Aluminium cans

Used beverage cans usually trade at around 20% less—currently at about 81.5 cents a pound versus $1.04 a pound—than the value of primary aluminum.


It takes about 25 cans to make a pound. By comparison, recovered paper is currently trading for between five and 20 cents a pound, and the plastic used in beverage containers for between 15 and 30 cents a pound, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.

Wayne Baker delivers three bags of cans every Monday. The 41-year-old father of two says he's diabetic and receives $900 of disability payments a month.

On a recent day, he collects $6. Mr. Castriota is currently paying 55 cents per pound. The $6 "will go toward milk, eggs and bread," says Mr. Baker.

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