Save the world and get rich too
Why not reap the rewards of being a do-gooder? Marianna Hunt outlines 20 ways to put less in your bin and more in your pocket
We’re all keen to save the planet; but what about saving (or even making) some money at the same time? Michael Gove has been extolling the virtues of scavenging in dumps for old goods and appliances to fill our homes. But it’s not just the Environment Secretary who is starting to realise that our dustbins might be treasure chests waiting to be cashed in. As a nation, we throw away around £36m of aluminium and £140m worth of old but wearable clothes each year. On top of this, we often forget that waste disposal costs £1bn a year – councils spend more on this than libraries, museums, parks, the arts and leisure combined. The simple act of putting less in our bins could leave more in our pockets and save British households £61 on their annual council tax. So is it time to reclaim our rubbish? Follow our guide to discover the top ways to turn your trash into cash.
1 Aluminium cans
Let your cash, not your conscience, be your guide next time you think about dropping an empty drink can on the ground. There are around 300 Cash for Cans centres across the UK that swap your aluminium cans for money. Podmores Metal Merchants in Cheshire pays 40p to 60p per kilogram of aluminium (about 71 cans). Some centres also accept old aluminium foil.
2 Printer ink Cartridges
Whether you have one or 1,000 to sell, websites such as Printercartridgerecycling.co.uk will exchange your used printer cartridges for cash. An empty Canon CL-546 fetches £3.50, for example. Even better – collection is free. Unused cartridges from printers you no longer use can be traded in as well.
3 Broken crockery
One man’s butter fingers can be another man’s treasure. Broken tiles, cups and saucers are popular items for art projects and mosaics, particularly if they have interesting colours or patterns. Get cash for your clumsiness by selling the shards: the going rate on crafts website Etsy seems to be 20 pieces of broken crockery for £8, or 150 for £12.35. 4 Lego The eternal nuisance of any parent: treading on stray pieces of Lego. Luckily, once your children’s blockbuilding days are over, you can sell one kilogram (2.2lbs) of Lego (around 750 bricks) via Musicmagpie.co.uk for £4. Collectors hawking for rare pieces for their hoard will pay more. A kilogram of mismatched mini figures recently sold on ebay for £106.
5 TV remote controls
Television remote controls often disappear, lost down sofa cracks for evermore. It’s the old case of supply and demand: if you’ve got spares, sell them to those in need. Buyers hunting for a replacement Sky remote on Gumtree are generally willing to pay £5 to £10.
6 Empty perfume bottles
Put an empty glass container such as a perfume bottle or candle jar into the recycling and you might as well be throwing money straight into the bin. A 30ml empty perfume bottle can sell on ebay for around £4. Old bottles or unusual designs will go for more, with vintage Chanel No 5 bottles selling in the region of £50. That will almost cover the cost of a fresh bottle: a new 35ml No 5 eau de toilette will set you back £55.
7 Human hair
Perhaps not something you’d normally find in your recycling, but stop and think before letting your hairdresser sweep your locks straight into the bin. Bloomsbury of London makes wigs for those suffering from hair loss. To avoid buying hair from other countries, which could have been sourced unethically, they invite individuals to sell their hair via Hairharvest.co.uk. It typically pays £25 to £60 for 14 to 15 inches, and up to £200 for 19 inches or more.
8 VHS cassettes
The recent craze for vinyl records has encouraged people to think of other ways to make money from our “technotrash”. Common VHS titles are never going to earn you a fortune (a job lot of 10 Disney videos sells for around £5 on ebay). But collectors are willing to splash out thousands on rare finds. Look out for films being requested on VHS collector Facebook groups such as “Video Club” and “Horror VHS Trading Centre”. Check your attic: a copy of the 1974 horror film Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks could fetch £1,500.
9 Used beauty products
Companies are increasingly keen to show off their green credentials. Cosmetics manufacturer MAC offers a “Back to MAC” recycling service, which allows you to exchange six empty containers for a new lipstick. Other companies, including Lush and Kiehl’s, have similar schemes.
10 Coffee grounds
Budding Alan Titchmarshes take note: you can turn your old coffee into garden fertiliser or use the dregs as an ecological alternative to shop-bought wood stain. A typical pot of stain from B&Q will set you back £10 to £15 and a kilogram of fertiliser around £5.
11 Broken Christmas lights
Metal scrap yards such as Argall Metal Recycling in Leyton, east London, will take your old wires, chargers, drain pipes, festive decorations and even old razors – anything from which you can extract metals such as aluminium, copper and steel. The electric motor of an average microwave or a bunch of 10 wires would both earn you £3 to £5.
12 Old jewellery boxes
Often given as wedding favours, a standard cardboard jewellery box will sell for £1 to £2 on ebay. However, containers that held designer jewellery will get you much more: an empty Cartier necklace box can go for around £50 on ebay, while prices reach £80 or more for a Tiffany engagement ring holder.
13 Wine corks
Another popular item with brides and party planners are old wine corks, which can be used to create table centrepieces. Bundles of 50 used wine corks are listed on ebay for around £8 – enough for another bottle to start collecting all over again.
14 Old clothes
Recycling banks are not the only way to get rid of your unwanted garments. Fashion retailers H&M and Monki allow you to drop off clothes of any brand, in any condition, in exchange for a voucher to be put towards your next purchase. Other retailers including M&S offer similar schemes.
15 Old catalogues
A Sotheby’s or Christie’s catalogue in good condition can sell on second-hand book sites such as Abebooks.co.uk for around £5. In-demand editions can be worth much more; prices for the Christie’s catalogue “Dresses from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales” range from £50 to £350. 16 Crayons Did you know that old wax crayons could be melted down to create new ones? In the UK, selling broken crayons is unlikely to make you millions (listings on Facebook Marketplace offer £2 for about 500g). However, in America one kilogram can earn an ebay seller around £10.
17 Cardboard boxes
Your old cardboard may be worth more than you think to keen craftsters. On ebay, a bundle of 50 toilet paper rolls sells for £5, and a stack of 150 half-dozen egg boxes for around £13. Shoe boxes from sought-after designers are also popular, with an empty Gucci box fetching £15 to £30. 18 Jam jars
The Great British Bake Off has had us all digging out our recipe books. Old food containers are now a hot commodity on Facebook Marketplace, where 15 used jam jars can sell for £10, and four glass ramekins for £2.
19 Wooden crates
On Preloved.co.uk, a website for classified ads, shoppers are willing to pay from £5 to £30 for old wooden crates to use as plant boxes, wine containers, even repurposed bookshelves.
20 Leather offcuts
Getting rid of an old leather sofa or jacket? Those scraps are goldust for anyone doing repairs, patching or crafting with leather goods. Put your offcuts on Amazon to earn £15 to £20 per kilogram.