You are right about that. I once saved up bags and bags of beer bottles but when I took them to the recycle center I got next to nothing for them. Cans you can get a decent amount and copper fetches a pretty penny.
I throw all of my recyclables in my recycle bin.
For my business I have a guy I give any recyclable parts to which is a win win. Gets rid of them for me and he makes a few bucks