12 ways to turn rubbish into cash, from empty make-up to toilet roll tubes
MONEY savers can tidy up both their home and finances with these simple tips – and get hundreds of pounds for unwanted goods.
They say one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure and that’s never been truer as The Sun reveals the ways people are making money from undesired items.
From used wine cork bottles to even toilet roll tubes, you might be surprised to discover how your rubbish can turn into cash.
Many shops also give you money back to spend in store when you return unwanted clothes or recycled your used plastic.
Also remember that if you're selling goods on more than a casual basis, you may need to pay tax.
You can find out more about this on the website.
Say you drank one bottle of wine a week, that could potentially earn you £5.20 a year.
Give back your old clothes
Save your old clothes ending up in the landfill, and your bank account an extra hammering, by taking advantage of high street return programmes.
stores nationwide will give you a £5 voucher when you hand in a bag of clothes to the cash desk.
to give shoppers a £5 M&S voucher when they hand in old clothes.
This must include at least one M&S garment and the voucher can only be used on clothing, homeware and beauty products worth £35 or more.
While at Lush, you can exchange five empty containers previously purchased from the store for a free face mask worth £7.50.
Body Shop has a special deal for members of its loyalty club, Love Your Body, where you'll receive a £5 voucher when you return five of its bottles, tubs, tubes or pots.
And The Perfume Shop gives you ten per cent off when you bring in old bottles from any retailer.
Over a year, this means you could make roughly £14.50 for a trip to the throne.
Naomi Willis of money-saving website told The Sun: "We first noticed it back in 2015 after randomly browsing on eBay - I'd have never believed it otherwise!"
Tesco shoppers can also get Clubcard points in exchange for certain cartridges, as part of a deal with The Recycling Factory.
You can choose to either collect up to 125 Clubcard points or donate up to £1.25 to Tesco charity partners.
Recycle your old bottles in supermarkets
Several supermarkets have launched reverse vending machines were you can bring back plastic goods in exchange for vouchers.
Sainsbury’s will pay you 5p for every plastic bottle or drinks can you recycle, while Iceland launched a similar trial in May last year and pays customers with vouchers worth 10p.
Meanwhile Morrisons, which also began trialling the scheme in 2018, gives shoppers 100 "More" loyalty points worth £1 for every 20 bottles recycled.
But take note that you'll you need to earn 5,000 points before you get a Morrisons voucher.
Sainsbury's machines only accept bottles and cans from brands that are sold in store, such as Sainsbury's own-brands.
Say you recycle one bottle a week, that could earn you up to £5.20 in Iceland.
Drinks at are discounted by 25p, and gives 20p off to customers who use the bakery chain's own £2 reusable cup.
Finally, gives shoppers an additional stamp on their loyalty card for reusing a cup.
Say you get a cup of coffee at Pret a Manger every day Monday to Friday, you'll potentially make £130 back from the company over a year.
Sell your old mobile phone
No longer got any use for your mobile phone? Save it from gathering dust in a drawer and make some cash in the process.
The Sun has previously revealed the best sites to sell your old phone, including Mazuma Mobile, Music Magpie and Envirofone.
While some sites will give you a quote straight up, such as , others like eBay will give you the option to auction.
The amount you'll make will vary from place to place, but in 2013 it was revealed that Sydenham Scrap Metal yard in south London turned over £7million a year.
Sell your old electronics
Also from Moneywise, there are plenty of websites that'll offer you good money for your old laptop, Macbook, desktop PC.
When we looked on they gave the example of a MacBook Pro that was being sold for £285.
To maximise your chances of flogging, the website recommends you research your prices first.
The Sun recently found shoppers will pay up to £14 for second-hand shoes, so you might be surprised with what people will buy.
Here are some more easy ways to make cash from your trash with company recycling schemes.
And these are the unwanted items around your home that could be worth hundreds if you sold them.
If you sell on eBay, beware of crooks who are currently preying on people flogging unwanted Christmas presents.
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