The world is currently at the point where almost everyone realizes the value of going green. The Earth is getting warmer, and the only way to stop it is to reduce pollution. Of all the ideas that have popped up to facilitate this, one of the most significant has been in the recycling business. A lot of them are low-capital, high returns kinds of businesses, but require prior knowledge of where to locate your company, how to collect the waste and where to sell them. In essence, you might need to do a good amount of research beforehand.
Aluminum Recycling
Aluminum cans are best known for their use in the construction of soda and energy drink bottles. More often than not, however, they are used only once and thrown away. But it so happens that aluminum is the one of the easiest materials to recycle – they are melted at s high temperature and remolded into cans. To give you an idea of how massive the industry is, more than $800 million worth of aluminum cans are recycled every year, making it the most profitable recycling venture available to us today.
Cartridge Refilling
The printer industry is infamous for having notoriously expensive cartridges. With over 300 million ink cartridges thrown out every year, the impact they have on the environment cannot be overstated. Consider starting a business that provides ink and toner refilling to save consumers money, make some by yourself and protect the environment in the process. It’s an easy market to get into because it’s not very saturated and the initial capital isn’t very high.
Computer Recycling
Computers are made from a large number of different plastics, metals and a great deal of other materials that can be recycled. If dumped into landfills, many of these materials are hazardous to the environment. For this reason, the computer recycling industry is welcoming to people that know how to put the various parts to good use. A lot of the parts can be reused while others sold to computing factories that know how to best handle the parts.
To source old computers and laptops from households and corporate offices, run a professional site and write good quality content to rank high and attract sellers. For the content, you can take help of assignment services, dissertation service or essayhave like Brill Assignment. Professional writers can get you the content that will help you put up strong research-backed content that will spread awareness about benefits of recycling and disposing off old computers responsibly.
Glass Recycling
Glass is a relatively easy material to melt down and remake into many different kinds of shapes. From drinking glasses to molded sculptures to glass fiber, it’s a material with innumerable uses in the world today. Once collected, the glass is broken up into smaller pieces, crushed sorted and cleaned. It can then be mixed with other constituents like sand, then melted and molded into the desired shape.
Mattress Recycling
Over 4.5 million mattresses are sent to landfills or incinerators in the US every year. These end up damaging the environment negatively, and there is an increasing pressure to have them recycled. Mattresses are usually made from a large number of materials, including metal, fabric and plastic. When sent to a recycling plant, they are separated from each other and recycled at a success rate of 95%. The mattress plants usually send the constituent materials to specialized plants that carry out the actual recycling process.
Bookbinding and Repair
Bookbinding and repair is a great business opportunity since it requires very little capital and has a simple learning curve. You can work right from home to buy books, even in small quantities and repair books that have experienced the test of time. Even what often counts as the most difficult part of getting your business running – marketing – is fairly simple. Rather than having people throw out old books, fix them up for them and save the environment the burden.
Reselling Used Appliances
Just like computer recycling, reselling used appliances involves buying them off from people that no longer need them, sprucing them up and selling them for a profit. On the other hand, if they are completely broken, different parts of the machine can likely be salvaged and sold to concerned parties. For instance, the glass tray in a microwave is usually pricey and can either be sold or recycled itself. The same goes for the aluminum body of a lot of home appliances.
Plastic Recycling
Plastic recycling is by far the most common kind of recycling today. Most types of plastic can be recycled rather than ending up in landfills and dumpsites, of which they are the largest constituent. Most types of plastic – PET, PVC and HDPE – are easy enough to recycle. The rest are difficult to recycle because they get stuck in the equipment, causing them to stop working. For instance, lids and bottle caps are usually not recycled, while other kinds of plastic are too expensive to process.
Paper Recycling
Most kinds of paper are relatively easy to recycle. The few that fall into the category of non-recyclable paper include carbon paper, paper towels and pizza boxes. When delivered to a recycling plant, the paper is usually sorted into different categories, since each category is treated differently; then turned into a slurry where the ink, if any is removed, the paper bleached and formed into a whole new product. Since it’s a relatively uncomplicated process, paper recycling is also very profitable.
Tire Recycling
A normal vehicle tire is usually made from rubber, a carbon mixture and nylon. When burnt, they produce a huge amount of air pollution, and when dumped in landfills, they take a pretty long time to break down. The best option is to recycle them. At such plants, they are melted and can be molded into new products. Most times, they are simply sold in blocks after going the recycling process to be used further.
Battery Recycling
Batteries are composed of several chemicals that are both poisonous to the environment and human beings, and should not be dumped. Almost every kind of battery can be recycled through a process that involves sorting, sieving and creating new parts that can be used in batteries once again.
Food Waste Recycling
Around 7 million tons of food is thrown away in the UK every year. While it’s inevitable some kinds of food will end up in the trash – peels and eggshells, for instance – it’s more common for perfectly good food to end in the trash, too. Most of this ends up in landfills where it fits and releases greenhouse gases like methane. To get rid of this waste, the most effective methods are home compositing and contacting local authorities when the food in question cannot be composted at home.
Textile Recycling
Textiles like pieces of clothing and parts of sofa sets make up a significant portion of most landfills. Used clothing can normally be reused by making small changes on them, while others have to be recycled.During the recycling process, the textiles are sorted based on the type and processed into different categories depending on the color and type. These can then be reused in the manufacture of new clothes or for reinforcing some types of furniture.
Recycling Junkyard Furniture
Recycling junkyard furniture requires a considerably larger amount of creativity and workmanship than others on this list. However, creating usable furniture from discarded pieces is a very profitable venture. Lots of people like to buy unique kinds of furniture based on them being uniquely made. If possible, this can be combined with textile recycling.
Recycling Kitchen Utensils
There are a dozen or more reasons why you’d want to get rid of old kitchen cookware. You may have gotten newer, more aesthetic ones and need to get rid of the old ones. Don’t throw them in the bin, where they’ll end up being dumped in landfills. The easiest option for a quick buck is selling them on eBay or Craigslist, but if that’s not an option, donation to a nearby children’s home or church could work. On the other hand, if they are made from aluminum, finding a recycling center should be relatively easy.
Conclusion
Recycling is the best way to turn waste into wealth by converting useless products into useful ones. With growing awareness for a greener planet and eco-consciousness among people, recycling business turns out to be one of the most creative and lucrative business with high returns. New entrepreneurs are capitalizing on this newly opened avenue and once you understand the business concept of recycling, you can also join the league of recycle businessmen.