318
submitted 2 weeks ago by Mee@reddthat.com to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

In short:

Damian Gordon has bought a house using savings earned from recycling bottles and cans.

Each eligible bottle or can recycled at a Return and Earn depository results in a 10-cent refund.

What's next?

Mr Gordon says he will continue to return cans and bottles to help pay off his mortgage

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 129 points 2 weeks ago

half a million cans over seven years

If the cans are only $.10/ea, then 450k only netted him $45k. It took him seven years to earn just enough to pay for the deposit, not even the house.

Real Boring Dystopia Shit

[-] boonhet@lemm.ee 37 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I mean he also has a full time job, he made 45k in 7 years off his side hustle.

I do agree that it should be easier to afford a home. Also bottle deposits need to rise. They've been stagnant for over a decade where I live. It's like a 2-in-1 city cleaning program and beer money program for bums.

[-] FenderStratocaster@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago

The guy paid for a down payment on a house with a hobby. That's cool. I'm jealous.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

He paid for a down payment with seven years of manual labor earning less than a living wage.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 6 points 2 weeks ago

You can absolutely make $4ph on your hobby, I believe in you.

[-] FenderStratocaster@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I pay for my hobbies. A lot of money.

[-] NeilBru@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

I'm ~~jealous~~ envious.

[-] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You’re out in nature while helping to clean up the environment and also making a little income.

Better than just working “for the man” don’t you think? There’s also far worse you can do with your spare time.

[-] Trex202@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

I'm so glad these corporations are giving us single use cans for the opportunity to connect with nature and earn a little income.

[-] MrFinnbean@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Of all the things you can be angry to corporations, bottle and can recycling is the wrong one.

[-] Trex202@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

No it's not. It shouldn't be up to the consumer to recycle their products. They are shifting blame onto the people

[-] MrFinnbean@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

As a person who lives in country where bottle recycling works i disagree. Also it should not be the corporations who makes the rules, but the goverment.

Every store needs to accept every bottle and can and the system needs to be uniform between all the companies. Last year from all the sold bottles and cans 97% were returned to bottle recycler system, not because corporations shifted their responcibility to consumers, but because the goverment has ordered the companies to make recycling efficient, easy and worthwhile for the consumer.

[-] Fredthefishlord 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The corporation cannot walk up to you and handhold you into recycling it. That is absolutely an individual responsibility.

You’re out in nature while helping to clean up

You're out in nature... IN AUSTRALIA! He's risking his life being out in nature picking up garbage.

[-] fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com 3 points 2 weeks ago

Most of the time they take the cans and bottles out of people's recycling bin

[-] lurch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

don't make this sound too good, so ppl flinging bottles into nature don't feel like benefactors 😆

this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
318 points (100.0% liked)

Not The Onion

15880 readers
2264 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

  1. Links to news stories from...
  2. ...credible sources, with...
  3. ...their original headlines, that...
  4. ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Please also avoid duplicates.

Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS