Carrier for empty beverage containers

A carrier for vertically oriented empty beverage containers, having openings in their upper portions and having first longitudinal axes, comprising a plurality of vertical compartments having second longitudinal axes and having tops and bottoms, each of said compartments being of a length greater than the length of each of said beverage containers so that a plurality of said beverage containers can be received in each of said vertical compartments with said first axes in substantial alignment with said second axes and with their upper portions facing upwardly so that there is no spilling of liquid from their openings, a housing for enclosing said compartments in a lateral direction and having a housing top and a housing bottom proximate said tops and bottoms, respectively, of said compartments for containing said vertical compartments, door means in said housing proximate said bottoms of said compartments for holding said containers in said compartments when said door is closed and for permitting said containers to drop from said vertical compartments when said door is open, and a cover for said housing overlying all of said compartments and spaced from said tops of said compartments to close said housing to confine odors therein while said spacing of said cover from said tops permits ventilation among said tops of said compartments.