DeKalb residents are catching on to a way to help the environment by reducing energy costs while earning an extra source of income on the side.

Mark Hein, vice president of DeKalb Iron & Metal Co. (DIMCO), 900 Oak St., said recycling is an easy way to be a responsible citizen. Hein said recycling allows various manufacturers to use 60 to 70 percent less energy because it is easier to melt down recycled material to make things than using raw material. A good way to get started recycling is by saving aluminum cans from pop or beer, Hein said.

“The easiest thing to recycle is aluminum cans, but there’s no extra value to the pop tops on the cans,” Hein said. “Frequently, we’ll have people take those off and bring them in thinking they have some rare type of metal. In reality, they’re the same material and add extra weight, so just leave them on.”

Hein said there are usually about 33 cans per pound, and DIMCO pays 51 cents per pound, which makes each can worth about one and a quarter cent. Hein estimates a standard garbage bag full of flattened cans would weigh about 20 pounds and the same-size bag filled with un-flattened cans only weighs about 8 pounds.

DIMCO also takes other types of metal like brass, copper, stainless steel and lead. Hein said some types of aluminum go for $0.42 per pound. which is the lowest valued recyclable, while some copper items go for as much as $3 per pound.

Along with cans, R. Zimmerman, Inc. Trucking and Recycling, 301 Industrial Drive, takes almost anything metal including cars. Cans currently go for 55 cents per pound at Zimmerman. According to office manager Leslie Verhaeghe, local businesses patronize Zimmerman, including NIU, which brings concrete to be repurposed into gravel.

“We’ll have fencing companies bring in their extra materials,” Verhaeghe said. “Utility companies and street and sanitation companies will usually bring in recyclables they find.”

Both companies process the material to meet specific standards and consumer needs.

“We process the items according to the way our consumers want to receive them,” Hein said. “For the cans, we compress them down into little bales which weigh about 25 pounds apiece. Then we take those bales and stack them up and band them together into a bundle that weighs about 2,500 pounds.”

Verhaeghe said people are often too lazy to bring in their recyclables. She said separating metal from the rest of the trash on trash pick-up day provides access for scrappers to take the items away to recycle.

“If you don’t have the time, energy or desire to take it to a scrap yard, if you put it separately at the end of your driveway I can guarantee you someone will come along and pick it up,” she said. “They make money on it and you were going to throw it out anyway. They’re not allowed to pick through your trash; they’ll only take what’s metal.”

DeKalb resident Zac Vazquez has been recycling for years, and sometimes picks up scrap metal at the end of people’s driveways on garbage pick-up day.

“I’ll see someone put out a big bag full of cans or parts from cars,” Vazquez said. “I’d hate to see something like that go straight to a landfill when I know it can be recycled.”

Vazquez said he likes recycling to help the environment, and also likes that he can get money for doing something as simple as putting his recyclables in a separate bin and taking them in once the bin is full.

Although people recycle year-round, Hein said DIMCO’s recycling rate may change depending on the season and the market.

“Usually prices are stable for about two or three weeks before they change,” Hein said. “It goes up and down depending on the market. During winter, we see less recycling because of the climate. Stuff that can usually be recycled may be covered in snow or hard to get to in the wintertime.”

Verhaeghe said she notices younger people recycling more than older generations.

“A lot of younger people are more conscious of the environment,” Verhaeghe said. “There’s been a lot more media on global warming and you see the need for landfills as the population increases. People should recycle because it’s a win-win.”

Like Verhaeghe, Hein hopes to increase environmental awareness.

“Nationwide, the recycle rate for aluminum cans is about 60 percent,” Hein said. “But that still means 40 percent of it is getting landfilled, so I’d like to see more people recycling.”