Earning Avios by recycling cans at Tesco Recycling Centres

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Reader Paul dropped me a line to outline the success he was having earning Avios points by using Tesco Recycling Centre.

Based at around 100 stores across the country, they look like this:

You can feed your empty drink cans into them, as well as jars and bottles. Tesco gives you 1 Clubcard point for every 2 aluminium cans. You do not earn anything for any other products.

As well as his own supply, Paul is recycling cans thrown out by his local bowling club, which helps to boost his balance further.

There is no official list of which stores have a recycling centre. This old article (external link) lists around 100 but does not claim to be comprehensive. It is worth looking out for it at your nearest Extra store, as that is the most common place to find them.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Category

Tesco Clubcard

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Julie says:

17 Feb17 February 06:08

I tried this for a while but the machine would never register my club card which meant I then had to go to customer services and get them to put the points on my card with no real proof of how many cans you had recycled, I even tried taking a photo of the screen but it always seemed to be in direct sunlight. I wonder have they now cured this problem?
Tim M says:

17 Feb17 February 06:08

I looked for these facilities about 12 months ago and was told by CS that they had been phased out in most locations due to abuse (ie cutting cans in half to double points) The one in my nearest Extra, was removed a couple of years ago I believe. Good find if you can find one near you though.
- Idrive says:
  
  17 Feb17 February 06:25
  
  I would become a cc zillionair if only i could have this near home! 🙂
ee says:

17 Feb17 February 06:50

There are also mini models outside a small number of express stores. There is one at the Chelmsford Broomfield Road express and if I recall one at a petrol station express in eastleigh. These give 1 point for 2 plastic bottles and possibly for cans too.
Matt says:

17 Feb17 February 07:20

I think I remember reading a story a few years back about a young couple who spent their evenings picking up drink cans from around their flat and taking them in for recycling, then using the ensuing several million CC points to book themselves free flights to NZ or somewhere. Smart thinking, but at 1 point per 2 cans you’d need several hundred thousand to get anything interesting…
- Matt says:
  
  17 Feb17 February 07:55
  
  Knew I wasn’t dreaming it…
  
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/7654254.stm
  - Sandgrounder says:
    
    17 Feb17 February 08:03
    
    I remember this- don’t they know about video game pre-orders? 🙂
erico1875 says:

17 Feb17 February 07:21

There are 2 in the Edinburgh area. South Queensferry and Lasswade.
I probably do about 2500 cans a year. Friends and family collect for me too.
It is a mind numbing job.loading them 1 at a time though.
I have also heard of people cutting them in half to double the points. I am not that desperate.
BTW Pepsi, 7 up and Sprite are not alluminium, so you dont get points for these.
- Frenske says:
  
  17 Feb17 February 09:21
  
  2500 cans of Tennents!? You better call the AA.
- Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
  
  17 Feb17 February 09:45
  
  That’s an awful lot of work for 1250 clubcard points!
- davi says:
  
  21 Feb21 February 19:44
  
  Glad I read your metal post – you’ve saved me an awful lot of time and heartache
Britbronco22 says:

17 Feb17 February 08:58

I’ve tried a coupe of times, the machine wouldn’t register the club card either time, so I decided it is not worth the effort.
olybeast says:

17 Feb17 February 10:48

Baugley Tesco in Manchester has one. I think I did 8 cans one day then got bored. I don’t really buy canned drinks anyway
Matthew says:

17 Feb17 February 11:31

How long does it take to put a can in..?

If I could get hold of hundreds of cans and bottles, maybe it could be worth it..?
- erico1875 says:
  
  17 Feb17 February 16:59
  
  200 cans take about half an hour.