Get paid to pick up litter

Get Paid To Pick Up Litter +Companies Who Pay!

Do you want to get paid to pick up litter? Are you tired of seeing litter everywhere and looking for a quick, easy way to make extra money?

Picking up litter is a great side hustle requiring little skill to start. What easier way to make extra money than doing a clean-up job of picking up litter? 

You can potentially earn a full-time income from picking up litter. I guess the saying is true: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

In this article, I will share exactly how to get paid to pick up litter, the best ways to do it, the benefits of picking up trash, and how much you can make from this side hustle.

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How To Get Paid To Pick Up Litter?

If you want to know how to make money from trash picking, you will first need trash-picking equipment and a vehicle to transport that trash. 

Picking up litter is an easy side hustle to do.

You essentially get paid to walk around and pick up litter, and you can charge $30 to $50 per hour for your service. Some states even pay people to pick up rubbish in their areas.

An easy place to start is by approaching local businesses and offering to clean up their parking lot, sidewalks, and the surrounding landscape within the vicinity of their business.

There are three avenues where you can earn money from managing waste.

  • The first one is by charging a fee to pick up trash,
  • the second one is you can rent out dumpsters to businesses or individuals and dispose of the waste for them.
  • The third way is by selling recyclable materials from the materials collected.

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Can You Get Paid To Pick Up Litter?

Yes, you can get paid to pick up litter. How much you can make depends on how you approach this side hustle. You can start small by offering to dispose of garbage from your apartment neighbors. If you charge them $10 monthly, ten houses will get you an easy $100.

Learning how to make money from garbage picking requires no experience at all. You can start with a broom, trash scoop, and litter grabber; the best thing is that you can do this at your convenience after your regular job.

Some people have even made a six-figure income from picking up litter. They started small by picking up trash near their local business’s parking lot after their 9 to 5

Eventually, their side hustle income surpassed their regular job when they grew their waste management service to a bigger market. 

Best Ways To Get Paid To Pick Up Litter

1. Remove Litter From Parking Lots

Cleaning parking lots is one way to get paid to pick up litter. Find a local business near you or on your route to work and ask if you could pick up trash in their parking lot. 

The fee for parking lot cleaning usually runs between $30-$50 an hour. Try to approach smaller businesses, as larger establishments like Walmart or Costco already have a crew whose job is picking up litter.

This side hustle is excellent as purchasing your equipment requires only a small startup investment. 

Photo by Chris Mok || @cr.mok on Unsplash

You only need a broom, dustpan, litter grabber, and garbage bag to clean a parking lot. Once you have picked up all the litter, you can toss them at the store’s dumpster at the back.

Another advantage is that you can do it after your 9 to 5 job, as parking lot cleaners are generally needed to work night shifts where there are fewer cars.

Brian, the founder of Cleanlots, turned this side hustle into a $650,000+ per year business. So there is a huge earning potential from removing litter from parking lots.

2. Garbage Collection Service In Apartments

If you have ever lived in an apartment with no garbage chute on every level, then you know it can be a hassle to dispose of your rubbish.

Especially during the morning rush, and the unfortunate happens when your garbage bag rips on your way down to throw it. 

A friend of mine in this situation shared that her neighbor offered to take her garbage down for just $10 a month! What a great side hustle. 

Suppose there are 15 units on a floor in an apartment building. In that case, you can make an extra $150 monthly by carrying some extra garbage on your way down. 

So start offering this service and make money by throwing out trash. 

Photo by Evgeny Karchevsky on Unsplash

3. Picking Up Aluminum Cans

Picking cans and recycling them for money can be another way to earn extra cash. You basically collect aluminum can, and then you can either sell them at a recycling station or a scrap metal buyer.

If you live in a state with bottle bill laws, you can take advantage of the container deposit law, where you can get a minimum refundable deposit for every returned recyclable container, such as soda cans, beer bottles, and other beverage containers.

All you need to do is collect these aluminum cans and return them to a recycling station or reverse vending machines inside grocery stores. 

You can get between $0.05 to $0.15 per can depending on the volume, container material, beverage type, and state you live in.

In states with no bottle bill law, you can sell your collected aluminum cans based on the current price for scrap aluminum. The current national average price is $0.55 per pound.

You can make $100 weekly if you collect enough cans to sell. Some places where you can collect aluminum cans are your home, neighbors, workplace, schools, parks, sports events, and county fairs. 

Photo by Ben Neale on Unsplash

4. Selling Trash and Junk

How to start a trash business selling junk? Don’t worry. I won’t tell you to go dumpster diving for trash. When I say junk here, I mean stuff people throw away that could still be worth salvaging for money.

How to sell junk? If you ever pass by any neighborhood and find that people are leaving stuff on the street, it is worth going and examining it to see if it’s worth a few bucks.

Most of the time, items (especially big items) are still in good condition and have the potential to be flipped.

You can sell this so-called trash and junk on websites like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or even Amazon with a bit of repair and DIY. 

The best items to flip are antiques, books, sports equipment, rugs, appliances, and furniture.

This method takes a bit of skill to repair and refurbish stuff, but finding treasure from scavenging junk can be fun and rewarding.

5. Get Paid To Clean With Apps

Did you know that some apps will pay you to pick up litter? Thats right! 

