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How to get Raft Trash Cubes and trade them for items

Raft Trash Cubes may sound useless but it turns out, with the right knowledge and equipment, you can trade them for special items and tools

Raft Trash Cubes: A lone trading post amongst some trees

Raft Trash Cubes don’t sound particularly important, but believe it or not, they are the main currency used in these open waters. Without them, you can’t buy anything at the Trading Posts, and that’s a pity, because Trading Posts hold some of the best items in the game. Sunglasses, a game of tic-tac-toe, a sailor hat… You name it.

Trading Posts spawn on large islands. They’re quite common, so there’s a good chance you’ve already found one. If so, simply click on the store’s counter to see how many Raft Trash Cubes each item costs. Note that Trading Post items are divided over three tiers: the higher your reputation level, the better the items you can buy.

It’s up to you how to spend your Trash Cubes, but it’s wise to go for Simple Fishing Bait first, as this will allow you to catch rare fish. You can take the fish back to the Trading Post to exchange for Trade Coins, which is the second type of currency in the game. Most items cost both Trash Cubes and Trade Coins, so it’s a good idea to get both.

Raft Trash Cubes: A single Trash Cube sat in a box

How to get Trash Cubes in Raft

Trash Cubes are actually made from raw resources rather than trash. This includes every base material used to create other items: Planks, Palm Leaves, Nails, Bolts, etc. The only thing needed to turn these items into Trading Post currency is a Raft Recycler, which our guide goes into great detail about, including where to find the blueprint and how to craft one.

Once you’ve obtained the Recycler, here are a few tips to make as many Trash Cubes as you can:

It costs a lot of base resources to craft one Cube, so never throw your “trash” away (at least not in early game). Even if it’s Palm Leaves.
The value of the base resources used will influence the number of items required for one Trash Cube. For example: it takes two Scrap to make one Nail. To get one Trash Cube, you can either use 30 pieces of Scrap or 15 Nails.

Place several nets on your raft to catch flotsam while sailing, then dump it in the Recycler.

Raft Trash Cubes: The cash register on a trading post

How to use Trash Cubes

Here’s an overview of what you can buy with your Trash Cubes:

  • Simple/Advanced/Expert Fishing Bait: used to catch rare fish
  • Basic resources: flotsam and ore (metal, copper, titanium)
  • Cooking recipes
  • Cooking ingredients such as chili, mushrooms, and berries
  • Special items like a compass, airhorn, or fridge
  • Equipment such as a diving helmet, sailor’s hat, disguise glasses
  • Special item for your Raft: the drawbridge

Time to collect some Palm Leaves and buy that sailor hat. Good luck! Why not read up on where to find the Raft Temperance code now you know how to get and use Trash Cubes?