Can Collecting
July 11th, 2008
As most people have seen, there is an abundance of can collectors in Framingham. Particularly where I live, in in the downtown area. I have mixed feelings about this.  I kind of feel like somehow it makes the area look not so great to have people pushing shopping carts full of cans, or walking with big full trash bags carried “santa-style” over their shoulders visiting house to house. But part of me thinks “Why not?”. If people are going to just throw away or recycle the cans, they might as well get some money if the original owners aren’t going to redeem them. But then I wonder, is it worth it? I’m guessing it is, but it takes 1,000 cans to make $50 so this must be a full-time job because it must take a lot of can hunting to get 1,000.Â
Every trash day morning I hear the rattle of a shopping cart coming down my street and it eventually stops in front of our house. Technically there is nothing wrong with it, but it does feel a little weird to see someone pick through your trash/recycle.  I have to say though, the lady who can-collects on our street  is very mindful of putting anything that fell out onto the ground back into the trash and leaving it as she found it and securing the lid back on the trash can. So I appreciate that and really have no problem with it because of that courtesy. If the person who lets their dog poop where ever it wants had the same consideration, that would be nice.
I haven’t noticed can collectors since moving to Framingham 4 years ago. It definitely was more noticable when we lived in Boston. I too felt very weird about somebody going through my trash/recycles, so on garbage night I would separate the deposit cans/bottles and place them next to my recycle bin to avoid the “rummaging”. If somebody chooses to do that to make a buck, I applaud that over panhandling any day.
Comment by brian — July 11, 2008 @ 9:05 am
I wish the state would do away with the Bottle Bill. I’d much rather just put all my aluminum/plastic/glass in my curbside recycle bin instead of having to bring it in for redemption. I’d be curious to know if the program was successful in getting more people to recycle. I was kid when it was enacted in 81 and back then nobody had recycle bins because there was no curbside recycling.
Comment by Diana — July 11, 2008 @ 10:29 am
I don’t know if this is happening in Framingham, but in some cities like San Francisco they are losing a lot of town money due to this. The town pays for the fuel, maintenance and wages etc for recycling pick-up, and should make enough money to cover expenses by the recycling they pick up. However, when the quantity is decreased, the town is at a loss to be able to support their recycling programs.
Comment by Tanya — July 11, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
I live about a mile north of the Memorial Building. There are at least 2 can collectors who make the rounds through our neighborhood. I bring my soda bottles and cans back to the store and “redeem” the deposit money. Several months ago, Howie Carr on the radio announced that the number of people who bring their bottles and cans back to the stores is decreasing. Like many baby-boomers, when mandatory recycling started in Framingham around 1991, I whined about it, but now I have so much going out every week that my blue bin is overflowing and I usually have to supplement it with a cardboard box full of recyclables. I’d like to get one of those new yellow Framingham Recycle barrels I’ve started seeing around Town!
Comment by Rev. Bob Baril — July 11, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
One guy is famous at softball and little league fields.
His profit is the town’s profit as well, there no can-and-bottle litter at those fields because he grabs all the stuff
Mike Mahon is his name
Comment by Ben — July 14, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
Mike Mahon has been picking up the cans since I was in middle school. I heard he donates some of the profits to the Marian High School track team.
If people do not want to dispose of their cans properly, let others do so for profit. If you remember before the bottle bill, there were empty cans everywhere.
If there is no reward, who will clean them up?
Comment by Mike — July 14, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
I think that it must be a law that every town has a “can man.”
The can man in my town rides around on his bike in all types of weather. He never has as big of a bag as the person in your picture.
I agree that the bottle bill is a good thing. Here in CT there is a movement to raise the return to 10 cents. Personally, I recycle all of my cans. Many people won’t take the Initiative unless there is some financial reward.
Comment by Gruppie Girl — July 28, 2008 @ 8:25 am