In regards to informal collectors yes it has been looked at for reports. In NYC they call them “Canners”:
Benefit Value Direct Jobs Created - 3,275 FTE
Direct, Indirect and Induced Jobs Created - 5,726 FTE
Canners – Informal Collectors - 4,000-8,000 FTE (NYC only)
Commodity Value of Deposit Material - $55 million
Unclaimed Deposits - $134 million
Gross Value Add - $272 million
Tax Revenue - $14 million
"3.1.2.1 Informal Jobs – Canners
In many areas with deposit return systems there exists an informal network of “canners,” or scavengers who collect deposit containers from streets, public trash and curbside bins and return them to receive the deposit refund. These containers are a valuable source of income to those individuals. In New York, and especially New York City, this population is especially large, given the dense nature of the environment.
At a redemption center in Brooklyn, New York City, an annual average of 10 million containers pass through the center, returned exclusively by canners. On a given day, approximately 100 individuals may visit the center, and they support a network of over 700 canners with only 4 full time and 2 part time staff. The founder of the center believes that there could be up to 10,000 canners in the City.
In this report, the number of containers passing through redemption centers was used to calculate the number of canners with the assumption that an average canner can collect 1,000 containers per day. Based on this information, we estimated that there are 7,632 canners in New York City, if they work half the days of the year, or 3,816 FTE. This range begins to attempt to quantify the size of a marginalized community who positively contribute to both the economy and the environment, while sustaining themselves through the deposit return system."
