"I've been doing it for so long I know a lot of the good spots to go to, you get the hang of it," he said of his nightly rendezvous. "It all depends on the competition out there, but I'm happy if I can get $70 for three-and-a-half hours of work."

Mr Davis has been collecting cans, glass and plastic bottles from household recycling bins for the past 16 months, five days per week. He says he has seen more and more people doing the same.

The state government's Return And Earn initiative, introduced in December 2017 to try to reduce litter, passes on a 10c rebate for each can or bottle returned to designated collection points.

To make his $70, Mr Davis must salvage 700 items.

"When I first started I nearly never saw anybody else doing it," Mr Davis said. "Now some nights I have seen up to six others in the one suburb. There must have been a convention or something."

Mr Davis began going through yellow bins to tide him over the school holidays when his daytime work stops. But Mr Davis has found the gig has other benefits too.

"I use it more for fitness now. On Tuesday I walked about 12 kilometres, yesterday I did about eight," he said.

His perception of the region's residents has also been bolstered.

"There are so many nice people out there," he said. "If I see the owner of the bin, I always ask. I've been told off a few times but most people don't mind.

"Some people leave their stuff out for you. They become your friends because you talk to them each time you go," he said.

Most of the items he collects are alcohol cans and bottles, or water bottles. He keeps a collection of the rare and exotic containers he finds at home.

Some people are not so attentive to what goes in the trash, he said.

"A lot of people don't recycle properly and that's the sad bit. They have plastic bags in there and food scraps. Sometimes you really have to take a breath before you open things up, or wish you had."

Robert Monkley, the warehouse supervisor at the bulk Return and Earn drop-off centre run in Cardiff, run by Vinnies, said that of the 250 people who visit the depot each week, people who collect from yellow bins are "few and far between."

"You're probably talking eight or ten people who come in per week who we know for sure are doing it," he said. "Some others have arrangements with pubs, clubs and motels to pick up their bottles and cans.

"Most people are doing it for the recycling involved, and the money is just a bonus."

The charity receives a processing fee for each container left at the centre. This year, that has equated to 3.1 million bottles and cans.

Mr Davis does not believe he is performing a service but says what he is doing does not cause harm.

"The amount I take wouldn't make the slightest difference to what the trucks collect," he said.

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