Now, That’s Just Trashy

Employees, Money, North Carolina, Office, USA | Working | May 7, 2020

I have a coworker that is always looking for a side hustle to make extra cash. She is in several multi-level marketing programs. We drink a lot of sodas and bottled water in the office. While the city has a recycling program, it only collects once a month. To avoid the cans and bottles piling up in our small office, I take them to an automated recycling center that is on the way home when we fill up our bin.

Coworker: “Hey, [My Name]. Where do you take the recycling?”

Me: “Oh, it’s a place on [Road] near my house.”

Coworker: “Do they pay you for it? I heard some of those places pay.”

Me: *Shrugging* “A little. Just a handful of change, usually.”

Coworker: “How much do you get?”

Me: “I don’t know. I never counted it up.”

Coworker: “But how much do you get paid for our recycling?!”

Me: “I really don’t know. A quarter, maybe.”

We went around like this for a bit before she dropped the subject. From that day on, she brought large trash bags to the office and emptied the bin into them at the end of each day. She’d also run up and down the street during her lunch to fish recyclables out of the city trash cans.

Then, she’d take her hoard to the center to get her hard-earned pocket change… after spending $10 on trash bags and driving twenty minutes out of her way to drop them off.

This story is part of our Recycling roundup!