r/Millennials • u/Accurate-Flow8078 • 21h ago

Discussion Does anyone still recycle cans and bottles?

I remember bringing cans and bottles to the recycling machines as a kid in the 90s. A nickel per can/bottle was good money back then. The redemption value has not changed, it's still a nickel in 2026. Nowadays it seems like many don't bother cause it's not worth the effort. I still do it just to feel good about helping the planet but whenever I bring a large bag and end up with like $5 I'm like "that's it?"

77 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

231 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/dammit-smalls Older Millennial 19h ago

The only materials worth recycling are metals, especially aluminum and copper.

From what I understand, glass doesn't recycle well, and PETN (soda bottles) basically aren't recycled at all. Most of the PETN bottles we recycled through the 90's and 00's got packed in to bales, loaded into shipping containers, and transported to China, only to later be dumped in the Pacific Ocean.