In additions to keeping the environment clean and healthy, recycling also serves as a means of energy and resources conservations. It involves the collection and sorting, cleaning and preparation, processing and manufacturing, and product developing and distribution of a used products like plastics.
However, we'll not be reviewing the general overview of recycling. We'll only emphasize on plastic recycling in this blog post. We'll work you through some companies that pay cash for depositing a recycling plastics like bottles, and give you the insights of how incentivized recycling starts.
Plastic bottles are some of the prevalent pollutants. Since they can't degrade, then it's better we make money from them by selling them to recycling companies where they'll be renewed for another purpose.
The inevitable part is that the plastic recycling is now a critical aspect of waste management in our modern society because increased concerns of environmental health and the detrimental impact of plastic waste on ecosystems have demanded for urgent effective recycling practices.
What is Plastic Recycling?
Plastic recycling is the process of recovering and reprocessing plastic waste into new products, rather than allowing it to end up in landfills, oceans, or incinerators. The main reason for recycling plastics is to reduce environmental impact, conserve resources, and lower the demand for new plastic production from raw materials like petroleum.
The processes of recycling plastics involve the collection, sorting, cleaning, and processing of plastic waste to produce recycled plastic resin, which can be used in the manufacturing of various products. However, to effectively manage plastic waste and facilitate the recycling process, various strategies are employed.
Here are some common waste management strategies used in plastic recycling: collection and sorting, cleaning and preparation, shredding the plastic is broken into small pieces or flakes, melting and reforming, processing and manufacturing, and product development and distributions.
Where to Recycle My Plastic Bottles for Cash Near Me
Companies that recycle plastic bottles are often called "Recyclers" in the United States. The fun part of these recyclers is that they're now available almost everywhere in the country. In fact, they are nearer to you than you can imagine.
Here's the list of companies that accept your plastic waste and pay you cash in the United States in 2025. However, it's important to note that this listing doesn't follow any ranking or order.
1. rePurpose
rePurpose Global is a social enterprise focused on fighting plastic pollution by helping individuals and companies take responsibility for their plastic waste. This recycler creates and implements market-based solutions for plastic action and waste management that drive sustainable development for local communities.
The recycling company was established in 2016 with a Plastic Neutral certification that allows it offer various services including plastic credit system, sustainability consulting, consumer engagement, and partnership with waste workers and other recycling companies.
rePurpose allows both companies and individuals to calculate their plastic footprint and offset it by purchasing plastic credits. These funds are then used to recover and ethically process an equivalent amount of plastic waste from the environment—often from regions where waste management systems are weak or non-existent.
In addition to that, rePurpose uses GPS tracking, RFID tags, QR codes, and networked sensors to collect data on waste collection, transportation, processing, and disposal. The company also uses AI, machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing to analyze the data and generate insights, reports, dashboards, and recommendations.
rePurpose Global is headquartered in Mumbai, India, but it operates globally with additional offices and teams in places like New York City headquarter for the US and London headquarter for the UK. Its impact, however, reaches far beyond these locations—rePurpose partners with waste management projects in several countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, such as India, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, and more.
2. Recycle From Home (RFH)
This recycler makes recycling easy for individuals. As the name of the company implies, you can easily recycle your plastics waste from the comfort of your home. You don't necessarily needs to visit their office to recycle your unused plastics. RFH has dedicated drivers and trucks that pick up your recyclables from your door steps.
Recycle From Home is available in cities like Corona, Riverside, Irvine, Orange, Costa Mesa, and Rancho Santa Margarita, as well as communities such as Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, Rossmoor, Midway City, and various unincorporated parts of Orange County, CA.
Residents in these areas can conveniently recycle CA CRV-eligible items, including aluminum cans, plastic bottles, glass containers, and more. CA CRV-eligible are items that qualify for the California Redemption Value (CRV) program. This is a state-run recycling initiative in California that pay when they return certain beverage containers such as plastics for recycling.
The payment system at Recycle From Home is simple. When your recyclables are picked up from your home, they'll need to take them to their factory for processing and valuation. After that, an estimation of the recyclables will be redeemed and sent to your via mailed check or wire transfer.
However, it's worth noting that Recycle From Home is basically in California—throughout parts of Orange County and a few other neighboring country. At this time, they have not expanded to other U.S. states and remain focused on serving California residents and businesses with their CRV beverage container pickup and payment service.
3. AMP Robotics
AMP Robotics is a company that creates robots mostly from recyclables. The company uses AI and automation systems—called AMP Neuron and AMP Cortex—to sort out recyclables perfect for it production, and sort out the not-useful recyclables into bins at high speed and accuracy.
The company also use AMP Clarity as part of its AI automation systems. The AMP Clarity is a data platform that gives facilities insights into their recycling streams—what’s coming in, what’s being recovered, and what’s being missed.
These three AI automation systems—AMP Neuron, AMP Clarity, and AMP Cortex—make work much faster and more accurately than human workers. The company uses these artificial intelligence and robotics systems to automate the sorting of recyclable materials. They identify and sort different types of recyclables like plastics, metals, paper, cardboard, etc.
AMP Robotics, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, is backed by Sequoia Capital, XN, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, and other notable investors. The company currently has a physical presence in three U.S. states, where it operates offices and processing facilities.
These states are Colorado where it's headquartered in Louisville, and a secondary facility in Denver. The second US state is Ohio where the company's processing facility is located in Solon, near Cleveland, and the third US state is Virginia with facility situated in Portsmouth, near the Hampton Roads region.
In addition to these recycling facilities, AMP has deployed its AI‑powered robotics systems in many more recycling facilities across other states—but their owned or operated sites, including offices and secondary sort‑ation centers, are concentrated in the above three states.
4. Cactus Recycling
Cactus Recycling is a full-service commercial and industrial recycling provider based in San Diego since the early 1990s. So, if you live in California and you've ever recycled before, it's possible you've come across Cactus Recycling.
The recycling company handles recyclable materials and offer consultation, equipment supply, and logistics tailored to businesses and individuals in California and across the US–Mexico border. If you live in California, you can easily find their recycling center in South California, Northern Baja California (the Mexican state), and Arizona.
Cactus Recycling’s main facility is located at 8710 Avenida De La Fuente, but they are also sometimes listed as being located at 2225 Avenida Costa Este, Suite 1600—both in San Diego, California 92154.
Cactus Recycling accepts non-hazardous industrial and commercial by‑products, including: metals, plastics, paper and cardboard, electronics, glass, and wood materials. The recycler's pay rate ranges from $0.58 to $1.30 per pound, depending on the type of plastic bottles you're selling to them.
5. Grocery Stores
Many grocery stores and supermarkets in the United States accept the deposition of recyclables like plastic bottles and cans. Many of these supermarkets have dedicated machines in place that accepts your recyclables and dispense cash instantly after valuing your plastic or cans.
These machines are called Reverse‑Vending Machines (RVMs). They pay cash—or sometimes coupons or store credit—when you return bottles and cans. These machines scan barcodes, sort and compact containers, then dispense cash, vouchers, or digital credits .
In many grocery stores across states with bottle‑bill programs like California, you’ll find RVMs that pay immediately upon redemption. There are 10 states with bottle‑bill deposit-return laws. The states are: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.
Retailers, Warehouses, Grocery stores, and Supermarkets in these states often have RVMs or redemption kiosks. Some popular stores that have RVMs are Safeway, Walmart, Meijer, ShopRite, and Key Food in New York City area.
Several Meijer supermarkets—especially in Michigan—have installed TOMRA RVMs. One location in Cadillac marked Meijer’s eighth RVM in the U.S. Central ShopRite in Michigan and other ShopRite markets use the TOMRA T‑90. Store owners report that the machines are clean, user‑friendly, and positioned front-and-center, creating a “fun experience” and drawing more shoppers.
How Does Reverse‑Vending Machines (RVMs) Pay?
These vending machines pays recyclables depositors using various payment methods depending on the machine type, store policy, and location. However, here's the list of popular payment methods you will get at your nearby RVMs:
- Cash: The machine dispense cash to you after it has valued your recyclables.
- Voucher: You can simply redeem the voucher codes for cash at the store's customer service counter or checkout counter.
- Store Credits: The RVMs will give you a printed receipt that contains a redeemable codes which can be used for store purchases or exchanged for cash.
- Some modern RVMs—like those from Olyns—support digital payment via: PayPal, Venmo, and Digital payment via linked account or QR scan.
- You can also receive loyalty points which will be added to your store's member account. Examples of stores' RVMs that offers Loyalty are TOMRA, Meijer, ShopRite.
Tips for Locating a Recycling Machine Near Me
- Search within your grocery store for signs indicating “Bottle Return” or “Bottle and Can Redemption.
- Use Olyns website or app for Safeway depot locations.
- Look for CLYNK bag-drop kiosks at store exteriors in Maine and New York.
- Visit state recycling websites for lists of standalone redemption centers.
6. Redemption-Only Centers and Services
Redemption-only centers are places where you can return empty bottles and cans and get cash back for them. These centers don’t sell groceries or other items—they only focus on taking your recyclables and paying you the deposit money. Their pay ranges from 5¢ to 10¢ per item.
These centers are common in states with bottle deposit laws, like California, Michigan, and New York, and other as we've discussed above. Popular examples of redemption-only centers are CLYNK and private redemption centers.
CLYNK operates bag‑drop kiosks outside supermarkets where you fill labeled bags with redeemable containers. They pay the credit of the items you recycle into a CLYNK account in 1–2 days. This means, you will need a register CLYNK account to use their service.
Private redemption centers are standalone centers operated by entrepreneur(s). Cash payouts are common, though many are struggling to stay open. The centers are mostly run In bottle‑bill states like Michigan, Oregon, California, etc.
7. Danny's Recycling Inc
Danny Recycling Inc. is a family-owned recycling that was established in 1989. The company focuses on helping the community recycle a wide range of recyclables, including CRV bottles, cans, aluminum, plastic, glass, scrap metals like copper and brass, and cardboard and paper.
This recycling company is located in Santa Clara City in California. Their recycling rate is good especially for plastic and can recyclables. At least, you'll get $1.32 per pound for plastic recyclables. For can recyclables, you'll get $1.68 per pound, and for glass recyclables, you'll get 105 cents per pound.
The recycling company offers immediate cash payments for CRV under $200, while larger CRV refunds are paid by check. Non-ferrous metal transactions over $20 may be subject to a short holding period unless you're a licensed contractor or business.
The company is opened from Money to Saturday. They should let you recycle your items from Monday to Friday from 7AM to 4PM and Saturday from 7AM to 2PM. They are closed on Sundays. If you live in Santa Clara or nearer, this recycler may be your go-to source whenever you want to recycle your used bottles and cans for cash.
Final Notes
There are many ways to recycle used plastics and cans in the United States. Many of them have been reviewed in this article. It's either you live in a state where bottle-bill law is passed and use reverse-vending machines to recycle your plastic and can to get some cash dispensed, or you partner directly with some private organization like Danny's Recycling Inc, AMP Robotics, Recycle From Home, and many others to sell your waste plastics and get some cash.
Either way, the goal is to make money while also making the environment cleaner and healthier for lives. If you get value from this article, please don't hesitate to share with others and drop your opinions in the comments section.
