Hauling Cans and Bottles Through Brooklyn, for a Hard-Earned Extra PennyStanding in the shade of the McDonald Avenue El in Brooklyn, John Culpepper was a good 45-minute walk from home, but he nodded at a sign dangling from a driveway across the street:
Aluminum cans at the Thrifty Redemption Center in Brooklyn, which accepts them from scavengers for six cents each.
Recycle Cans Here for 6¢
“That’s why I come here,” Mr. Culpepper said. “Normally, it’s 5 cents a can.”
All that way for an extra penny?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The extra penny is not the lure of Thrifty Redemption for Frank. He goes there because he can unload all his empties at one place. Unlike many supermarkets, Thrifty does not limit how many it will redeem in a day. “I don’t take the extra penny. He’s got to eat, too,” Frank said. “I like that you can bring as many as you want.”
Vincent Cristallo, who runs Thrifty but is not the owner, says the business counts on getting as many bottles and cans as it can. “They don’t need to go into a supermarket and have people yelling at them,” Mr. Cristallo said. “We treat them like human beings.”-----------------------
Laid off two years ago from food preparation at La Guardia Airport, Mr. Culpepper, 35, said he had turned scavenging into a full-time job paying $400 most weeks, more on holidays. That goes toward the $1,159 rent on the one-bedroom apartment on Ocean Parkway where he lives with his wife and their 2-year-old son. He also does part-time work as a porter in his building, mostly for the stash space. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/nyregion/bottle-and-can-scavengers-in-brooklyn-make-every-penny-count.html?_r=1