I work a weekend job (16 hours each weekend) as a college student in a hospital, and people love to leave bottles and cans lying around waiting areas instead of throwing them out!
Been collecting and returning them each weekend for exactly a year now.

Money made: €270.20

Bottles collected: 1,115

Cans collected: 602

Wild how it all adds up! Thought it’d be fun to share

PS yes I know I could and probably should be donating it to charity, but trying to pay rent and bills on 16 hours a week is miserable and difficult so every little helps 🙁

by Breno_Clio

24 comments

  1. No reason you have to donate it charity, you’ve took the time to clean up other people’s mess, keep the money for sure!

  2. Nice one! The guys my husband works with don’t bother bringing theirs back, so they drop them in a black bag at his workstation.

    We put the receipts on to an Aldi gift card, and last Christmas had a few hundred on it. We’ve already got about €60 towards next Christmas.

  3. I’m presuming you’ve claimed all those. Just checking because someone could probably zoom in on their phone and claim them if not.

  5. I work in a Skyscraper on GCD with access to 100+ cans/bottles per week,l did €455 last year and this year I’m already over €80,sweet. I go through all the bins on every floor,it’s a fucking gold mine. I’m really hoping to beat €500 for the year,that will be my electricity bill paid in 2025.

  6. No need to justify it. You will always see old people collecting cans and bottles here in Germany to help cover their bills. A lot of public bins here have a little shelf on the side, and people leave their cans/bottles there for others to collect and return.

  9. No shops take returns near us in Dublin, so donate bags of cans and bottles to cat rescue, a nice lady picks them up every week.

  14. Why would anyone expect you to donate it to charity? You earned the money so you get to enjoy it as you see fit.

  15. I fear lugging the bottles to the shop & all of the machines are full. Hasn’t happened me yet, thank god.

  16. Is it possible to put them on a Tesco gift card the same way you can in Aldi or Lidl?

  18. Charities are the only thing to fix this stupid unnecessary burden

  20. I recall seeing someone on this sub mentioning he tops up a card with the credit he collects from the return receipts. Not quite sure how he goes about it but it’s a genius idea. He was at like 500 quid on the card at the time he made his comment.

  21. I do the same, there’s some bins along my walk home from the bus stop each evening that are a treasure trove for these! I normally snag €4-5 per week thanks to my daily rummaging. As you say OP it’s a great scheme and the money adds up quick!

  23. You’ve done a good deed now keep your reward. It’s the planet’s way of saying thanks!

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