Question: are empty kegs worth money?
Answer: At 30 pounds empty weight, a typical stainless steel keg might be worth around $24 (January 2013 scrap price for 304 stainless steel of ~80 cents per pound). While the price of scrap fluctuates, recent history has shown that the scrap value of a keg is easily the same or higher than a typical $20-30 deposit.