Brothers Jim and Brian Harmon collected more than 8,000 cans around the Jack Trice Stadium parking lots on Sept. 10 when Iowa State hosted Iowa. The reward for their amassing of cans was a combined $400 in their pockets.

“Not bad for six hours of work,” Jim Harmon said.

The Harmons are not alone in their can-collecting effort. Tailgaters can notice people walking around with huge plastic bags full of beer and soda cans, taking advantage of the nickel deposit for aluminum cans, and most tailgaters show indifference toward cans’ disposal.

“It’s easier to throw the cans on the ground than save them,” said tailgater Cody Carter, senior in exercise and sports science.

The Harmons have been collecting cans for a few years and say they try to make every home football game, where together they usually collect approximately $300. They said they hike around the stadium, filling bags with cans and loading them into their Nissan pick-up truck until it is completely full.

“It’s just a way of earning extra money,” Brian said.

“Most people are pretty nice about giving the cans, but there was one guy who tied a string to a can and kept yanking it away,” Brian said.

Robert Myers, 76, said he tries to collect as many cans as he can, but it is competitive.

“It’s extra money because my Social Security doesn’t pay enough,” he said.

Myers, who said he has been collecting cans at ISU football games for seven years, arrived at a tailgating lot at 7 a.m. to get ready to stockpile cans in his Honda four-door.

“The car-full is usually about $80, but on a good week I can collect over $100,” he said.

Other collectors say they have different motives for collecting. Thirteen members of a youth group from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Slater arrived at Jack Trice at 10 a.m. for the Kansas State game Nov. 5.

“We are raising money for a service trip to Texas,” said Jamie Holland, who collected cans with the group.

This was the second time the group attended an ISU game as a fundraiser. The first time, the group collected about $150, but hoped to build its collection to around $250 this time, Holland said.

Eric Backsen, senior in marketing, had a small bag of about 20 cans saved.

“I collect cans to save up for my big screen,” he said.

Stacey Warren, manager of the Ames Redemption Center said the center sees a lot more cans after home games.

“We usually see, on average, about 36,000 cans a day. After home football games, that number jumps up by one-quarter to one-half,” he said.

It can take more man hours to sort through the cans not only because of the increased volume, but many of the cans come from out of state and do not have deposit on them, Warren said.

Collectors are earning money on cans that would otherwise be trash.

Dave Miller, director of facilities and utilities for Facilities Planning and Management, said can collectors do not help or harm cleanup. The goal is to get the grounds clean and management makes no attempt to separate trash, he said.