Easy ways to make cash from your trash with company recycling schemes
SHOPPERS can make hundreds of pounds a year from their rubbish with company recycling schemes.
Many firms are encouraging customers to return old packaging in exchange for rewards such as cash, vouchers, discounts, freebies and loyalty points.
They then either sell the old materials or use them to create new products and packaging. Money-saving site TopCashback says only eight per cent of people have ever taken advantage of such a scheme.
But the benefits can quickly add up if you are organised. Here, Mr Money shows you how to do it.
Plastics
REVERSE vending machines which reward customers for depositing bottles and cans are increasingly common in supermarkets.
Iceland has them in its Wolverhampton, Mold, Fulham, Musselburgh and Belfast stores. These only accept plastic bottles bought in Iceland and you get a 10p voucher to be used in store.
Tesco is trialling them in four stores (Borehamwood, Edinburgh Hermiston Gait, Swansea Marina and Manchester Stretford) and gives 10p for each Tesco bottle returned.
Sainsbury’s machines accep plastic bottles and aluminium cans in exchange for coupons worth 5p towards shopping. Up to 500 items can be deposited per visit, which means a potential £25 saving.
Merlin theme parks, including Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Legoland, have machines at entrances accepting 500ml plastic bottles.
In return you get 50 per cent off vouchers to 30 Merlin attractions.
Ocado pays 5p for plastic bags from any shop returned to its delivery drivers. The limit is 99 bags per delivery, nearly £5.
Clothes
BOTH H&M and Monki collect bags of unwanted clothes from any brand and in any condition.
The reward is a £5 voucher towards your next purchase from H&M and a ten per cent discount voucher from Monki.
Marks & Spencer rewards customers who dump their unwanted clothes into its “shwop bins” with 50 Sparks points, which customers collect to receive offers and early access to the sales.
If someone donates an old M&S item of clothing or soft furnishings to an Oxfam store they can get a £5 voucher to spend for purchases worth £35 or more.
Hunter is also encouraging people to return their old Hunter boots to its flagship store on Regent Street, London.
They will receive a 15 per cent discount off their next Hunter buy. The old boots are shredded for horse-arena surfacing.
Cosmetics
MAKE-UP brand MAC offers a free lipstick, worth around £17.50, in return for six used MAC containers at one of its counters.
Lush gives out a fresh face mask, worth about £7.50, if you hand back five black recyclable cream pots.
And if you have a Body Shop Love Your Body loyalty card, you will receive a £5 voucher when you return any five of its bottles, tubs, tubes or pots to a store.
Beauty firm L’Occitane also accepts empty products from any cosmetics brand. Aerosols and glass containers are excluded. The reward is ten per cent off a full-price product.
From this summer, get a ten per cent discount at The Perfume Shop when you bring in old scent bottles from any retailer.
Perfume bottles cannot be recycled as part of normal household collections as they need cleaning, with metal elements taken apart and processed separately.
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'I swapped bags of old clothes for £50'
CARLY DAVIES, from Cheltenham, always recycles her household rubbish – often landing discounts and freebies for her efforts.
Carly, 29, has taken advantage of H&M’s scheme – to get a £5 store voucher for a bag of old clothes – ten times. She also collects Lush pots to exchange for a free face mask. Any unwanted gadgets or tech items are also put to good use.
She traded her broken Sony Xperia for a £25 discount on a new phone from Carphone Warehouse.
Carly, a children’s book designer, said “I’d definitely be more likely to shop at a place if I know there is an incentive to recycle.”
Other
PRET a Manger has 50p off hot drinks when you take in a reusable cup, while Starbucks offers a 25p discount.
Caffe Nero gives double reward stamps, while easyJet has a 50p discount for customers taking in their own cups for coffee and tea.
Tech can also be recycled. Trade in your iPhone with Apple’s recycling scheme and get an Apple Store gift card or credit on a new buy.
But shop around because other phone-selling sites such as sellmy mobile.com might give you a better price.
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