Many citizens claim to feel exploited by those who convert their discarded property into cash or change without sharing the incredible profits.

Where are the antitrust people when we need them?

I get real touchy about homeless people.Yes there are the usual frauds,as in anything,but these people who live on nickels and dimes because of their creativity to recycle trash or whatever...God love em.
They don't rob liquor stores and they don't hurt people.

LOL because I just started collecting soda cans.

Actually there is ALOT of money in 'garbage'.
Did you know that the catalytic convertor attached to your cars exhaust system contains precious metals?
People here are buying up junk cars (non-running,totalled,etc..) just to scrap the convertor. Check Craigslist and you'll see alot of people wanting to 'haul away' your junk cars for free.

Reports are saying that the converters are #1 on the list for car part theft. I get cranky that they won't put deposits on containers. Doesn,t have to be large. Just pay up when the people bring them in. One state in Australia which has deposits is easily the cleanest. The deposit thing has a flow on effect, it seems.

Here in Iowa we have a deposit program on soft drink bottles; it is helpful, but always controversial, because store owners don't want to mess with it.
I hope we will move to something you might call "real-cost" distribution, in which the total cost of the product, including cleanup and recycling of packaging and any damage to the environment, is shared by manufacturer, retailer, and consumer.
As long as we don't have it, everybody eventually pays: the manufacturer, retailer, and consumer move environmentally degrading products with the whole community picking up up the cleanup tab.

swamp - hope there's not a misunderstanding here - this is a satire piece from The Onion, ridiculing those who blame homeless people for this or that.