.

 

[Macloney]

By Iowa law, all stores that sell deposit items must take the items back and provide the deposit. The must have a displayed permit from the DNR to not do this.

I used to take empty 12 packs back to Casey's. They never questioned it and I always used to just get another 12 pack anyway.

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

deposit should be eliminated, but too many people that don't have access to "easy" recycling.

I got to the point that i would take all my empty crushed cans home from vacation on the Lake of the Ozarks. The large garbage can would literally be only my empty beer cans/bottles. We have stopped going there due to another relocation so it may have gotten better in the last few years.

 

[Cycsk]

Just throw them in a bag and leave them laying around at your tailgate. There are folks who troll the lots as if this is their primary source of income. Consider it charity.

 

[1100011CS]

I used to just throw them away because the redemption centers counted every single can and it wasn't worth the time. If you have roommates and party a lot, save them and go to marshalltown. I almost feel bad when the guy pays because I know I didn't have that many cans but he just estimates and pays. If you have a place to keep them without the smell it's worth it.

I would gladly take 4 cents a can to keep the redemption center open in Marshalltown. I have a can box and a bottle box I let my kids manage and they get the money. BTW - I know the guy that runs it and I always tip him because he's a great guy and it would be a major pia to handle without that place. That said, I agree that we need to get rid of the deposit and just throw them in with the rest of the recycling. I just wish Marshalltown had the two can system. Our garbage companies require us to separate paper /cardboard from the rest and put it in a bag. I suspect I go to a lot of work to do this and it ends up in the landfill.

 

[WIB]

I run the can and bottle room for a previously mentioned grocery store. I would be all for ending the deposit. 80% of the people that use the room are homeless and are usually ******** to the others that are in there. The machines don't work perfectly, so a lot of people will throw stuff away, and the regulars will come tear through the trash to get 15 cents. I've caught people washing their clothing in the sink, people sleeping on the floor, all sorts of stuff. Generally, the population of the room is not the kind of people shopping in the store.

 

[dmclone]

Go into the back room of a grocery store where cans are stored until they are picked up, and you'll change your mind fast.

This right here.

I worked at Hy-Vee while in high school and college and we went from taking them in customer service to the machines. Both ways sucked. Tens of thousands of crushed cans in sacks that are leaking on the floor. Every night we had to go out and power wash the whole area. The cans would be picked up 5 times a week but a LOT of cans go through those machines every day.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

We need to pay more for deposit. Its been a nickel forever. Any business that who sells cans or bottles and charges a deposit should be required to redeem them. The big chains have made it everyone else's problem.

My spouse had that problem with HyVee a while back, when they were limiting the amount they would pay back at a given time. His point was that they didn't limit how much he could buy at one time but they DID limit how many he could return. He won. Then again, he can be a real PITA if he feels he is in the right.

 

[cyson]

My spouse had that problem with HyVee a while back, when they were limiting the amount they would pay back at a given time. His point was that they didn't limit how much he could buy at one time but they DID limit how many he could return. He won. Then again, he can be a real PITA if he feels he is in the right.

Good for him. If they don't want to do it they should be responsible for making other arrangements that allow whoever does process them to do better than break even.

 

[mdk2isu]

Nobody likes Nickelback.

How dare you talk about @Mr Janny's favorite band like that!

 

[Cybirdy]

I take mine back to Fareway, but I either have cans on flats or back in boxes. I actually need to return some, the garage is getting full. They say they will only redeem up to $10 at a time, but I never have that many.

I think in the south metro it is common for youth groups (sports, etc) to collect to raise funds. My daughter's softball club did that this spring. When they showed up at the door wearing a softball team sweatshirt, people automatically said, "I'll go get cans". Parents got the job of sorting. We got bags that looked like they had been sitting in someone's shed for 8 years. Nasty stuff, not sure how much money we raised doing it.

 

[dmclone]

Hy-Vee and Fareway should partner up and say "In January of 2018 we are going to stop accepting cans at all of our grocery stores in the state of Iowa". This would put pressure on lawmakers to come up with another solution. If they are such big money makers than I assume you'll see redemption stations pop up all over the state.

I think it was a good idea at the time but when I go to other states that don't have can redemption I don't see any more pop cans in the ditches. I mean who throws cans out a window any more and if you do is 5 cents really going to stop you?

 

[mdk2isu]

Hy-Vee and Fareway should partner up and say "In January of 2018 we are going to stop accepting cans at all of our grocery stores in the state of Iowa". This would put pressure on lawmakers to come up with another solution. If they are such big money makers than I assume you'll see redemption stations pop up all over the state.

I think it was a good idea at the time but when I go to other states that don't have can redemption I don't see any more pop cans in the ditches. I mean who throws cans out a window any more and if you do is 5 cents really going to stop you?

That would be considered collusion and the government would crack down on them for it.

 

[AgronAlum]

I would gladly take 4 cents a can to keep the redemption center open in Marshalltown. I have a can box and a bottle box I let my kids manage and they get the money. BTW - I know the guy that runs it and I always tip him because he's a great guy and it would be a major pia to handle without that place. That said, I agree that we need to get rid of the deposit and just throw them in with the rest of the recycling. I just wish Marshalltown had the two can system. Our garbage companies require us to separate paper /cardboard from the rest and put it in a bag. I suspect I go to a lot of work to do this and it ends up in the landfill.

Huh? I've got a recycling bin through Stone and it's all sorted at the truck. The truck is separate from the one that takes my trash. It costs an extra few bucks a month but not enough that it's a big deal by any means. That said, all my cans go into that same bin. It's not worth the effort for how few we go through.

 

[Judoka]

I'd prefer to see it expanded to cover all plastic bottles like they do in some other states and maybe upped to a dime (again. like in some other states) so people don't just trash it since "it isn't worth their time".

 

[Gunnerclone]

Nobody likes Nickelback.

Just to reinforce that notion:

 

[Gunnerclone]

My spouse had that problem with HyVee a while back, when they were limiting the amount they would pay back at a given time. His point was that they didn't limit how much he could buy at one time but they DID limit how many he could return. He won. Then again, he can be a real PITA if he feels he is in the right.

He should pick up golf. With that kind of attitude I feel like he could be a decent player and the people at Hy-Vee wouldn't secretly hate him.