After walking hundreds of thousands of miles and picking up hundreds of thousands of aluminum cans, 75-year-old Alice Falls of Mt. Zion is retiring from the recycling business.

Falls said as a child she learned the value of a penny, and has used the penny principal all her life.

"But I also was cleaning up the roadways for miles around, helping the environment," she said. "I've been picking-up stuff for 48 years."

Years ago she purchased a motor-driven can crusher, which helped compact cans for hauling to a recycling center.

Falls not only recovered cans, she rescued motors, radiators, batteries, copper and stainless steel.

"There was always a market, with lots of up and downs."

While walking the Mt. Zion Ridge and all the side roads, "I stayed out of the road, but sometimes I had to jump away from fast moving cars, thousands passing by me every week."

"This kind of life has kept me humble and grateful."