3 Ways to Turn Your Trash into Cash!
On average, Americans generate more than 250 million tons of trash every year. To green living enthusiasts, this number is staggering. Citizens and cities alike have upped their recycling game in the recent past, but there is always room for improvement. What if you could not only recycle garbage items but transform that seemingly worthless trash into cash through recycling and repurposing programs? Believe it or not, you can. Here are three ways to profit from items that would normally have been kicked to the curb.
1. Books
Even though electronic books are quite popular in contemporary culture, 65 percent of readers reportedly still read old-fashioned print books, so the hardcover and paperback market lives on. But what to do with those texts that you now have in electronic form, those volumes that didn’t make the collector’s cut or those old books sitting in a dusty box in the garage?
Businesses like Cash4Books.com and Ebay’s Half.com will pay to take them off your hands. Do you have a bunch of old novels or genre odds and ends? Powell’s online selling site might be interested. By entering the books’ ISBNs, you’ll find out exactly what they are willing to pay, and if you accept, they will send prepaid envelopes to ship your books in. You can earn cash and declutter your home in one swoop.
2. Junk Mail
You can literally turn junk into profit by ridding your recycling bins of the most consistent and annoyingly wasteful phenomenon of daily life — junk mail. You can also turn e-mail spam into gift cards by becoming a consumer panelist for Small Business Knowledge Center (SBKC).
Considered a market research study of electronic and snail mail marketing materials, panelists earn points for the content they mail in or forward on to SBKC. If you are self-employed or the owner of a small business, your junk mail and spam are worth even more points. After accruing a certain number of points, you can then cash in for gift cards.
3. Smartphones
With many cell phone companies producing upgraded models nearly every year, the fear of obsolescence drives some consumers to purchase a new device annually. Others, about 44 percent, will wait a whopping two years before purchasing a new device. With that kind of overturn, a good number of buyers are left with what was, only the year before, a $500-700 phone that is no longer in use.
Though one option is to donate an old phone, if you can’t bring yourself to part with an expensive piece of tech for kindness’ sake, companies like Gazelle are willing to pay cash for those outdated phones. Visit the website, choose your model and describe the condition of your device and within seconds you’ll have an offer from the company for your phone. If you accept, most of these sites will send you a pre-paid postage envelope and pay you through PayPal, check or Amazon gift card. Before you send your smartphone in to receive your payment, these programs require that you return your device to factory setting. You should figure out how to reset your iPhone before selling your cell to a recycling program or an individual.
Another way to turn your trash into cash is to use a site like SellCell.com. SellCell.com is the US’s largest comparison site for users who want to sell their old phone and tablets, comparing prices for all of the largest Electronics Buyback companies in the US. As well as encouraging people to responsibly recycle their old phones, SellCell.com guarantees to get the user the very best price for the old device. The business offer a Best Price Guarantee, so if the user spots a higher price for their device on anther site, SellCell will pay double the difference.”
It is possible to start living green and recycle while putting cash in your pocket if you know where to look. Make use of these suggestions to not only better your recycling efforts but to also earn a little money.
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I met a lady recently who turns rubbish into art. She produces some great stuff too!
Hi Susie,
Yes I have seen people do that and it is quite intriguing. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Interesting ideas. I generally give my books to charity shops or friends and have a sign on my letter box saying NO JUNK MAIL. As for smartphones …. I’ve never had one and my trusty Nokia is about 15 years old and still works fine! So I may not do very well making money from waste but I certainly produce less! #GoingGreenLinky #WasteLessWednesdays
Hi Rosie,
You sure are producing less waste and that is really the goal even if you aren’t making money at it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day.
Thanks for these ideas! I didn’t know about any of them! 🙂
Your quite welcome. I am glad I have helped educate you on some new ideas. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day!
Good information…. I didn’t know about junk mail… and don’t really understand that, but will check into it. Thank you.
I have never accurately tried doing that specific program on junk mail but have read about it. We don’t get a lot of junk mail – our e-mail provider filters it out really well. Glad I could help you learn some new ideas. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day!
I’m happy to see Powell’s on this list! I grew up in Portland where they are located and I have fond memories of exploring for books in their stacks. Thanks for sharing on Waste Less Wednesday.
HI Katy,
Glad I have included information that you are aware of and that you have fond memories of. Thanks for hosting WasteLessWednesday. Have a great day.