You are seriously underestimating the amount of money involved, and what it means to the folks that do it. My neighbor recycles trash bags full of cans at a time and nets 20-40 bucks a bag. He does this a couple of times a month. For very little effort he's making an extra hour or two worth of wages just for taking a bag into recycling. It's extremely minimal work since he does it on his way to/from work, and absolutely a non-trivial gain for him.