Grant Kilian likes to move quickly among the high blue recycling containers that he classifies, in the alleys of the West End of Vancouver.
Time, but with greater precision, cans are money here. The faster you can fill a bag, the faster you can pay in the return tank. A large garbage bag full of beer cans, some of which says that it crushes, with 10 cents per pop, could win kilian around $ 30 in tax free cash.
As he expresses it, it’s just a little extra money for food, invoices or cigarettes when everything feels tight.
“I do not make crimes or theft, so it is just an honest way of earning extra money, and I am quite good in that. I can earn $ 50- $ 60 in a couple of hours,” he said.
Kilian is a “binner.” It is a word that you will not find in most dictionaries, but describes without rode “a person who collects redeemable containers and other things from the containers to maintain their livelihood and divert the waste from the landfills”, according to the definition of the definition in the Binners Project. The group, which advocates binners in BC, says that there are more people than ever collecting things of trash can for money in Vancouver, especially compared to past summers.
As expected, the warmer months are the best moments to find dozens of empty beer, soft drinks and other beverage containers in the city. Winning $ 200- $ 300 per night in the summer is possible, says Kilian.
Even a tenth of that, which is more than an average day of the day, seems to be enough to attract many newcomers to the group, says Francis Taban, who works on the Binners project and has been a binner for 12 years.
“There are more than you can think,” he said.
“They used to be some guys that perhaps had an addiction to drugs or maybe [were] alcoholic. Now, it becomes more people who lose jobs, less income, cost of living. ”
The increase in daily life expenses is a reality that most Canadians feel all the time, but being a low -income assignment is especially difficult at this time, says Lars Osberg, professor of economics at the University of Dalhouse in Halifax.
People who earn less are more susceptible to loss of employment during economic recessions. They are more likely to experience a salary stagnation or lose their jobs, says Osberg.
“We have an increase in poverty and an increase in inequality,” he said.
Statistics canada numbers also support all that.
The gap between those who have and those who do not have in Canada has never been broader.
In the first quarter of 2025, the gap between the highest and lowest income houses in Canada reached a high record. The same report stressed how lower income households, defined as the lower 20 percent of the income distribution range, had the weakest growth in their salaries compared to the previous year.
Even in 2024, he found a report One in three British Colombians did not make a decent salaryAccording to an analysis of the Statistics Canada data by the Canadian Center for Policies and Vital Salary Alternatives for BC families
Osberg says that the situation could change with specific policies as better income supports.
“In fact, we need a government that basically pays attention to the vast majority of people who are not rich, who fight with the daily life cost.”
Binning is a form of low tarrita to make some extra money, and according to Taban, “pay a little lifestyle.”
All a person needs is time and ideally something to wear cans or bottles, which could be the reason why so many people are taking it, he says.
It has become so popular in parts of Vancouver that reaching cans and bottles has become competitive.
“It’s like dog fights. You’re challenged by so many people,” said Taban.
He says that a person could earn around $ 100 to $ 120 per week if they dedicate enough hours to look at the containers.
But it emphasizes that it is not easy money. It is a really hard work that transports heavy cans and bottles bags, often stinking beer and wine.
It is a tedious job, says Taban, looking at Kilian a garbage bag with a dozen cans and some bottles of wine.
“He hasn’t even won $ 10 yet.”
