I've been recycling for a while now. I collect bottles, cans and plastic bottles - store them in my handy dandy recycle cans - bag them and take it to the local recycling center. Generally, I deposit the cash and or use it as money for buying small things like a drink at the gas station. But this weekend, I had a better idea . . . what if I could turn that pocket money into Bitcoin? Investing bottles and cans? Sounds like a pretty risk-free investment to me!

How I'm able to recycle for cash

In California, where I live, every bottle or can that is purchased has a 5 cent CRV (California Redemption Value) added to it. It's not a "tax" (though I like to think it is), but a deposit. The State of California instituted this additional charge in 1986 in order to try and curve what it saw as a litter problem. They hoped that if consumers were forced to put a "deposit" down on all bottles and cans, they would keep them instead of throwing them out - in order to get back the "deposit" by taking the bottles and cans to a State approved recycling center. 

Not everyone does this - and most people don't consume enough bottles and cans to make the deposit worth saving them for - but I'm ok with being patient. So, I bought my trusty blue bins, some trash bags, and began collecting. 

Many other states in the US, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont, have similar programs. Does your country have something like this? Let me know in the comments below!

The other day at work

Last week I was talking to one of my colleagues, and I mentioned how I'd love to be able to drop all my loose change into a machine and buy Bitcoin with it. Or even, upon leaving a country, drop it in some sort of ATM in the airport, so I wouldn't have to carry the loose change around. I travel a lot, and not having change would be an IMENSE help. 

While I was talking she pulled up the Coinstar website to show me that the had recently integrated with Coinme a crypto currency purchasing service. 

Coinstar is a relatively common service here on the west coast and in many other parts of the US. They are large green machines, usually located at the front of grocery stores, that allow customers to exchange large amounts of coins for vouchers for cash. Coinme on the other hand, is a relatively new service that allows for purchasing cryptocurrency through their site and standalone atms - as well as offers advisory services for investing in crypto. All in all, it seems like a pretty good match! 

Well almost - you cant turn your coins directly into BTC - you still have to insert cash. But since you're in a grocery store, and you'll have a voucher for the cash - there isn't much more you need to do! 

So I took the plunge

The whole weekend I went back and forth as to whether I should test it out or not. I don't know why I was so hesitant - but I eventually made the decision. I took my cash and went to Vons and bought some Bitcoin! It was much less painful than I expected it to be. And, all time considered, including going to the recycling center, I maybe spent 1.5 hours - 2 at the most. And probably 30mins of that was just driving and waiting in line. So for $30 - that's $15 an hour.... not bad!

Now that I am totally set up on Coinme - I think I'll be doing this again, and EVERY time I turn in my recycling. 

Read below to take a look at the process!

The Process of turning my cans into Bitcoin

1. Take the cans in

 I didn't actually get any photos of this - but imaging a small cramped area, with soda stains on the floor and beat up baskets full of leaking cans and the constant crash oh aluminum and glass. I turn them in, they give me cash and I leave. 

2. Using Coinstar 

After you touch the screen - you select the "Bitcoin" option -

On the next screen are the terms and conditions: 

A few things to note: 

1. Transactions are limited to 5 minutes - after 5 mins the transaction executes. 

2. Money, once inserted may not be retrieved. 

These were the biggest "stickler" points for me, but I believe they exist for those who may be unfamiliar and can't decide what to do. Also, it may have to do with the "locked in" price - and the system having to re-quote the price. 

Next: A few more notes before we accept the terms and conditions: 

There is a transaction fee of 4% - I thought it was pretty high at first - but in the grand scheme of being able to turn cash into crypto - I felt that it was not too bad. 

Next up - Inserting our money. We'll put our cash in on the right-hand side: 

On the screen we'll see a locked in quote for what we'll be buying at, along with the amount we entered, the price in BTC and the amount to be taken for the transaction fee. 

Next, we'll confirm our purchase by pushing the green button in the lower right corner. The next screen that pops up asks for our phone number: 

Adding you number is how the receipt can be tied to your Coinme account. 

Now, we'll print our voucher: 

And then:

Success!!

Now head back home and let's set up that Coinme account. 

Setting up my account was fast and painless. 

First go to coinme.com to create the account: 

After you put in your email and ID number and accept the ToU, click next to create a password: 

Coinme does a VERY good job of ensuring that you have a strong password: 

Click next and you are almost good to go!

The home page of Coinme is much akin to a simple wallet set up: 

The last step that you'll need to complete is uploading a picture of your ID and taking a selfie for identification. 

Coinme has a pretty cool in site box, that will text you a link to open up on your phone in order to take the photos of your id without having to download any apps: 

After you are verified (took me about 5 mins) - plug in your receipt info by clicking on the redeem tab: 

Hit redeem and sit back and wait!

This was the part which took the longest, as the transaction must confirm and then be credited to your account. 

You will see the status update on the home screen:

However, once it is confirmed you can immediately transfer it off site to your favorite cold storage!

(I use Trezor)

Another great feature of Coinme is you can decide what the transaction fee will be, though their default suggestion is a bit high - you do have the option to change it: 

And that's it!

My cash from my cans is now Bitcoin and safe and sound in my (cold) wallet!

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Always remember to let me know your thoughts! Does your country have something like this? Can you recycle for cash where you live? 

Let me know!