I finally made the trip to Can Shed to get a recycle box for our garage and a couple of box liners. We've lived in Iowa City for a few months now and I still hadn't gotten around to it. I stopped here near closing on a Tuesday night and the guys working were very helpful. There isn't a lot of parking, so I'm not sure what you'd do if you were dropping off on a Saturday. Maybe park at the farm store across the parking lot? Anyway, I made it a point to come during the week and not on a Saturday. Saturday's are CRAZY at all Can Sheds. As I was getting out of my car one of the employees helped me right away. I paid $8 for the box and two bag liners; this included tax. We only plan to put cans in our box (box has an open bottom), so once that's full we'll get back $10. I'd suggest getting a separate bag and/or box for plastic bottles and a couple of banana boxes for glass beer/soda/wine bottles. When purchasing the box an instruction sheet was stapled to it with recycling and drop-off guidelines to follow. Definitely read this because if you don't have everything organized according to how they like it at Can Shed it'll slow down your return process. Iowa is one of the few states with any sort of bottle law, so help keep Iowa beautiful and recycle those cans and bottles! You'll be able to take that deposit $ and buy another case of pop or 6-pack. Recommend. read more

My dad drinks a lot of Diet Coke. Well, I think it's a lot because I'm not a soda drinker myself, but whenever I visit he's always within arm's reach of a bottle or a can. As a result, he accumulates a lot of recyclables in big plastic bags in the garage. Today, he gave me the daunting task of taking these bags in to get his deposit back. I've heard of the recycling machines at the Hy-Vees around here, but was warned that I'd have to feed each item individually. Hoping to find a quicker option, I used some Google-fu and found the Can Shed. Surely a place like this would be able to get me in and out quickly, right? I filled up the trunk of my rental car with bags and threw the last one into the back seat and headed on down. Indeed, there is an option to fill a bag with cans and get a fixed amount, which did save time. However, if you can't fill a bag completely, then you have no choice but to pop them into one of their machines. It seems like a logical thing to do would be to offer to pay rebates back by weight, just like what is done at the recycling center back home. Anyways, I was able to fill one of their bags (estimated to be 240 cans and thus $12 payback) but then I had to go through the tedious process of letting the machine individually count the remaining cans and bottles. Curious that we don't pay deposits on plastic water bottles. Seems like this would incentivize people to recycle water bottles instead of possibly throwing them in with the rest of the rubbish. Anyways, I was able to save a little time at Can Shed, and if my dad has amassed another small mountain of Diet Coke cans the next time I'm here, I'll bring them in. read more

We have been using the can shed for years! It's so easy! Fill the bag and then bring it in. So quick & easy and staff is always great. read more

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There is a place on Hollywood Blvd where cans become cash. In Iowa City on Hollywood Blvd you don't find the rich and the famous you just find the Can Shed. This is probably one of the most convenient places to get paid for your can and bottle deposits. Although there are a few tips that can make you Can Shed experience quick and easy. 1) get your clear plastic can shed bags for collecting your cans 2) Box up your glass bottles to make it easier for them to count and sort 3) Bring a friend! Someone who can help you carry everything in makes it quick and easy especially if they are busy. So once you have collected a plethora of cans and bottles hit up Hollywood Blvd in Iowa City. It may not get you closer to fame but you'll be one step closer to fortune. read more

Litter is bad. Recycling is good. But one is much easier than the other... ok well, one was. Iowa City makes it so easy with their curbside program and those nifty blue containers. Each week as they pick up my paper, plastic, cardboard and metal I feel as though my carbon footprint shrinks a few millimeters and I smile. That kind of recycling is easy as pie with unicorns and rainbows. But then you go to recycle your soda cans, six pack containers or wine bottles at a redemption center. Dun dun dunnnnn and your rainbows turn to gray skies with hail falling from them, denting the hood of your brand new car. Yikes. I mean, hooray for reducing and cleaning up litter by holding our nickels hostage one beverage container at a time! Go Iowa! But what a hassle. What a grimy, smelly, time consuming and aggravating hassle. Until there was Can Shed. Buy a box and a liner to keep in your garage and toss cans in. Once it's full, bring the bag down to the shed and they'll give you a flat fee for it. Boom! No smelly cans or aggravating machines. In and out. (Bring your bottles in an orderly fashion and they'll take those too!) Seriously guys, recycling is awesome and with this business it is now so so easy. It is not a five star ONLY because I live on the other side of town and have to make a special trip but that's just being nit picky. read more

Only reason I docked a star was because the website was a little unclear and not updated. 5/5 stars to the man who I talked to in the can shed who explained the entire process to me and answered my questions! Now it's a breeze walking in and recycling. Definitely talk to the people behind the desk for more information. read more

Great place and nice people. I collect at home and work and redeem when i get a truck full.( 9 Bags). Catch them at a off time like I do during my lunch hour at 1:00 and it is in and out in 10 minutes at the most. And if not busy with other people they help me unload. For a small upfront fee for the boxes and bags (which when you turn in a bag they give you a new one free) it makes it so easy and quick. I have 5 boxes to sort as I bring them home. Beats going to Walmart and HyVee where you get a voucher for that store. Here if its under the limit (which I think is $100) you get cold hard cash. And if over the limit they send you a check lickity split. read more

Very good place to bring your cans and bottles. They accept just about any, regardless of where they came from. Their only requirement is that they are bar coded and stamped with "IA". I believe they are in a league of their own for this very needed service during a pandemic when just about all of the grocery chains around here are no longer accepting returns of even their own such products. read more

This is the best place to take your empty cans and bottles. The people that work here are so nice! They will explain everything you need to know. Once you know the ropes it's in and out very quickly! read more