I remember scouring the neighborhood for glass bottles to return for a nickel as a kid. Those bottles got washed and refilled at the bottling plants. Once upon a time recycling worked. And then the scams started.
As I recall it (granted I was young still) one day I took my collection to the local mini mart type store to exchange for my weekend candy supply and they told me they did not do returns anymore. Thus ended my recycling habit.