Recycling in New Hampshire, an Example:

There is a recycling center in Peterborough, New Hampshire that brings in revenue for the state by selling the various recycled materials which become commodities to be sold.

They have a very impressive and well-run recycling center.  There were bay windows for the big types of contents, e.g., newspapers, cardboard, plastic bottles and then lots of little containers for the little stuff, even down to ink cartridges and CDs and DVDs!  It has areas for brush and a large metal trash bin for all different kinds of glass.

Organization and Process

Customers drop their sorted recyclables into the designated bins.  Personnel are on hand to help with any questions for the occasional odd materials.  For anything that can't be recycled, the car is weighed before and after and the customer charged for the difference in weight.

Inside the building are balers for the different materials.  Below is a baler for aluminum cans.

In the picture above, at the left, the box with lines in it, that's where the aluminum cans are squished into.  Wire is wrapped around the bale, and then it's pushed out the end.

Below are pictures of balers for other materials, e.g., cardboard and the different plastics.

Revenue

After they get the sorted materials baled, they notify their "broker" who finds customers on the open market.  He didn't know who buys what, but manufacturers come to mind who would recreate the material into new packaging for products.