With most of the country’s favorite beverages sold in bottles, it is no wonder that recycling should provide a golden opportunity for some. While the recycling of bottles is not a sector that is formally overseen, it is estimated to move RD$711,360 annually in the DR, according to the Listin Diario. Of the total, 64.3% can be attributed to empty beer bottles and 35.7% to rum and wines. The “botelleros,” who sometimes have as many as 10 people working for them, are not being acknowledged by the state as potential contributors to the revenue system, even though approximately 3,000 outposts for bottle recycling exist across the country. Once collected, the bottles are returned to the nation’s major alcoholic beverage producers: Cerverceria Nacional Domincana (CND) and Brugal. Other producers account for an estimated 10% of the market. Daniel Martinez, the president of Botellas Nacionales, explained that whiskey bottles are the only ones that are reused among nationally produced liquors. His organization buys bottles all across the country from collectors found in the towns and barrios who cull the local nightspots, colmados and other suppliers. A case of 24 beers nets RD$30 for the bottle resellers, who have paid between RD$20-$22 for their commodity, meaning they earn as much as RD$10 per case. Large capacity posts may earn as much RD$100,000 on a weekly basis. It is estimated that 75,000 people in the DR make a direct living from the sale of empty bottles.