Short answer: yes, but not as often as people hope—and when they exist, they usually reward specific recyclables rather than every item thrown into a street bin. The most common version is the reverse vending machine: you feed in bottles or cans, it scans them, and you get a deposit refund, store credit, or a coupon. These are widespread in countries with deposit return schemes, such as Norway and Germany, and they are starting to appear in more U.S. and European cities.
Some cities are also testing smart bins and recycling stations with QR codes, weight sensors, or app-linked accounts. You scan the bin, drop in accepted materials, and earn points that can be traded for discounts, transit credits, lottery entries, or charity donations. These recycling rewards pilots are more common at campuses, airports, festivals, and apartment complexes than on ordinary sidewalks. A few public trash bins have gamified screens or reward programs, but they are still the exception.
The catch is that rewards are usually small, and contamination is a big problem. If people throw food waste or unrecyclable items into a reward bin, the city may lose money on sorting. Maintenance, vandalism, connectivity, and privacy are also issues. So urban recycling bins that reward people do exist, but they work best when they are part of a clear deposit-return system or a well-managed smart-bin pilot—not as a magic street bin that pays you for any trash.