Recycling question

How much money can you make from recycling cans?

not a lot per can

It depends on how many cans you recycle and how much they are worth.

It's mainly to do with money saved, I believe, rather than money earned. Aluminium is so expensive to mine and prepare for use that it's cheaper to recycle the aluminum we already have. So that's why can recycling makes economic sense for the manufacturers.

However, are you asking about how you can make money personally? I've never heard of people collecting cans and recycling them for money, but there may be some kind of scheme somewhere - is that what you know about? Mostly, it's local councils who organise the collection these days, so it's all done for free,

24 cans empty 12oz cans equals a pound. Call up your local recycling center to find out what the going rate is a lbs.
Some states have a deposit on cans and non-returnable bottles. You could also look into that.

Someone told me that it doesn't matter how many cans you recycle because you will only get two dollars.

In NY we have a 5 cent deposit on all carbonated beverage cans or bottles. It has been around since the 70s. Long before the regular mandatory recycling we have now. Many feel it is no longer needed, but I think it is. While we call it mandatory recycling, there is no real enforcement, and it only affects residential garbage collection. Throwing cans and bottle away in public trash bins are not recycled, unless they have separate bins for them. But being that the containers are worth 5 cents is an incentive not to just throw it away. And if they do throw it away, there are always people going around collecting them for the money. I think they should spread it to non-carbonated beverages too.