As if you needed another reason to drink beer, Durham is competing in a national contest sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to collect the most aluminum beverage cans. The competition runs through Oct. 31; at stake is a $5,000 prize to help fund local recycling, education and awareness programs.

Residents may recycle their cans in the weekly curbside collection or visit a drop-off center. Locations include Northgate Mall, Heritage Square Shopping Center and the Duke Recycles Warehouse. You can also drop off cans for cash at J&D Recyclers, and Swartz & Sons. See below for the complete list of locations.

Durham is competing with like-sized cities in Division II. Last year, Knoxville, Tenn., won the division, collecting more than 186,000 pounds of aluminum cans.

Durham aluminum can recycling centers
(Open 24 hours unless otherwise noted.)

  • Festival Shopping Center, 3457 Hillsborough Road
  • Heritage Square Shopping Center, 401 E. Lakewood Ave.
  • Northgate Mall, 1058 W. Club Blvd.
  • TFC Recycling, 1017 S. Hoover Road
  • The Village Shopping Center, 1100 N. Miami Blvd.
  • Southern Boundaries Park, 3400 Third Fork Road
  • Duke Recycles Warehouse, 117 S. Buchanan Blvd.
  • Waste Disposal & Recycling Center, 2115 E. Club Blvd.*
    * Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m.-noon

These centers pay for aluminum:

  • J&D Recyclers, 2645 Cheek Road (Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Call 219-4314 for details.)
  • S. Swartz & Sons, Inc., 217 Holman Str. (Monday–Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Call 682-0429 for details.)