Who couldn’t use more money? We all seem to go about finding it in a variety of ways — asking for a raise, changing jobs, taking on a second job, etc. Maybe you haven’t thought of it, but you could actually start selling trash — not just any trash, but the kinds of things people routinely throw away that actually have enough value to make them worth picking up and reselling. The following are some items that are typically found in the trash or sitting out at the curb for anyone to take.
LOST GOLF BALLS: More than 25 million people play golf, and that means a lot of lost golf balls……approximately 1.5 billion per year. Golf balls actually retain a lot of their value, going for anywhere from 15¢ to $2 each, depending on t he brand.
DISCARDED WOOD PALLETS: Wood pallets have turned into an in-demand product, being converted into furniture by those with a knack for decorating. Used wood pallets in decent condition are worth anywhere from 50¢ to $4 per pallet. You can use the North American Pallet Recycling Network to locate pallet brokers in your area, and companies like Kamps Pallets will actually pay you and come and get your pallets if you have at least 500 per year to sell them.
USED CARDBOARD BOXES: Those Amazon and UPS boxes we toss into the recycling bin or give to friends when they’re moving can actually be worth some money. You can sell empty, used cardboard boxes on platforms like BoxCycle, which pays anywhere from 10 cents to $1.25 for standard moving boxes and buys just about any box you might have on hand.
WINE CORKS: People tear through more than 4 billion bottles of wine each year in the U.S., and that’s a lot of wine corks. They tend to sell for about 10¢ a pop, although some brands can fetch more. Wine corks sell for a pretty decent margin on Etsy or eBay.
EGG CARTONS: Used egg carts are used in crafts, and small farms buy them for their own egg sales. Egg cartons can go for about 30¢-40¢ per carton on sites like eBay. If you actually go out and collect 24 egg cartons from local restaurants, hotels, or other businesses every day, that’s a few hundred bucks a week.