If you are already someone picking up rubbish as a habit, why not get paid for it? Apps like Tidal Revival, CleanCoin, and Glitter will pay you to pick up trash. 

  • Tidal Revival app – rewards users for picking up trash from beaches for a reward. 

The app notifies users if waste is being spotted on a beach, and users can then collect points by cleaning up the beaches and exchanging their earned points for vouchers. 

  • CleanCoin – is a game-like app where users get rewarded with points for completing tasks like mapping, collecting, sorting, or transporting trash to recycling centers. 

You can redeem your reward in cash or vouchers or even donate to your chosen charity.

  • Glitter – this app allows you to report litter in the city, sign up for block-cleaning services, volunteer for neighborhood clean up, and pay you to be a Glitter Cleaner

Glitter cleaners get paid $25 per block, where you can choose your neighborhoods and availability, making it flexible to earn money picking up litter.

Photo by Ignat Kushanrev on Unsplash

Advantages And Benefits Of Doing Picking up Litter Jobs

  • Freedom And Flexibility – You can pick up litter according to your schedule. For parking lot clean-ups, you will want to do your rounds when there are fewer cars, so that would be during the early morning or after your regular job. 

You also get to be your own boss and set your hours with this side hustle.

  • Another Source Of Income – You can have another revenue stream from starting this side hustle. The amount you can earn will depend on the hours and effort you put into it.
  • Easy To Do – Picking up litter is a no-brainer. You require no prior experience, and you can use the equipment you already have. As your side hustle grow, you may need to be able to manage people in your team. 
  • Low Stakes – When you start a litter-picking business, you don’t have to risk high capital. At most, you invest around $200 for clean-up equipment and some advertising.
  • Recession-proof – You don’t have to worry if your business will go obsolete, as there will always be a need to maintain a property’s cleanliness and the surrounding area.
  • Good For The Environment – You can create a noticeable impact on the environment with this side hustle. Your community will thrive with a cleaner and greener environment.
  • Free Exercise – You can get all your steps in with picking up litter, so not only do you create a clean environment for everyone, but you will also get a good sweat out of it when you walk to pick up litter. 
  • Finding Treasure – Another perk is that you can find unexpected gems while doing this side hustle. You can come across a good furniture flip or even the occasion space change on the ground.

Why Picking Up Litter Is A Great Side Hustle

  • No Experience Needed This side hustle is simple; you require no extra skill. You pick litter and sweep garbage around an area. It’s a side hustle that almost anyone can do.
  • Low Initial Investment – No high startup cost is required, and most likely, you already have all the equipment you need at home. 
  • Flexible Hours – You can set your own time with this side hustle and keep your full-time job while doing it. Depending on the area you have to clean up, it should take little time to get it done so you can do it before or after work.
  • Great Income Potential – This side hustle has the potential to make you a good amount of earnings. It depends on how you approach it, and you can make an extra $100 a month or even make enough money to replace your full-time job.
  • You Can Make Money Fast – You can make money quickly with this side hustle. You can start getting paid immediately as soon as you land your first customers. 
  • Scalable Business – You can quickly grow your litter-picking business as it is easy to hire people to pick up trash when you are ready to expand your service to more areas.

Photo by Ignat Kushanrev on Unsplash

How Much Money Will You Get Paid To Pick Up Litter?

How much you can make picking up trash depends on how much effort you put into it. Generally, you can make between $30 to $50 an hour to pick up litter. 

Brian, the founder of Cleanlots, made a six-figure income from his business. He also helps other people how to start a parking lot clean-up business that is making them between $50,000 to $100,000 a year.

FAQs On How To Get Paid To Pick Up Litter

What Is The App That Pays You To Pick Up Litter?

CleanCoin is an app that pays you to pick up litter. Designed like a game-like activity that brings together users to map, collect, sort, or transport trash into recycling centers.

How it works is after you have done either task, you can claim a reward in cash, store discounts, or a donation to a charity of your choice.

How Much Money Is Spent On Picking Up Litter?

If you are curious to know how much money is spent on picking up litter, The U.S. spends about $11.5 billion every year in trash picking and cleaning up litter.

There is a huge potential for making money from trash. Start small by starting a litter pick-up business and grow from there.

How To Start A Trash Out Business?

If you are looking at how to start a trash out business, a way to start is by researching a list of recent foreclosures in your area and contacting the companies listing them. 

Get yourself a business card and start cold calls to secure clients. Ensure you have all your legal documents sorted before starting your trash-out service.

How To Make Money Picking Up Litter?

If you want to know how to make money picking up litter, you can contact property management companies in your local area and offer services to clean their parking lots regularly.

The essential equipment that you will need is a broom and a litter collection tool to start making money from trash picking.

Can I Make Money From Waste?

Are you wondering if you can make money from waste? Yes! Through recycling and diverting waste, anyone can earn an income or even start and maintain a sustainable business. 

People who pick up trash play an important part in society as waste management can create jobs, boost the economy, and keep the areas clean. 

So there you have it; there are many ways to get paid to pick up litter. You can even start from the comfort of your own apartment building.

Now that you know the steps to get paid to pick up litter, you can start your side hustle small and eventually grow it into a business that could generate a full-time income. 

Did I miss out on any other way to get paid to pick up litter? Let me know in the comments section below! You can also check out the additional resources below for other side hustle ideas!

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