Trade Your Trash for Cash

When was the last time you actually took your returnable cans and bottles to the reclamation center to make an extra few nickels?

Be honest. Was it when you were young enough to feel rich when you jingled change in your pocket?

Guess what: your trash may be worth more serious cash. And with Smart Trash technology, your trash can do all the hard work. Says Newswise: "No need to sort these discards: the trashcan has already done it, inventorying all contents and calculating the worth of this waste. Next month's garbage bill could be accompanied by a check."

The Smart Trash concept is being developed at Georgia Tech. Professors there want to see old-fashioned waste management brought into the 21st century, and several major corporations (including Wal-Mart) are interested in getting in on the ground floor.

To function correctly, the Smart Trash system needs a UPC or radio frequency tag on each item, to allow for easy identification and a high-tech sorting system set up in a retrofitted recycling truck. Inside the truck, a Wi-Fi system communicates with your trash to ensure appropriate sorting.

Then, says the Newswise article: "Recyclable items with significant value -- such as consumer electronics -- would be forwarded to online auction services where the maximum value could be actualized. Consumer recycling credits could also be issued for something as insignificant as a frozen pizza box or a shampoo bottle. Any money garnered from this waste could be applied to a consumer's monthly sanitation bill or sent as a check."

So far, it's not quite clear how much the average dumping household could stand to earn per week. But the idea of making pocket money so easily is intriguing. Kinda makes you want to trash the joint -- just to make that extra nickel!

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng