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Despite the proliferation of curbside collection bins and public awareness campaigns, recycling programs around the United States aren’t working. Modern urban recycling, which began with the passage of New Jersey’s mandatory recycling law in , has successfully created a tremendous supply of recycled newspapers, glass bottles, office paper, and other materials. But when it comes to consumer and business demand for the products made from these materials, the economics of recycling falls apart. According to the press and other pundits, “recycling is a victim of its own success.”

In fact, recycling is not just a matter of recovering recyclable material; it’s a total economic system. Few people realize that their local curbside collection program is only the beginning of a recycling loop. At present, the cost of collecting and processing recyclable materials far outweighs their value as a commodity that can be sold back to industry. Unless consumers buy recycled products, the markets for the material they put out at the curb or into their office white-paper bin will remain depressed.

However, precisely because of this market uncertainty, companies can turn building demand for recycled products into a competitive advantage. In the s, those companies that act quickly will exploit new product niches and manufacturing technologies. Farsighted players have already found profitable openings. There’s clearly consumer demand for green products, and Rubbermaid, Moore Business Forms, and International Paper, to name but a few, have dramatically increased market share with appropriate offerings. These companies have also anticipated the tighter environmental regulations that are sure to come. Rather than simply fighting government and community groups, corporations can now form strategic alliances with public organizations and other business interests.

While public policymakers are still trying to assess what’s wrong with recycling programs, large corporations and small entrepreneurs alike are in the best position to take the lead. More important, it’s in their economic interest to do so. Certainly, U.S. corporations shouldn’t start running local collection programs or taking government’s place in implementing policies that encompass many communities or an entire state. But business leaders can challenge current recycling myths, including the supposed high price and low quality of products. Top managers of companies like American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and Coca-Cola have made buying recycled products and investing in green R&D part of their overall business strategies. They’ve cut down on waste, increased profit margins, and, in some cases, truly closed the recycling loop.

The success of recycling—indeed, its true value in the long term—won’t depend on how much landfill space is saved but on whether or not recycling makes economic sense. To build demand for recycled materials, government and business must not only reinvent themselves, they must also reinvent their relationship, especially when it comes to economic problems that neither can solve alone.

Building Demand: The Recycling Markets Problem

The most common reason given for the current economic crisis in recycling is the supply and demand problem. Media stories abound about recycling centers and waste haulers dumping loads of plastic bottles, newspapers, or phone books into landfills after preparing them for markets that don’t exist. The centers store them until they become unsightly mountains of “junk” and public health problems. True, this has occurred in some cases. But the real reason that recyclables often sit in recycling yards is that recyclers, like any good commodities brokers, “bet on the come.” Mountains of recyclable material remain in storage while recyclers wait for the price to rise to a level that allows them to cover the cost of collection, transportation, processing, packaging, and storage—and to make a reasonable profit (see the insert “The High Cost of Processing What’s Put Out at the Curb”)

It’s been an industrial buyer’s market over the last several years for all recyclable commodities. End users of recycled raw material, or feedstock, can choose whom they wish to do business with and can assure that the price of the material they require will stay down. In many cases, recycled commodities must also compete with virgin raw materials. During the past two years, for example, the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) industry has developed an overcapacity of virgin resins.¹ The market is so flooded with “clean” material that the price for recovered forms of this plastic from curbside recycling programs has plummeted.

Recycled commodities often end up competing against one another as well. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the paper industry. With intensive recycling taking place in most major urban centers around the United States, the huge swell of postconsumer paper (recovered from curbside and office recycling programs) available to manufacturers of corrugated cardboard, newsprint, and toilet tissue allows them to play one material off another. A Pennsylvania manufacturer recently discontinued use of recycled newspaper in its production process because it negotiated a better price for recovered phone books. Office paper can be used to make high-grade stationery, but it’s fast becoming one of the major feedstocks for lower grade paperboard and toilet tissue. That means recyclers must now pay higher prices to get rid of the low-grade, mixed junk paper that used to be one of their mainstays.

In the global marketplace, competition for recovered material exports is also intense. Asian countries, long a predictable export market for U.S. recycled-paper brokers, are opting to use European paper sources where the material is typically less contaminated and cheaper to transport. U.S. paper exports from to dropped by million tons (%) for the first time in decades, and the market value of exports fell by %. As the European waste-management infrastructure becomes increasingly sophisticated, U.S. suppliers have fallen farther behind in

For example, Germany’s latest package-reduction ordinance requires that retailers take back all sales packaging from customers and add a cent deposit to most nonrefillable containers. German manufacturers and product suppliers now pay a licensing fee to place a green dot on products; the green dot guarantees that a product’s packaging will be recycled by the recycling industry. Since many German retailers now refuse to stock products without the dot, it’s likely that 80% of all retail packaging will be recycled or eliminated by

Of course, some companies in other European Community countries have called these German initiatives protectionist. Antitrust suits, which claim that the green-dot program and other German restrictions necessitate agreements between competing companies in order to handle packaging waste, are still pending. Nevertheless, without the stimulus of such sweeping environmental regulations, most U.S. manufacturers during the s didn’t invest in the new plant technologies that now make German and other European companies much more competitive when it comes to waste management.

But U.S. manufacturers haven’t always been so slow to invest. For decades, the steel and aluminum industries have successfully developed their respective technologies to incorporate large quantities of postconsumer recycled materials. Aluminum cans all contain a high percentage of recycled content, and virtually all products made with steel contain at least 25% reclaimed steel. The value of steel and aluminum to industry consistently guarantees that they are worthwhile components of curbside recycling programs. While steel and aluminum containers compete against each other as food and beverage packaging, each is a comparably low-cost, functional item that’s embraced by consumers. In general, these two industries couldn’t survive without the heavy input of recycled material; and in this, they are models for the lagging paper and plastics industries.

Strong demand for recycled products ultimately requires that these products, as in the case of steel and aluminum, be cost competitive and of high quality. It also requires that they be available in large enough quantities to allow for economies of scale. By mandating recycling and setting extremely high recovery goals for both paper and plastics, government has challenged U.S. industry to develop the necessary infrastructure for incorporating these materials into manufacturing processes.² Yet for this challenge to be met, government and industry need to reach an understanding about the complexity of the problem that they are both attempting to tackle.

This understanding can only be established by developing a unified and coordinated approach. In Germany, the green-dot program funds the Duales System Deutschland (DSD), known as the “dual system” because it works in tandem with an existing system of government recycling programs. The DSD is essentially a national recycling company formed by Germany’s retailers and more than product suppliers and distributors. Given the complications of negotiating business initiatives in the EC, the German model isn’t strictly applicable to the United States; but it may offer U.S. companies lessons in the value of taking a proactive stance toward environmental issues and in the need to form public-private alliances.

Building demand for U.S. recyclables is a case in point. From a public-policy perspective, the recycling issues of collection and processing certainly require further technology and systems refinement. Over time, however, these costs are sure to come down. It’s in stimulating the recycling markets that current policy—and business practice—will make the most difference. In the past two years alone, a number of national and local organizations and government groups have initiated “Buy Recycled” campaigns that actively encourage government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and institutional organizations like hospitals to buy products made of recycled materials.

The Buy Recycled Business Alliance, for example, includes Bank of America, American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, Coca-Cola, and Anheuser-Busch on its steering committee of 33 companies (see the insert “Buy Recycled Business Alliance: Members”). In less than one year, the steering-committee members alone have accounted for $3 billion in purchases of recycled-content products and material. Approximately 10% of this investment has been for internal purchases (such as office supplies and packaging) and 90% for external materials (raw feedstock like recovered paper, bottles, cans, and products for sale to the general public). By the end of , the business alliance hopes to sign 5, companies as members.

Plenty of U.S. companies, of course, have already jumped on the green bandwagon. They’ve entered the market so hastily that the recycling symbol manufacturers put on products (the “chasing arrows”) is now used indiscriminately. Sometimes the symbol means the product contains recycled materials; in other cases, it means the product itself is recyclable. As a result, today’s consumers are both wary and confused about competing green claims. Although it’s been easy enough for companies to take advantage of demand for high-quality green toilet tissue and paper towels (sold at relatively high prices), customers aren’t so eager to buy or aren’t even aware of the many other recycled products on the market.

It’s in exposing misperceptions about the quality and “environmental correctness” of certain products (especially those made from plastic) that companies have the largest role to play. For many managers, the changes start by instituting new corporate purchasing policies, not by creating yet another green product that confuses consumers. Top-level managers in the Buy Recycled Business Alliance certainly recognize the need to take a consistent stance toward environmentally responsible products and to provide customers with the right information. However, while they believe in being good corporate citizens, they also see the possibilities for gaining market share as well as a loyal customer base.

Managers of New Jersey-based Marcal Paper Mills, for instance, believe that they have developed a loyal following of customers because of a marketing strategy that focuses on community recycling programs rather than private-sector processing facilities. In more than 1, northeastern U.S. communities with office-paper collection programs, Marcal accepts wastepaper for use in its manufacturing process. In exchange, each community includes at least one retail outlet that stocks Marcal paper products. Based on Marcal’s experience, building demand for recycled products can be a powerful tool for building customer loyalty.

Buying Recycled Products: Three Myths

In promoting the purchase of recyclables, the recent efforts of private companies and public interest groups deliberately challenge several recycling myths. These myths linger because of the rocky history of recycled products and continue to stymie strong, positive growth for today’s recycled-product industries. The three most prevalent misconceptions are that recycled products cost more, are of inferior quality, and aren’t available in enough quantity even if you want to buy them. But the corporate examples detailed below illustrate how, contrary to myth, companies can gain a competitive leg up by investing in recycled product lines.

Myth 1: Recycled products cost too much.

The most common reason purchasing managers give for not buying recycled products is that they’re too expensive. However, most companies that are committed to the principles of recycling and waste reduction haven’t paid higher prices just to support the public interest. Rather, they’ve instituted new procurement policies that offer additional business benefits. The computer division of American Airlines, for instance, has saved over $, by converting to % recycled paper. Printing its annual report on recycled paper has saved American another $33, These savings were achieved by making the company’s needs known to vendors and demanding competitive prices.

The recycled paper that Moore Business Forms buys to produce its products is no different in cost than nonrecycled paper. Like other big manufacturers, Moore—which with more than 30% of the market is the largest single producer of business forms in the world—has guaranteed its paper supplier that the company will buy a specific volume of paper on an annual basis. The difference between Moore and many of its competitors is that the company’s supplier makes recycled stock. This partnership allows both companies to make a profit on the use and production of recyclables. Indeed, the commitment of Moore’s president and chief operating officer, John Anderluh, to environmentally responsible products has allowed the company to expand its customer base. Moore’s ReGenesis paper has been its fastest growing product line since the company began offering it in The success of ReGenesis is due in part to Moore’s bonus system, which gives an additional 2% to 3% in sales commission to reps who sell recycled products.

In order to build such profitable partnerships, suppliers and distributors must be able to guarantee not only competitive prices but also volume of sales over time. Strategic partnerships that increase the length of contracts can often be used to negotiate lower prices on recycled materials. In most cases, suppliers are willing to guarantee competitive prices on recycled products for a short term, say two years, if they’re allowed to renegotiate the next two years of pricing. And some suppliers consider their recycled stock to be a loss leader: it can be worth offering at a low price, provided business customers also negotiate contracts for products with better profit margins, such as letterhead or fine writing paper.

Just five years ago, it was nearly impossible to find a printer who carried recycled paper, let alone one who could give a good price for printing on recycled paper. Purchasing managers often found that they had to buy an entire pallet load of paper; otherwise, they’d have to pay a premium for breaking a pallet load purchased by the printer. But numerous small and large companies that shop around today will find that printers can now provide letterhead, business cards, and envelopes on recycled paper at the same price as virgin stock paper. This change in pricing has been brought about partly by business customers that have forced printers to compete and partly by manufacturers that have offered better prices to their customers.

For example, by the end of , the Hammermill Paper division of International Paper will be producing its line of % recycled copier-quality paper. This new product, called Unity DP, will have a lower brightness factor than standard bright white copier paper; but for most day-to-day office purposes, it’s more than adequate. Hammermill is building a $million deinking plant in central Pennsylvania that will use only old newspaper and glossy magazines to make pulp for Unity DP. The goal: to compete with prices and quality that are the equivalent of virgin stock paper.

In addition to paper, there are a number of other products that have become less costly than their virgin counterparts. For instance, Image Carpets makes both industrial and residential carpets out of 2-liter plastic soda bottles and sells them for less than most other carpets. And for companies with large vehicle fleets, buying recapped tires can create real savings. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Transportation saved more than $, in one transportation district by fitting the drive wheels of crew cabs and construction vehicles with recapped tires. In addition, with the cost of lumber rising dramatically over the past year—and with some help from growing economies of scale—Eberhard-Faber’s new EcoWriter pencil, made of recycled cardboard and newsprint, is now the same basic price as the equivalent wood pencil.

Myth 2: The quality of recycled products is bad.

Though once a serious concern, quality control is no longer an issue when considering recycled products. Office machinery experts now acknowledge that recycled-content paper performs better in modern copiers and laser printers because of improved conditioning of the paper fibers as well as better adjustment to humidity and temperature conditions. In addition, many people who use recycled paper report that the reduced glare is less taxing on their eyes. As Eleanor Lewis, director of Ralph Nader’s Government Purchasing Project, has said, “Paper does not have to be a light bulb that glows in the dark.”

However, quality also involves aesthetic definitions of products, a factor difficult to quantify and impossible to keep constant. Aesthetic misperceptions still greatly influence purchasing decisions. Consider plastic lumber. True, it can cost up to four times as much as its wood counterpart, but it also doesn’t rot, splinter, or break. Plastic lumber picnic tables, benches, sheds, waste receptacles, retaining walls, and fences have all demonstrated immense savings over time due to low maintenance costs. Still, while plastic lumber represents a tremendous investment by the plastics industry and one of the best product applications for recycled plastics, the market has started to grow in only the last two years.

Although manufacturers have taken great pains to make their product look like wood, plastic lumber is still not wood. Both individual consumers and company purchasing managers think of wood as the material of choice because they are accustomed to it. In addition, wood has traditionally been associated with high quality. And in a corporate setting, the buyer of wood products and materials is usually not the person responsible for maintenance and repair. Phoenix Recycled Plastics, a Pennsylvania-based company, finds that the specifications it receives from purchasers often break project cost proposals into two separate categories: lumber in one category and paint and labor in the other. Yet its plastic lumber, one of the company’s main product offerings, comes in a number of colors and doesn’t require painting. Most of Phoenix Recycled Plastics’s customers are clearly interested in recycled products; but they have trouble evaluating the available products because of their aesthetic preference for wood.

Indeed, plastic lumber has forced the issue of life-cycle cost considerations in purchasing. To a certain extent, it has forced managers to weigh their aesthetic principles against practicality. Overcoming these barriers takes time. In many cases, it also takes a management directive to place the principle of positive environmental ethics on equal footing with the aesthetics of wood or of office products made from other materials. Ted Reed, president of The Data Group, decided that his marketing research company should buy Hammermill’s Unity DP when he heard that it jammed less in copiers. But while employees like the idea of using a paper made with old newspapers and magazines, some won’t send reports to clients on off-white Unity DP. Reed plans to include a description of the paper’s contents on each sheet in order to turn a potential perception problem—“this company is unprofessional because it uses poor-quality paper”—into a marketing plus—“this company is environmentally responsible because it uses recycled paper.”

In general, the durability and consistency of today’s recycled products are far superior to those on the market just three years ago. Quality control tests that were run products from and have little bearing products currently on the market. Consider the case of remanufactured toner cartridges. In the late s, remanufacturers simply opened up old cartridges and repacked them with new toner. Now they strip down cartridges and refit them with long-lasting, high-quality drums and other components manufactured specifically to allow a toner to be recharged eight to ten times. Remanufacturers offer free servicing of laser printers as part of their standard contracts, and responsible companies promise to repair at their own cost any printer that malfunctions due to a faulty cartridge.

The increasingly good quality of recycled products points to another difficult issue. While restriction of trade is essentially illegal, recycled products, like any product substitute, call into question established markets. Some copier companies and a few laser-printer manufacturers won’t honor service contracts or warranties if anything other than specified components and materials are used. Such restrictive contracts can also be found for car parts, computers, telecommunications equipment, and many other high-tech products and services. In addition, franchises and authorized service companies will sometimes use the name of the manufacturer as a front for their own restrictions. Where necessary, buyers and purchasing managers should force competition on service contracts and demand that manufacturers put into writing any restrictions on the use of their products.

Myth 3: Recycled products aren’t available when you need them.

The availability of recycled products was a real problem just a few years ago and still is when certain businesses, particularly publishers, require large amounts of materials to meet a hard deadline. But most standard business products are readily available today. Major writing-paper companies like James River now carry numerous grades of quality paper stock in a variety of colors. And in , Rubbermaid, long a leader in janitorial products, started using recycled plastics in the production of recycling containers for New York City’s curbside programs. Based on this early success in New York, the company saw the market potential for developing recycled versions of a number of its plastic products, including trash cans, buckets, liners, and wheeled carts. Rubbermaid currently markets more than 70 products made from postconsumer plastic.

Even in the case of newspaper and magazine publishers that require large quantities of recycled paper in a short time, planning and vigilance can overcome the availability problem. For example, Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, examined the feasibility of converting the paper its magazine was printed on to recycled content. The driving force behind the use of recycled paper was Rhoda H. Karpatkin, Consumers Union’s executive director. She believed that it was essential for her nonprofit organization to be sensitive to environmental considerations in its purchasing and publishing activities.

With a circulation of over five million, Consumer Reports is the eighth largest magazine in the United States. Initially, the magazine’s typical publication run was too large to be accommodated by suppliers of recycled paper. However, Karpatkin and others persisted in their efforts. They identified opportunities for producing many of Consumers Union’s other publications with recycled paper, including the Guide to Income Tax Preparation. Over time, the magazine’s suppliers were able to provide CR with paper that had varying degrees of recycled content for some of its issues at a nominally higher cost.

To compensate for the higher price, CR established a price preference fund that was partly fed by the savings from their in-house recycling program. Karpatkin and her staff also recognized that supporting the recycling industry’s efforts in developing consistent materials would help it catch up to the magazine’s needs. The recycled content of Consumer Reports continues to increase: half of the press run for Consumer Reports is now printed on recycled-content paper. In addition, more than half the books published by Consumers Union are currently printed on recycled paper. During the next several years, Consumers Union expects its suppliers to develop both a consistent feedstock and competitive prices.

To stave off potential legislation that would mandate recycled content in newsprint, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association (PNPA) proposed a voluntary program that would increase its use of recycled-content newsprint to 50% by the year In , PNPA found that recycled newsprint was at 8%. In , the association estimates a level of 35%. PNPA is confident that the efforts of their member papers can raise that level to 50% before the deadline. The only thing standing in PNPA’s way is the availability of recycled newsprint—not the supply of old newspapers themselves but the blank sheets of newsprint produced by mills.

Ironically enough, while plenty of people dutifully bundle newspapers for recycling programs, a number of local recycling programs have stopped collecting them. While temporary, the glut in unprocessed newspapers highlights the problems caused by the time lag between collection and processing. Once again, it’s not enough to stimulate supply or demand for a recycled commodity. In efficiently generating a supply of unprocessed newspaper, government programs have made a new resource available to industry. Manufacturers, in turn, are now scrambling to catch up by upgrading processes and creating new uses for recycled newspapers. By the year , every U.S. newspaper will contain at least some recycled content.

A similar desire to outrun legislation moved Bell Atlantic Directory Services to research the use of recycled-content paper for its phone books. After extensive review of its options, the public utility learned that its only source of stock paper was a mill in Europe. At considerable investment to the company, the paper has been imported to the United States for use in publishing Bell Atlantic’s phone books. The company has persisted in asking U.S. paper companies for directory stock paper at competitive prices. And in the next several years, a plant will probably be built in North America that can provide Bell Atlantic with all the paper it needs.

Investing in Green R&D: Strategic Alliances

Ten years ago, small U.S. companies and entrepreneurs were the ones investing in new manufacturing processes because they had the most to gain from entering niches for recycled products. However, as recently as the late s, most large companies were still investing in plant upgrades for handling virgin natural resources. In order to produce recycled products of equivalent quality and price, then, industry must now invest heavily in new technologies. Socially responsible mission statements aside, R&D investment on this scale will occur for only two reasons: anticipated profits and the threat of competition.

In fact, a number of products have been made with recycled stock for decades, including steel and aluminum cans, soap, and low-cost toilet tissue. For the past 70 years, companies like Fort Howard, Wisconsin Tissue Mills, and Marcal have used wastepaper from mills and printers as the primary source of their manufacturing processes. By doing so, they tapped a cheap resource that allowed them to create tissue products for the low end of the market. At the same time, they didn’t advertise the recycled-fiber content of their products because past consumers saw this as an indication of poor quality more than anything else. But with today’s consumer demand for recycled-paper products, these companies have repackaged a number of their lines to present a greener face. And with the increasing supply of postconsumer wastepaper, especially from office recycling programs, all three have upgraded plants to handle this new feedstock. Now they’re increasing market share by positioning themselves as companies that offer environmentally responsible products.

Or consider Rubbermaid, which has pioneered the use of postconsumer plastic in both blow-molding and injection-molding technologies, forcing smaller competitors like Zarn and Toter to follow suit. At present, the increased competition and the depressed market for postconsumer HDPE has chipped away at Rubbermaid’s market share, particularly in trash cans and curbside recycling containers. But the company has responded by developing what they call a hands-on, closed-loop approach to feedstock acquisition, allowing better quality management of the recyclables they’re using in the manufacturing process.

Because of Rubbermaid’s closed-loop program, for example, it is now a leader in the recovery and reuse of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) stretch wrap. Using a small plastics-processing company to clean up the postconsumer LDPE, Rubbermaid buys stretch film from distribution centers for companies like Giant Foods. It ships them for processing and then buys converted pellets from the processor to use in the production of new products (such as recycling containers or trash cans) for resale to the same consumers. In order to close this loop effectively—and profitably—Rubbermaid works with both the processor and Giant Foods to ensure that the plastics they recover for reuse are of the highest quality and virtually free from contamination. Quality management is key, since it allows Rubbermaid to produce products in a number of attractive colors rather than the usual black or gray containers made of recycled plastics.

Investing in green R&D creates many opportunities for closing the recycling loop, from new manufacturing processes for a single product to a collection-and-processing loop like Rubbermaid’s. Although a number of large companies have started investing in new processes because of competitive pressures, they’ve also developed strategic alliances with public institutions, local government, or other companies to help split the initial high costs of R&D. In the case of International Paper, its Hammermill division licensed the technology for producing Unity DP from the German company Steinbeis Temming Papier. For more than a decade, Steinbeis has been producing Hammermill’s Unity DP for the German market. Steinbeis will continue to manufacture the paper for sale in the United States until production at Hammermill’s new Pennsylvania plant is underway.

Of course, while Hammermill currently plans to price Unity DP competitively in the United States, it had other economic reasons for licensing the technology in Since the licensing agreement with Steinbeis is exclusive, it gives International Paper a niche in the growing market for environmentally responsible products. In addition, like most old-line industrial giants, International Paper has had its share of environmental disasters. Switching to more environmentally responsible processes will in and of itself help the company retain customers. Not to mention the fact that the wood-pulp processing required to make virgin stock paper creates hazardous wastes that have become increasingly costly to clean up.

Coca-Cola’s partnership with Hoechst Celanese exemplifies another strategic R&D alliance, in this case with a regular supplier. In addition to glass and aluminum recycling, Coca-Cola has invested in developing a 2-liter soda bottle made with 25% recycled postconsumer plastic. Coca-Cola is committed to producing a range of environmentally responsible products; in particular, top managers wanted to address the public’s negative attitude toward recycled plastics and the overall recyclability of plastics. Hoechst Celanese developed the new technology for Coca-Cola in order to remain the soft-drink giant’s main supplier of plastic bottles. In exchange, Coca-Cola underwrote much of the R&D costs and allowed Hoechst to keep the rights to the technology.

This new type of container has been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration for use in direct contact with beverages. The container’s innovative packaging design closes the recycling loop, since the same plastics used in making the bottles can potentially be cycled back into Coca-Cola’s manufacturing process and reused to make the same product. In order to gain approval for this new packaging technology, Coca-Cola had to convince the FDA that the company could handle any possibility of contamination or resulting health problems. As a result of this pioneering work by Coca-Cola and the FDA, some of the outdated government regulations for hygienic quality in the packaging of recyclables have been changed. Now other food and beverage containers made from postconsumer plastic—including jars and bottles for salad dressings, peanut butter, and ketchup—are either on the market or in development.

Bell Atlantic’s approach to combining government and business interests presents an interesting twist on R&D costs. As a public utility, the phone company is subject to more government regulation than private companies, and, consequently, Bell has developed new manufacturing processes. Bell hasn’t only invested in using recycled paper for its telephone directories, it has also extended resources into making the phone directories themselves recyclable. Among other things, Bell has eliminated the use of hot-melt binding glues that would literally gum up paper-pulp recycling operations. In addition, the company has done away with glossy paper covers.

However, Bell Atlantic and other utilities can also raise consumer rates to cover additional R&D expenses. This public-private balance of costs is delicate; but it can spur the larger changes a complicated economic issue like recycling requires. Bell has also invested heavily in establishing working phone-book recycling partnerships with local public-sector recycling programs in its service territory. Local recycling coordinators are responsible for setting up the collection and public-education component of the program, while Bell pays for transportation to markets and guarantees that recycled phone books will not be landfilled.

One of the best examples of a government-business partnership driven by leading-edge ingenuity can be found in Recycled Plastics Marketing of Seattle. RPM, a small but keenly entrepreneurial company, has entered into an agreement with the City of Seattle to produce a backyard composter for use in Seattle’s intensive waste-reduction program. RPM’s composter is made of % recycled plastic. The program’s inventiveness stems from the fact that the Seattle Composter is made of the HDPE milk jugs recovered in the city’s recycling program. RPM receives a predictable flow of materials for its product, and the city guarantees payment on a large number of composters. The composters, in turn, are given to the city’s residents for free; but their use reduces the quantity of trash that must be picked up at the curb, substantially cutting down on the city’s waste-management costs. Cooperative partnerships like this demonstrate the potentially positive effects of recycling on local economic development—as well as how business and government can negotiate mutually beneficial deals.

Closing the Loop: The Business Case for Recycling

Some companies, of course, contribute to the public interest simply because they believe in the importance of doing so. For example, Conservatree Paper Company, a San Francisco-based recycled paper distributor, recently began a pilot project in 20 California school districts for the Inner-City School Donation Program. Under this program, Conservatree helps schools that have funding problems by donating paper supplies worth 1% of the company’s total sales. Schools receive sorely needed supplies and recycled paper. From an educational standpoint, children get a chance to see the full recycling loop—from curbside collection to buying recycled products to recollection—in action.

But coordinating business-government programs to this extent is no easy task, whether a participating company is driven by public or private interest. Even in the case of the Seattle Composter, RPM and the city went back and forth with bids and counter-bids for six months before the program was implemented. In many respects, the partnerships that do exist now, such as the Buy Recycled Business Alliance, are a public-private experiment in social change. Given that consumers currently receive mixed messages from industry, environmental groups, and their own local recycling programs—and given that recycling professionals still argue about everything from the value of bottle bills to whether or not there’s a landfill crisis—how government and business achieve their respective recycling goals will doubtless shift and adapt over time.

In addition, business strategists and policymakers can’t rely on hard data to model the benefits of recycling based on classic economic theory. Assuming that issues of feedstock supply, labeling standards, and pricing are adequately dealt with, whether full-scale demand for recycled products will actually create enough stability in the marketplace to assure the long-term economic viability of recycling infrastructure remains an open question. The Environmental Protection Agency’s goal for the United States is to divert 40% of waste by the year That means individual consumers and companies would need to buy back approximately million tons of recycled products per year. At present, million tons of postconsumer material are purchased in the United States (about 50% by business) and turned back into recycled products.

Yet the simple economics of supply and demand can’t fully capture the value of building demand for recyclables. When compared with their virgin counterparts, recycled products provide a number of intangible but increasingly crucial business benefits. From a marketing perspective, use of recycled office products or investment by industry in new technologies that use recycled feedstocks will help win new customers and retain old ones. In addition, reassessing procurement policies to determine if there are subtle prejudices against recycled products calls into question more general quality standards and buying practices that may cost more than management had assumed. Investment in recycled products also means more competition and will inevitably force design innovations and new technologies that can further lower production costs.

Needless to say, recycled products tend to be less energy intensive and often have a lower impact on the environment than their virgin counterparts. Although it’s exceedingly difficult to calculate the relative levels of environmental and energy impact, it is conceivable that in the near future, U.S. companies and government agencies alike will list their investment in these products in an official green “report card.” This report card (somewhat akin to the social balance sheets many German companies produce voluntarily) will detail the energy a company has saved and the pollution it has reduced through buying recycled products and developing new manufacturing technologies.

Even when it comes to policing industry claims for recycled content, business has the most to gain by helping to coordinate, rather than hindering, the efforts of the EPA, environmental groups, the Federal Trade Commission, and private companies. The Recycling Advisory Council to the EPA is making tremendous strides in working out suitable and acceptable standards for all parties. But since its technical capacity and understanding of recycled products increases yearly, industry is best equipped to lead the others. Witness Coca-Cola’s efforts to change FDA regulations and testing procedures.

On a grander scale, consider the potential of recycling for revitalizing U.S. industry. With some of the cheapest power costs anywhere in the United States, the Pacific Northwest is a prime area for the paper industry to invest in plant retrofits that can use recycled feedstock instead of virgin wood pulp. In fact, a number of companies like Smurfit, International Paper, Georgia Pacific, and Weyer-haeuser have already done so.³ Loggers can then be retrained to operate recycling vehicles, “mill” plastic lumber, operate paper balers, or work in deinking plants. Emphasizing the recycling industry just might be one answer to an ailing local economy, provided corporate managers and government policymakers are willing to work as partners rather than the usual adversaries.

A version of this article appeared in the November–December issue of Harvard Business Review.

Most councils come to the roadside to recycle our rubbish but did you know that you can actually make money recycling some of your old stuff?

I think pretty much everyone recycles something nowadays.

Most local authorities come to the roadside to collect paper, cardboard, tins, glass and garden waste.

Their aim is to reduce the amount of litter we send to the dump and, ultimately, saving the planet, one sheet of paper at a time!!

But have you ever thought about how you can make money recycling your old stuff?

Well, you can!

How to make money recycling cans

Although your council may pick up your cans at the roadside, you could keep hold of your aluminium cans and recycle them yourself for cash!

A lot of charities and schools do it, but there is no reason you couldn&#;t do it yourself.

They pay out between 45p &#; 60p for each kilo of cans (a kilo is usually 65 cans), so it may take a while to hit the big bucks!

There are about Cash for Cans centres around the UK so it could be an option for you to recycle bottles and cans.

Ways to make money recycling plastic bottles

There are a number of supermarkets that will pay you (either cash or store credit) to recycle your used plastic bottles.

Have a lookout for Reverse Vending Machines in shops like Iceland, Sainsbury&#;s or Tesco.

With Tesco, you get paid 10p per bottle to use as store credit.

Sainsbury&#;s gives you 5p per bottle (up to £25 per month) for bottles and cans.

Iceland will pay you 10p voucher per bottle returned.

Make money recycling clothes

When looking through your wardrobe you notice that the pair of leather trousers you wore in the 80s are never going to be in fashion again&#;www.oldyorkcellars.com may be time for a clear out!

If you&#;ve got no more room for clothes, or maybe the kids have grown out of theirs, there are companies who will buy your old clothes, shoes and linen.

You can drop them off (a lot of companies will come to your house to pick them up too) and you could be earning 50p kilo!

If you want to just send your clothes away, Music Magpie will buy your clothes now too.

Make money recycling ink cartridges

You could earn up to £1 for empty ink cartridges you sell on.

Instead of putting ink cartridges in the free recycle bins in supermarkets, hold onto them and send them off for cash.

Have a look at the following places where you could earn some money with ink cartridges:

Make money recycling compost

Recycle your food waste and turn it into compost.

Not only will you free up rubbish going to the dump but you won&#;t need to buy expensive fertiliser again!

While you are saving yourself money, why not see if you could sell some to your friend and neighbours too?!

How to make money recycling hair

After you&#;ve got your hair cut, consider selling your strands on.

You&#;ll need to have a good length to sell but you could make a little bit of cash.

The hair will be recycled to make wigs.

As an indication of costs Hair Harvest says on their site that you could make:

• £15 – £60 for inches
• £30 – £80 for inches
• £50 – £ for inches
• £60 – £ for 19 inches and above

Make money recycle mobile phones

When you upgrade does your old phone just sit in the bottom of a drawer?

What a waste!

As part of an upgrade, some companies allow you to cash in the phone as a deposit, making your new contract cheaper.

If you didn&#;t get the chance to do that, and you&#;ve finished with it, you could easily sell it on by putting it on eBay or selling it on as refurbished.

It&#;s better to do it while it&#;s newer as you&#;ll be likely to make more money.

Have a look at Cex or Envirofone if you&#;re looking to sell your phone.

Make money recycle wine corks

If you like a glass of vino or two, don&#;t throw away the corks but sell them on instead.

They are a prime wedding must have as brides seem to love having them as placeholders on tables.

Online marketplace eBay is awash with bulk buys of these little things so why not sell your own, instead of putting them in the bin.

What else have you recycled as other ways to make money?

Have you tried selling scrap metal, cardboard boxes, gift cards, other electronics, oil, batteries or anything else?

It&#;s certainly a way to make a few pounds and some extra cash.

Ricky Willis is the original Skint Dad. A money-making enthusiast, father, and husband to Naomi. He is always looking for unique ways to earn a little extra.

Latest posts by Ricky Willis (see all)

Waste diversion is a noble cause and it’s the SMART thing to do. Not only for the environment, but also for your finances. At CleanRiver recycling solutions, we have been helping commercial businesses and homeowners save money for over 30 years with our recycling programs. 

But what if we told you that it’s possible to make money on some of the waste you throw in your outdoor recycling bins? The good news is you can recycle for money! Even commercial recycling bins and commercial trash cans could be filled with valuable materials. Turn trash into cash and bring a whole new meaning to the phrase “green recycling”!

From Green Recycling to Green Cash

Before we reveal what recyclable materials earn the most cash, it’s a good idea to understand that not all materials in the categories below will be recyclable. Certain facilities don’t accept certain things. Essentially, recycling solutions work, but only if you work for them.

Most of the time it’s hard to determine what to recycle and what not to recycle so figuring out what can be recycled for money and what goes in the garbage isn’t always clear. Luckily we have plenty of commercial recycling, green recycling, and office recycling blogs to help you. Click on the phrases underlined in green for links to more information on each category in the material descriptions below.

Now let’s start using trash for cash!

1. Aluminum Cans

This is the classic example of cash for trash that’s been around for years. Aluminum takes more energy to mine and produce than any other metal so it is worth paying for these cans. Recycling aluminum not only prevents more resources from being extracted from the Earth but it also saves energy as well!

When collecting aluminum cans for profit, crushing them saves a lot of space for storing even more cans. A common way to store these cans is in a commercial trash can, or a plastic bag. Then you just have to bring them to your local recycling or scrap metal center to get paid.

Depending on your local recycling facility, if you are tossing individual cans into your outdoor recycling bins it’s not advised to crush them as they can get caught in the sorting machine and slow things down.

2. Plastic and Glass Bottles

Cash it! Don’t trash it. Many governments have implemented deposit return recycling programs that attach cash values to bottles based on the material they’re made of. Returning glass and plastic bottles to recycling facilities and stores where they offer bottle return can net you a decent amount of coin.

3. Ink Cartridges

Green recycling solutions for when you can’t print the colour green anymore! Why recycle ink cartridges? A number of office supply stores such as Staples will offer $2 back per cartridge. That means your office recycling program can start saving on printer costs!

4. Cardboard

Cardboard boxes are a necessity for moving items from place to place. But they’re also very valuable and can get you around $45 per ton. We recognize that this may be more viable for commercial recycling or office recycling rather than at home. Hard to fit a literal ton of cardboard in your outdoor recycling bins! However, that doesn’t mean you can’t shop around for cardboard. Local businesses and people on sites like craigslist might be happy to give their cardboard away for free. Once you’ve collected enough simply stack it and tie it together for easy transportation to a nearby cardboard recycling facility.

5. Electronic Waste

Can electronic waste be recycled? It depends on what you’re recycling and where you’re bringing it to. Collection sites like waste depots and recycling centres, as well as special collection events (like those arranged on Earth Day) and stores involved with e-waste recycling can all recycle electronics for cash. The problem is it’s not always clear if electronic waste is valuable because it contains materials that may or may not be worth money. Valuable materials found in e-waste include the following:

• Copper
• Gold
• Silver
• Platinum
• Palladium
• Iron
• Aluminum
• Plastics

We recommend doing some research before trying to profit off your e-waste. Don’t forget electronic waste also includes batteries. If you’ve recently replaced the battery in your car you could get up to $10 for your used car batteries depending on the location. Some auto part stores have incentives for these particular batteries. Regardless of whether or not you are able to recycle your electronics for cash, it is still important to make sure your e-waste doesn’t end up in a landfill.

“E-waste is a very big problem because the amount is growing at a very rapid pace each year, and the level of recycling is just not keeping up pace,” -Kees Baldé

6. Scrap Metal

The final and most profitable material on our “best items to recycle for money” list is scrap metal. You may already be aware of this if you’ve ever visited a scrap yard for cars or other types of scrap facilities. Commercial recycling is lucrative in the metal business, so if you’ve got a broken down car lying around you can still get some money for it.

Just be aware, recycling solutions for certain metals are not viable.Click here for more information about money for scrap metal recycling and why you should recycle scrap metal. Don’t let your scrap rust! Take a look at how much money scrap yards off for certain metals:

• Over $2 per pound of copper
• cents per pound of aluminum
• $ per pound of yellow brass
• cents per pound of die-cast metal
• Etc.

Recycling Solutions for Your Wallet

After reading our list, you’ve probably noticed that there are many more materials you can recycle for money like paper, cooking oils, clothes, motor oil, etc. Even reselling or repurposing old items like toys and pottery can be considered recycling for money. This particular list was chosen with the idea that these materials are the easiest and most readily-available items to recycle.

______________________________________________________________

Looking for more green recycling tips? Check out these other blogs: 

CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible and customizable recycling solutions. Start saving money today with our green recycling programs.

If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at or email solutions@www.oldyorkcellars.com

Did you know that a recycled bin can save enough energy to power a television for three hours? Or that thrifting for a shirt instead of buying a new one can save over gallons of water?

Yes! Your plastic bottles, old books, car batteries, old phones, and many other things can make money for you that you can spend, invest, or save.

This might not be a constant way to make money, but the money can be of great help whenever it comes.

Interested to see what you can recycle to make money? Great &#; let&#;s get to it!

At the most basic level, recycling reduces the total amount of waste in our environment. Although a % recycled product cannot generally make a product (a certain amount of new material must be added).

However, you can make great money from recycling and it is easy to achieve since you already have what you need to begin.

Here are 15 surprising ways you can make extra money from recycling your old stuff.

15 Ways to Make Money from Recycling in

The different ways to make extra money are all around you, and it&#;s our duty to help you spot them. Earning money doesn&#;t have to be limited to traditional sources, it can go the extra mile.

Recycling things you no longer need or use is a great way to earn extra cash.

Recycling is cost effective and you can even make money from it.

#1. Recycle Your Old Car Batteries

Car batteries becomes useless once they start to break down.

Fortunately, you can turn them into cash at your next auto parts stores like Advance Auto or AutoZone.

You can get paid up to $10 per battery. Not bad for something that would have been left lying around in your garage, right?

#2. Recycling Old Book

Your used textbooks, dictionaries, novel and other books at your library busy gathering dust can be of great help to another.

If you have a pile of books that won&#;t be used by you again, you can auction them and get paid.

DeCluttr is a great site to sell books. They buy used books, technology, games, and other things. All you have to do is type in the barcode of the book you want to sell and you will get an instant price.

You will then pack the items in a box and ship them using a free shipping label that DeCluttr sends you.

Amazon Trade-In is also great for quickly selling textbooks you no longer need. Enter the book&#;s ISBN to see how many you can get.

#3. Make Money Selling Scrap Metal

Metal is one of the most popular materials in recycling. Steel is toping the chart because it can be recycled over and over again without compromising performance.

So if you have non-ferrous metals that you don&#;t use such as copper, brass, aluminum, bronze, or stainless steel, you can make good money from it.

So if you&#;re looking to clean up your yard, protect the environment, and earn money, recycling scrap is the right thing to do.

#4. Sell Your Glass Bottles

Do you want an easy way to do it and earn money? Then sell your used glass bottles.

Many states will pay you for the return of your used bottles and cans.

While we don&#;t suggest that you go picking up bottles and cans from your neighbour&#;s garden, you can remove any bottles and cans that litters around your household.

#5. Recycle Your Ink Cartridges

If you have a bunch of ink cartridges in your drawer, you can make a lot of money by selling or recycling them.

You can sell your ink cartridges on sites like Craigslist or eBay. Selling stuff online is so easy because you can create a location specific post and sell it to people in your area.

Each empty ink cartridge you turn in could generate $2 in store credit.

#6. Sell Wine Corks on eBay

If you&#;re a wine fan, you can turn your pile of wine corks accumulated over the years into cash.

eBay is a great place to start selling off your wine www.oldyorkcellars.com can sell them in a bunch, say 10, 20 &#; or a lot more.

While recycling corks won&#;t make you a millionaire, it will definitely pay for another bottle of wine (or two).

#7. Sell Your Electronics

Your old electronics can give you extra cash to your pocket. For instance, if have few old phones lying around, you can sell them off as a scrap and make cool cash from it.

Many companies are offering money for technology. Take Decluttr, for example. It is a platform that allows you to sell your old phone, tablet, watch or even buy used phones.

All you need to do is recycle those phones and earn cash that you can use for a new device.

#8. Recycle Your Used Cardboard Boxes

Used cardboard can serve as another source of additional income.

If you make your orders from Amazon, you probably ill have a lot of cardboard boxes. Instead of piling them up for children to play with and litter the place, you can sell them off or recycle them.

What you may not know is that there are places where you will pay for your used cardboard.

For example, BoxCycle allows you to list your cardboard boxes online and then locate buyers willing to stop by and pick up your box and refund you, with the money held by BoxCycle and then returned via PayPal upon pickup.

#9. Recycle Your Disposable Working Fridges and A/Cs

Your old refrigerator in your house can&#;t be totally inefficient. You can actually recycle them and make money out of it.

For instance, &#;I recall moving to a new house and I found an old refrigerator in the house for the previous occupant. I was ready to move it out, not until I found out that the local utility around us can pay to take it.

I practically made a $50 gift card from the recycling program.&#;

These recycling programs also accept working air conditioners, when you recycle a refrigerator, and pay $25 for them. However, not all utility companies offer this, so check yours first.

# Sell Your Used Cooking Oil

Biodiesel is a huge industry, and they need used cooking oil.

# Make Money Recycling Your Junk Mail

Cooking oil is not the only thing you can recycle. Junk mail is another thing that can generate additional income.

An average American receives up to 30 junk mail year.

This can be an unwanted thing for you but what you call unwanted for you can be a gold to marketing researchers studying direct mail advertising.

For example, the Small Business Knowledge Center will pay you to send them your spam and email offers for products and services like credit cards, insurance, telecommunications, and clothing.

# Recycle Your Receipts

Market researchers are also interested in receipts for items you buy from the store.

For example, some market research services are willing to refund your receipts.

All you need to do is to Take a photo of your purchase receipt to qualify for cash. Once your account reaches $20, you can request a check by mail. You can also earn money by referring friends who use offers.

# Recycle Your Aluminium

Aluminum recycling is one of the most popular forms of recycling. In fact, aluminum is one of the easiest materials to recycle, as well as one of the most valuable.

The energy saved by recycling aluminum can be enough to be able to listen to an entire album on an iPod.

Americans receive $ million a year from recycling aluminum. Surprisingly, that&#;s only 67% of all aluminum cans &#; another billion dollars are thrown away.

If you don&#;t currently recycle all of your aluminum, returning it is the easiest way to recycle money.

# Join RecycleBank

RecycleBank is a program that will give you points for making (and keeping) various commitments, like joining a community garden.

You earn points for all of these activities, and these can be redeemed for local deals. For example, you can convert 50 points into a coupon for $1 off of $5.

# TerraCycle Programs

TerraCycle is an organization that works with businesses and other benefactors to create recycling programs for hard-to-recycle items.

These are things your local recycling facility isn&#;t equipped to handle, like single-serve baby food bags, chip bags, and plastic toothpaste tubes.

The best thing about this program is that you can recycle hard-to-recycle items and you can earn points for a non-profit organization or a school.

The point system gives you 2 points for shipments over 7 pounds and every 1, points can be redeemed for $

How To Recycle Your Used Stuff

Not all items can be recycled, but there are ways to reduce single-use waste, recyclable or not. Here are a few of them:

#1. Thrifting

Textile factories are among the biggest polluters on the planet, and the average person uses more than 80 pounds of clothing and fabrics a year.

Thrifting can help offset this waste and save you money at the same time.

#2. Donate them

When cleaning your cabinets, don&#;t throw away that board game, those too-small shoes, or that stack of DVDs.

Instead, set up a donation box for items that can go to local goodwill: clothing, kitchen items, bedding, and even some types of furniture and electronics.

Plus, 90% of the proceeds from your donations will go to nonprofit services in the community &#; it&#;s a win-win solution.

#3. Adopt Compost Method

From potato peels and apple pits to coffee grounds, eggshells, and even pizza boxes, a surprising amount of waste can be composted.

If you can install a compost bin or have a community program nearby, try composting. It could cut household waste in half while helping to cut carbon dioxide emissions from landfills.

#4. Upcycling

You can extend the life of an item by finding unconventional ways to reuse it. Use this empty glass candle jar to store rubber bands or cotton swabs.

Transform this worn t-shirt into a dusting cloth, cat toy, or woven rug. Breathe new life into that old patio chair with a coat of spray paint.

If you have children, encourage them to take an active role in recycling and repairing household items.

What You Need to Know About Recycling Companies

Waste recycling is a great opportunity for companies dealing with waste management. To make money from this, you need to know a thing or two about the entire process.

First, you need to determine the correct location for your business &#; it needs to be built somewhere around a good stash of junk because you want your business to keep running for a long time.

Second, it is always good to partner with local garbage collectors.

Third, find out what licenses you need and the specific legislation. These licenses are: a license or an operating permit; inspection and compliance with safety regulations; environmental license.

Fourth, find out about the solid waste management plan of the municipality or region where you are about to start your business.

Making money recycling waste is one of the most debated topics among waste treatment companies. It is a resource that accompanies us from the beginning of human activity. You can recycle it or use it to generate energy. Either way, you can turn those tons of junk into treasure.

Recommendation

Reduce, reuse, recycle&#; get paid?

Yep.

We recycle a lot in our home. We recycle because it's a good thing to do but it also reduces the number of trash bags. Trash smells so the fewer the better!

But did you know the stuff you're leaving in your blue bin could be worth cash?

(we don't count states where you have to pay a deposit on bottles and cans, this isn't a post about how to collect bottles and cans!)

Here are 9 surprising ways to make money from your recycling:

1. Used Cardboard Crypto invest today get packages all the time from Amazon (thank Amazon Prime!) and that means a ton of cardboard boxes.

Most of the time, we give it to our kids to build on their &#;box town.&#; When they start falling apart, we send them to recycling.

If you have a lot of cardboard boxes, you can list them on BoxCycle and sell them to people who live near you. People are always moving and need moving boxes and BoxCycle makes it easy to sell your boxes as long as they're in good condition. Reusing (by re-selling) trumps recycling!

2. Sell Your Used Cooking Oil

This one is a little (a lot?) messier but biodiesel is a huge industry and they need used cooking oil. Whether it's individuals buying off Craigslist or biodiesel firms leaving you a big can, you recycling ideas to make money get up to 75 cents a gallon when a barrel of oil is $ when done so in massive quantities.

There are companies that buy from restaurants and the food services industry, but you could presumably save up a bunch of yellow grease and sell it the same way on a on-off basis. Find a local buyer and negotiate directly with them.

3. Join RecycleBank

RecycleBank is a program that'll give you points for making (and keeping) different pledges like join a community garden. You earn points for all of these activities and those can be redeemed for local deals. For example, you can turn 50 points into a $1 off $5 coupon at Rita's Ices.

4. Ink Cartridges

There are a lot of companies that buy spent ink cartridges. They refill and resell them. Hit up Google and you'll be surprised how many there are.

You can always get $2 for each in credit from Staples, up to 20 a month, as long as you spend $30 spend on ink or toner over the previous days.

Office Depot and Office Max offer a similar program where you get $2 per cartridge in rewards. They have a 10 limit and require you to spend $10 in that month &#; but it doesn't have to be on ink or toner.

5. Automobile Batteries

In most states, you pay a deposit (often called a battery core fee or core charge) of ~$10 (the amount varies by state). Advance Auto Parts will give you a $10 gift card for an automobile or light truck battery at any one of their locations.

Details about their program and how to find a location.

6. Sell Scrap Metal

All metal has value. But recycling ideas to make money yards won't buy the less valuable metals.

In general, ferrous metals are less valuable than non-ferrous metals. A ferrous metal contains iron, so magnets will stick to it and that's an easy way to tell.

Of the non-ferrous recycling ideas to make money, copper and brass are the two most valuable scrap metals, recycling ideas to make money. Here's a sample pricing list of what one scrap metal recycler will pay for metal. As you can see, copper is the most valuable.

Find a scrap metal yard near you, find out how much they'll pay for scrap metal, and bring your stuff over.

7. TerraCycle Programs

TerraCycle is an organization that works with companies and other benefactors to create recycling programs for hard to recycle items. These are things your local recycling plant isn't equipped to handle, like single-serve baby food pouches, potato chip bags, and plastic toothpaste tubes.

What's great about this program is that you can recycle hard to recycle items and you can earn points for a non-profit or school. The points system awards you 2 points for shipments over 7 pounds (the weight increased from 5 lb. recycling ideas to make money 7lb. starting in ). Each 1, points can be redeemed for $

The main motivation is recycling, since the points system is so low, but the rewards can be nice icing on the cake.

Learn more about TerraCycle

8. Check Your Utility for Disposing Working Fridges, A/Cs

When we moved into our home, the previous owner left a working refrigerator recycling ideas to make money the garage. We were tempted to keep it until we realized it was made around 20 years ago and incredibly inefficient.

Rather than pay someone to haul it away, I discovered our local utility would pay us to take it! As part of their recycling program, they gave us a $50 gift card for every working full-size refrigerator they took and recycled. $50 to haul away a device I was going to have to pay someone to take &#; sign me up!

They also take working air conditioners, when you are recycling a fridge, and pay $25 for those. Not all utilities offer this so check with yours first.

9. Sell Wine Corks, Toilet Paper Rolls on eBay

There are a ton of folks who buy craft materials on eBay and wine corks make great craft supplies!

That and toilet paper rolls.

It's just two of the weird things you can sell on eBay.

Recycle, reduce, reuse, and make that paper, booboo! We&#;ve searched everywhere to bring you the little-known tips and tricks for making cash recycling stuff that other people usually just toss in the bin. Plus, it helps that you&#;re doing the right thing!

So if you’re looking for how to make money by local recycling items like electronics, cans, glass, plastic bottles, used tires, and more, keep reading!

Recycling Metal &#; Glass for Money

The first thing that people think about when they think about recycling for money is usually aluminum cans and glass bottles. But there&#;s a lot more to be made from other glass and metal products, as well. So let&#;s get to it.

Turning in aluminum cans is one of the easiest ways to make money recycling. It&#;s definitely worth it to start collecting cans for money and making an extra trip to your local scrap metal recycler every once in a while, especially if you live in a state with a higher aluminum payout rate. But the question remains, how much money can you make recycling cans?

Since aluminum is one of the most valuable and easiest types of metal to recycle, it&#;s also one of the most popular materials to recycle. Because of this, there are many recycling programs around the country that you can use to start recycling cans for money.

On average, recycling ideas to make money, you can get paid a little over $ per pound of aluminum, with states like Michigan and California paying out close to $ per can. That&#;s $ a pound just for recycling a bunch of cans! It&#;s true, it&#;s easier than you think to make money recycling.

In the US, only about 67% of all aluminum cans are recycled every year, but that brings in a total of around $ million for those taking their cans to be recycled. If all aluminum cans were recycled, that would make an extra $1 billion to split.

Don&#;t haul your cans across state lines to get a better rate, recycling ideas to make money, though. This is considered smuggling in many places and you can be legally prosecuted for it.

Are you looking for side gigs to make money on your own schedule? Our Loaders use Uber-like app technology to earn an average of $55 – $ depending on the type of job, location and the number of items. Find out how you can make money as an independent contractor with LoadUp.

Just as there is money to be made in recycling aluminum cans, there&#;s also money to be made in recycling glass bottles as you can cash them in for money!

If you live in a state with a bottle bill, you can redeem your glass bottles for money in the recycling ideas to make money way that you can get paid to recycle aluminum cans. It&#;s usually about 5 to 10 cents a bottle, but you&#;ll have to check with your state for more details.

Currently, the following states have bottle bills and will pay you for recycling your glass bottles:

If you don&#;t live in a state that offers money for glass bottles, try lobbying them to enact a bottle bill!

Another material that&#;s easy to make a good bit of coin recycling is scrap metal. You&#;ve probably seen headlines or scenes in TV and movies about people stealing or dumpster diving for scrap metal. Because scrap metal is so profitable, this really isn&#;t uncommon.

Difference between ferrous and non ferrous metal

Non-ferrous metals are the most valuable when recycling metal for recycling ideas to make money. These metals are classified as non-ferrous, meaning that they do not contain iron. So, recycling ideas to make money, aside from aluminum, copper and brass are the most profitable and easiest to sell scrap recycling metals.

When collecting metal for scrap, recycling ideas to make money, you can tell whether something is ferrous or non-ferrous by checking it with a simple magnet.

If the magnet sticks, it&#;s a ferrous metal like iron or steel. While you won&#;t be able to make money off of it, it&#;s still important to have it recycled.

If the magnet doesn&#;t stick, it is most likely a valuable, non-ferrous metal like aluminum, copper, recycling ideas to make money, bronze, or brass.

You can do a quick Internet search for scrap yards and scrap metal dealers in your area then call around to compare payout rates, find out what they will accept, and what&#;s required for you to sell your scrap metal to them.

One way that market researchers gather valuable data is through receipts for what you buy at grocers and retailers. There are some market research groups that will pay you for sharing your receipts with them.

One way you can make money from your receipts is with the Checkout 51 app. This app rewards you with cash when you shop their weekly offers and upload a picture of your receipt to the app. Once your cashback balance reaches $20, you can cash out and they&#;ll mail you a check.

Another app that&#;s similar to Checkout 51 is Ibotta. Ibotta sends you cash back through PayPal or Venmo when you buy featured products at your favorite stores and apps and upload a picture of your receipt.

Another way to make money recycling paper is by recycling recycling ideas to make money used cardboard, including things like boxes and even toilet paper rolls. This is especially good for those of us who amass tons of cardboard boxes every year from your Amazon orders.

With the buildup of everyone&#;s shipping boxes and cardboard boxes used when moving, this makes a lot of the 43 million tons of paper that gets recycled in the U.S. each year.

That&#;s half of all materials recycled annually. It&#;s also a lot of cardboard and a lot of money being missed out on.

Websites like BoxCycle and Boxsmart allow you to sell your extra and lightly used cardboard boxes online, recycling ideas to make money. They accept just about any kind of box you can imagine. You can even recycle items like wood pallets, mailers, and packing supplies.

If you have empty ink cartridges rolling around spare office drawers, you can declutter and make money by trading them at office supply stores such as Staples and OfficeMax. Usually, you can get $2 per empty ink cartridge in-store credit, for a maximum of $20 a month.

You can also sell empty or half-empty ink cartridges on websites like eBay and Craigslist. While it may take a little more work, you can make the most out of it by selling in bulk to get up to $10 per cartridge. If you use a lot of ink each month, before you know it you can have the water bill covered by ink cartridges.

Plastic bottle recycling for money is a common choice among recyclers, but you also probably go straight to electronics and car batteries when you think of &#;plastic,&#; but you can make money off of these two things as well.

There are lots of companies out there that offer cash for old cell phones and other electronics. Eco-Cell is one of these companies and they accept working, old, and broken phones, tablets, adapters, chargers, and a variety of other electronics.

Because the goal of this company is to keep electronics out of landfills and safely dispose of the dangerous materials inside of them, Eco-Cell will accept just about any electronic device, even if it&#;s broken or was submerged in water and won&#;t work anymore.

Many mobile service providers, like T-Mobile and AT&#;T, offer trade-in value or gift cards when you give your old phone to them. You can also try Amazon Trade-In to earn rewards like gift cards.

Advance Auto Parts offers a store gift card to customers who bring in their unwanted or used car or light-duty truck batteries.

If there&#;s not an Advance store near you, call around to other auto parts stores in your area to see whether any of them will give you a similar deal.

Although their prices can be all over the place, some junkyards and scrap metal dealers also buy and sell used batteries, recycling ideas to make money, so be sure to check their payout rates as well.

For all the leftover stuff you didn&#;t have any luck selling, there&#;s LoadUp! We&#;ll pick up, haul away, and responsibly dispose of just about any kind of junk.

Just give LoadUp a call and have that old mattress, broken TV, unused exercise bike, or box full of VHS tapes and cords out of your way in no time.

When you&#;re ready to get recycling ideas to make money of that leftover junk, give us a call! Don&#;t like talking on the phone? No problem, recycling ideas to make money. You can get an upfront, guaranteed quote any time online by visiting our online booking system, entering your zip code and selecting the items you want us to remove from our easy-to-use drop-down menu.

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Despite the proliferation of curbside collection bins and public awareness campaigns, recycling programs around the United States aren’t working. Modern urban recycling, which began with the passage of New Jersey’s mandatory recycling law inhas successfully created a tremendous supply of recycled newspapers, glass bottles, office paper, and other materials. But when it comes to consumer and business demand for the products made from these how to calculate annual rate of return on investment in excel, the economics of recycling falls apart. According to the press and other pundits, “recycling is a victim of its own success.”

In fact, recycling is not just a matter of recovering recyclable material; it’s a total economic system. Few people realize that their local curbside collection program is only the beginning of a recycling loop. At present, the cost of collecting and processing recyclable materials far outweighs their value as a commodity that can be sold back to industry. Unless consumers buy recycled products, the markets for the material they put out at the curb or into their office white-paper bin will remain depressed.

However, precisely because of this market uncertainty, companies can turn building demand for recycled products into a competitive advantage. In the s, those companies that act quickly will exploit new product niches and manufacturing technologies. Farsighted players have already found profitable openings. There’s clearly consumer demand for green products, and Rubbermaid, Moore Business Recycling ideas to make money, and International Paper, to name but a few, recycling ideas to make money, have dramatically increased market share with appropriate offerings. These companies have also anticipated the tighter environmental regulations that are sure to come. Rather than simply fighting government and community groups, corporations can now form strategic alliances with public organizations and other business interests.

While public policymakers are still trying to assess what’s wrong with recycling programs, large corporations and small entrepreneurs alike are in the best position to take the lead. More important, it’s in their economic interest to do so. Certainly, U.S. corporations shouldn’t start running local collection programs or taking government’s place in implementing policies that encompass many communities or an entire state. But business leaders can challenge current recycling myths, including the supposed high price and low quality recycling ideas to make money products. Top managers of companies like American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and Coca-Cola have made buying recycled products and investing in green R&D part of their overall business strategies. They’ve cut down on waste, increased profit margins, and, in some cases, truly closed the recycling loop.

The success of recycling—indeed, recycling ideas to make money, its true value in the long term—won’t depend on how much landfill space is saved but on whether or not recycling makes economic sense. To build demand for recycled materials, government and business must not only reinvent themselves, they must also reinvent their relationship, especially when it comes to economic problems that neither can solve alone.

Building Demand: The Recycling Markets Problem

The most common reason given for the current economic crisis in recycling is the supply and demand problem. Media stories abound about recycling centers and waste haulers dumping loads of plastic bottles, newspapers, or phone books into landfills after recycling ideas to make money them for markets that don’t exist, recycling ideas to make money. The centers store them until they become unsightly mountains of “junk” and public health problems. True, this has occurred in some cases. But the real reason that recyclables often sit in recycling yards is that recyclers, like any good commodities brokers, “bet on the come.” Mountains of recyclable material remain in storage while recyclers wait for the price to rise to a level that allows them to cover the cost of collection, transportation, processing, packaging, and storage—and to make a reasonable profit (see the insert “The High Cost of Processing What’s Put Out at the Curb”)

It’s been an industrial buyer’s market over the last several years for all recyclable commodities. End users of recycled raw material, or feedstock, can choose whom they wish to do business with and can assure that the price of the material they require will stay down. In many cases, recycled guild wars 2 money making guide 2022 must also compete with virgin raw materials. During the past two years, for example, the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) industry has developed an overcapacity of virgin resins.¹ The market is so flooded with “clean” material that the price for recovered forms of this plastic from curbside recycling programs has plummeted.

Recycled commodities often end up competing against one another as well. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the paper industry. With intensive recycling taking place in most major urban centers around the United States, the huge swell of postconsumer paper (recovered from curbside and office recycling programs) available to manufacturers of corrugated cardboard, newsprint, recycling ideas to make money, and toilet tissue allows them to play one material off another. A Pennsylvania manufacturer recently discontinued use of recycled newspaper in its production process because it negotiated a better price for recovered phone books. Office paper can be used to make high-grade stationery, but it’s fast becoming one of the major feedstocks for lower grade paperboard and toilet tissue. That means recycling ideas to make money must now pay higher prices to get rid of the low-grade, recycling ideas to make money, mixed junk paper that used to be one of their mainstays.

In the global marketplace, competition for recovered material exports is also intense. Asian countries, long a predictable export market for U.S. recycled-paper brokers, are opting to use European paper sources where the material is typically less contaminated and cheaper to transport. U.S. paper exports from to dropped by million tons (%) for the first time in decades, and the market value of exports fell by %. As the European waste-management infrastructure becomes increasingly sophisticated, U.S. suppliers have fallen farther behind in

For example, Germany’s latest package-reduction ordinance requires that retailers take back all sales packaging from customers and add a cent deposit to most nonrefillable containers. German manufacturers and product suppliers now pay a licensing fee to place a green dot on products; the green dot guarantees that a product’s packaging will be recycled by the recycling industry. Since many German retailers now refuse to stock products without the dot, it’s likely that 80% of all retail packaging will be recycled or eliminated by

Of course, some companies in other European Community countries have called these German initiatives protectionist. Antitrust suits, which claim that the green-dot program and other German restrictions necessitate agreements between competing companies in order to handle packaging waste, recycling ideas to make money, are still pending. Nevertheless, without the stimulus of such sweeping environmental regulations, most U.S. manufacturers during the s didn’t invest in the new plant technologies that now make German and other European companies much more competitive when it comes to waste management.

But U.S. manufacturers haven’t always been so slow to invest. For decades, the steel and aluminum industries have successfully developed their respective technologies to incorporate large quantities of postconsumer recycled materials. Aluminum cans all contain a high percentage of recycled content, and virtually all products made with steel contain at least 25% reclaimed steel. The value of steel and aluminum to industry consistently guarantees that they are worthwhile components of curbside recycling programs. Recycling ideas to make money steel and aluminum containers compete against each other as food and beverage packaging, each is a comparably low-cost, functional item that’s embraced by consumers. In general, these two industries couldn’t survive without the heavy input of recycled material; and in this, they are models for the lagging paper and plastics industries.

Strong demand for recycled products ultimately requires that these products, as in the case of steel and aluminum, be cost competitive and of high quality. It also requires that they be available in large enough quantities to allow for economies of scale. By mandating recycling and setting extremely high recovery goals for both paper and plastics, government has challenged U.S. industry to develop the necessary infrastructure for incorporating these materials into manufacturing processes.² Yet for this challenge to be met, government and industry need to reach an understanding about the complexity of the problem that they are both attempting to tackle.

This understanding can only be established by developing a unified and coordinated approach. In Germany, recycling ideas to make money, the green-dot program funds the Duales System Deutschland (DSD), known as the “dual system” because it works in tandem with an existing system of government recycling programs. The DSD is essentially a national recycling company formed by Germany’s retailers and more than product suppliers and distributors. Given the complications of negotiating business initiatives in the EC, the German model isn’t strictly applicable to the United States; but it may offer U.S. companies lessons in the value of taking a proactive stance toward environmental issues and in the need to form public-private alliances.

Building demand for U.S. recyclables is a case in point. From a public-policy perspective, the recycling issues of collection and processing certainly require further technology and systems refinement. Over time, however, these costs are sure to come down. It’s in stimulating the recycling markets that current policy—and business practice—will make the most difference. In the past two years alone, a number of national and local organizations and government groups have initiated “Buy Recycled” campaigns that actively encourage government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and institutional organizations like hospitals to buy products made of recycled materials.

The Buy Recycled Business Alliance, for example, includes Bank of America, American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, Coca-Cola, and Anheuser-Busch on its steering committee of 33 companies (see the insert “Buy Recycled Business Alliance: Members”). In less than one year, the steering-committee members alone have accounted for $3 billion in purchases of recycled-content products and material. Approximately 10% of this investment has been for internal purchases (such as office supplies and packaging) and 90% for external materials (raw feedstock like recovered paper, bottles, cans, and products for sale to the general public). By the end ofthe business alliance hopes to sign 5, companies as members.

Plenty of U.S. companies, of course, have already jumped on the green bandwagon. They’ve entered the market so hastily that the recycling symbol manufacturers put on products (the “chasing arrows”) is now used indiscriminately. Sometimes the symbol means the product contains recycled materials; in other cases, it means the product itself is recyclable, recycling ideas to make money. As a result, today’s consumers are both wary and confused about competing green claims. Although it’s been easy enough for companies to take advantage of demand for high-quality green toilet tissue and paper towels (sold at relatively high prices), customers aren’t so eager to buy or aren’t even aware of the many other recycled products on the market.

It’s in exposing misperceptions about the quality and “environmental correctness” of certain products (especially those made from plastic) that companies have the largest role to play. For many managers, the changes start by instituting new corporate purchasing policies, recycling ideas to make money, not by creating yet another green product that confuses consumers. Top-level managers in the Buy Recycled Business Alliance certainly recognize the need to take a consistent stance toward environmentally responsible products and to provide customers with the right information. However, while they believe in being good corporate citizens, they also see the possibilities for gaining market share as well as a loyal customer base.

Managers of New Jersey-based Marcal Paper Mills, for instance, believe that they have developed a loyal following of customers because of a marketing strategy that focuses on community recycling programs rather than private-sector processing facilities. In more than 1, northeastern U.S. communities with office-paper collection programs, Marcal accepts wastepaper for use in its manufacturing process. In exchange, each community includes at least one retail outlet that stocks Marcal paper products. Based on Marcal’s experience, building demand for recycled products can be a powerful tool for building customer loyalty.

Buying Recycled Products: Three Myths

In promoting the purchase of recyclables, the recent efforts of private companies and public interest groups deliberately challenge several recycling myths, recycling ideas to make money. These myths linger because of the rocky history of recycled products and continue to stymie strong, recycling ideas to make money, positive growth for today’s recycled-product industries. The three most prevalent misconceptions are that recycled products cost more, recycling ideas to make money, are of inferior quality, and aren’t available in enough quantity even if you want to buy them, recycling ideas to make money. But the corporate examples detailed below illustrate how, contrary to myth, companies can gain a competitive leg up by investing in recycled product lines.

Myth 1: Recycled products cost too much.

The most common reason purchasing managers give for not buying recycled products is that they’re too expensive. However, most companies that are committed to the principles of recycling and waste reduction haven’t paid higher prices just to support the public interest. Rather, they’ve instituted new procurement policies that offer additional business benefits. The computer division of American Airlines, for instance, has saved over $, by converting to % recycled paper. Printing its annual report on recycled paper has saved American another $33, These savings were achieved by making the company’s needs known to vendors and demanding competitive prices.

The recycled paper that Moore Business Recycling ideas to make money buys to produce its products is no different in cost than nonrecycled paper. Like other big manufacturers, Moore—which with more than 30% of the market is the largest single producer of business forms in the world—has guaranteed its paper supplier that the company will buy a specific volume of paper on an annual basis. The difference between Moore and many of its competitors is that the company’s supplier makes recycled stock. This partnership allows both companies to make a profit on the use and production of recyclables. Indeed, the commitment of Moore’s president and chief operating officer, John Anderluh, to environmentally responsible products has allowed the company to expand its customer base. Moore’s ReGenesis paper has been its fastest growing product line since the company began offering it in The success of ReGenesis is due in part to Moore’s bonus system, which gives an additional 2% to 3% in sales commission to reps who sell recycled products.

In order to build such profitable partnerships, recycling ideas to make money, suppliers and distributors must be able to guarantee not only competitive prices but also volume of sales over time, recycling ideas to make money. Strategic partnerships that increase the length of contracts can often be used to negotiate lower prices on recycled materials. In most cases, suppliers are willing to guarantee competitive prices on recycled products for a short term, say two recycling ideas to make money, if they’re allowed to renegotiate the next two years of pricing. And some suppliers consider their recycled stock to be a loss leader: it can be worth offering at a low price, provided business customers also negotiate contracts for products with better profit margins, such as letterhead or fine writing paper.

Just five years ago, it was nearly impossible to find a printer who carried recycled paper, let alone one who could give a good price for printing on recycled paper. Purchasing managers often found that they had to buy an entire pallet load of paper; otherwise, they’d have to pay a premium for breaking a pallet load purchased by the printer. But numerous small and large companies that shop around today will find that printers can now provide letterhead, business cards, and envelopes on recycled paper at the same price as virgin stock paper. This change in pricing has been brought about partly by business customers that have forced printers to compete and partly by manufacturers that have offered better prices to their customers.

For example, by the end ofthe Hammermill Paper division of International Paper will be producing its line of % recycled copier-quality paper. This new product, called Unity DP, will have a lower brightness factor than standard bright white copier paper; but for most day-to-day office purposes, it’s more than adequate. Hammermill is building a $million deinking plant in central Pennsylvania that will use only old newspaper and glossy magazines to make pulp for Unity DP. The goal: to compete with prices and quality that are the equivalent of virgin stock paper.

In addition to paper, there are a number of other products that have become less costly than their virgin counterparts. For instance, Image Carpets makes both industrial and residential carpets out of 2-liter plastic soda bottles and sells them for less than most other carpets. And for companies with large vehicle fleets, buying recapped tires can create real savings. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Transportation saved more than $, in one transportation district by fitting the drive wheels of crew cabs and construction vehicles with recapped tires. In addition, with the cost of lumber rising dramatically over the past year—and with some help from growing economies of scale—Eberhard-Faber’s new EcoWriter pencil, made of recycled cardboard and newsprint, is now the same basic price as the equivalent wood pencil.

Myth 2: The quality of recycled products is bad.

Though once a serious concern, quality control is no longer an issue when considering recycled products. Office machinery experts now acknowledge that recycled-content paper performs better in modern copiers and laser printers because of improved conditioning of the paper fibers as well as better adjustment to humidity and temperature conditions, recycling ideas to make money. In addition, many people who use recycled paper report that the reduced glare is less taxing on their eyes. As Eleanor Lewis, director of Ralph Nader’s Government Purchasing Project, has recycling ideas to make money, “Paper does not have to be a light bulb that glows in the dark.”

However, recycling ideas to make money also involves aesthetic definitions of products, a factor difficult to quantify and impossible to keep constant. Aesthetic misperceptions still greatly influence purchasing decisions. Consider plastic lumber. True, it can cost up to four times as much as its wood counterpart, but it also doesn’t rot, splinter, or break, recycling ideas to make money. Plastic lumber picnic tables, benches, sheds, waste receptacles, retaining walls, and fences have all demonstrated immense savings over time due to low maintenance costs. Still, while plastic lumber represents a tremendous investment by the plastics industry and one of the best product applications for recycled plastics, the market has started to grow in only the last two years.

Although manufacturers have taken great recycling ideas to make money to make their product look like wood, plastic lumber is still not wood. Both individual consumers and company purchasing managers think of wood as the material of choice because they are accustomed to it. In addition, wood has traditionally been associated with recycling ideas to make money quality. And in a corporate setting, the buyer of wood products and materials is usually not the person responsible for maintenance and repair. Phoenix Recycled Plastics, a Pennsylvania-based company, finds that the specifications it receives from purchasers often break project cost proposals into two separate categories: lumber in one category and paint and labor in the other. Yet its plastic lumber, one of the company’s main product offerings, comes in a number of colors and doesn’t require painting. Most of Phoenix Recycled Plastics’s customers are clearly interested in recycled products; but they have trouble evaluating the available products because of their aesthetic preference for wood.

Indeed, plastic lumber has forced the issue of life-cycle cost considerations in purchasing. To a certain extent, recycling ideas to make money, it has forced managers to weigh their aesthetic principles against practicality. Overcoming these barriers takes time. In many cases, it also takes a management directive to place the principle of positive environmental ethics on equal footing with the aesthetics of wood or of office products made from other materials. Ted Reed, president of The Data Group, recycling ideas to make money, decided that his marketing research company should buy Hammermill’s Unity DP when he heard that it jammed less in copiers. But while employees like the idea of using a paper made with old newspapers and magazines, some won’t send reports to clients on off-white Unity DP. Reed plans to include a description of the paper’s contents on each sheet in order to turn a potential perception problem—“this company is unprofessional because it uses poor-quality paper”—into a marketing plus—“this company is environmentally responsible because it uses recycled paper.”

In general, the durability and consistency of today’s recycled products are far superior to those on the market just three years ago. Quality control tests that were run products from and have little bearing products currently on the market. Consider the case of remanufactured toner cartridges. In the late s, remanufacturers simply opened up old cartridges and repacked them with new toner. Now they strip down cartridges and refit them with long-lasting, high-quality drums and other components manufactured specifically to allow a toner to be recharged eight to ten times. Remanufacturers offer free servicing of laser printers as part of their standard contracts, and responsible companies promise to repair at their own cost any printer that malfunctions due to a faulty cartridge.

The increasingly good quality of recycled products points to another difficult issue, recycling ideas to make money. While restriction of trade is essentially illegal, recycled products, like any product substitute, call into question established markets. Some copier companies and a few laser-printer manufacturers won’t honor service contracts or warranties if anything other than specified components and materials are used. Such restrictive contracts can also be found for car parts, computers, telecommunications equipment, and many other high-tech products and services. In addition, franchises and authorized service companies will sometimes use the name of the manufacturer as a front for their own restrictions. Where necessary, buyers and purchasing managers should force competition on service contracts and demand that manufacturers put into writing any restrictions on the use of their products.

Myth 3: Recycled products aren’t available when you need them.

The availability of recycled products was a real problem just a few years ago and still is when certain businesses, particularly publishers, recycling ideas to make money large amounts of materials to meet a hard deadline. But most standard business products are readily available today. Major writing-paper companies like James River now carry numerous grades of quality paper stock in a variety of colors. And inRubbermaid, long a leader in janitorial products, started using recycled plastics in the production of recycling containers for New York City’s curbside programs. Based recycling ideas to make money this early success in New York, the company saw the market potential recycling ideas to make money developing recycled versions of a number of its plastic products, including trash cans, buckets, liners, and wheeled carts. Rubbermaid currently markets more than 70 products made from postconsumer plastic.

Even in the case of newspaper and magazine publishers that require large quantities of recycled paper in a short time, planning and vigilance can overcome the availability problem. For example, Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, examined the feasibility of converting the paper its magazine was printed on to recycled content. The driving force behind the use of recycled paper was Rhoda H. Karpatkin, Consumers Union’s executive director. She believed that it was essential for her nonprofit organization recycling ideas to make money be sensitive to environmental considerations in its purchasing and publishing activities.

With a circulation of over five million, Consumer Reports is the eighth largest magazine in the United States. Initially, the magazine’s typical publication run was too large to be accommodated by suppliers of recycled paper. However, Karpatkin and others persisted in their efforts. They identified opportunities for producing many of Consumers Union’s other publications with recycled paper, including the Guide to Income Tax Preparation. Over time, the magazine’s suppliers were able to provide CR with paper that had varying degrees of recycled content for some of its issues at a nominally higher cost.

To compensate for the higher price, CR established a price preference fund that was partly fed by the savings from their in-house recycling program. Karpatkin and her staff also recognized that supporting the recycling industry’s efforts in developing consistent materials would help it catch up to the magazine’s recycling ideas to make money. The recycled content of Consumer Reports continues to increase: half of the press run for Consumer Reports is now printed on recycled-content paper. In addition, more than half the books published by Consumers Union are currently printed on recycled paper. During the next several years, Consumers Union expects its suppliers to develop both a consistent feedstock and competitive prices.

To stave off potential legislation that would mandate recycled content in newsprint, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association (PNPA) proposed a voluntary program that would increase its use of recycled-content newsprint to 50% by the year InPNPA found that recycled newsprint was at 8%. Inthe association estimates a level of 35%. PNPA is confident that the efforts of their member papers can raise that level to 50% before the deadline. The only thing standing in PNPA’s way is the availability of recycled newsprint—not the supply of old newspapers themselves but the blank sheets of newsprint produced by mills.

Ironically enough, while plenty of people dutifully bundle newspapers for recycling programs, a number of local recycling programs have stopped collecting them. While temporary, the glut in unprocessed newspapers highlights the problems caused by the time lag between collection and processing. Once again, it’s not enough to stimulate supply or demand for a recycled commodity. In efficiently generating a supply of unprocessed newspaper, government programs have made a new resource available to industry. Manufacturers, in turn, recycling ideas to make money, are now scrambling to catch up by upgrading processes and creating new uses for recycled newspapers. By the yearevery U.S. newspaper will contain at least some recycled content.

A similar how to make money on the side as a doctor to outrun legislation moved Bell Atlantic Directory Services to research the use of recycled-content paper for its phone books. After extensive review of its options, the public utility learned that its only source of stock paper was a mill in Europe. At considerable investment to the company, the paper has been imported to the United States for use in publishing Bell Atlantic’s phone books. The company has persisted in asking U.S. paper companies for directory stock paper at competitive prices. And in the next several years, a plant will probably be built in North America that can provide Bell Atlantic with all the paper it needs.

Investing in Green R&D: Strategic Alliances

Ten years ago, small Recycling ideas to make money. companies and entrepreneurs were the ones investing in new manufacturing processes because they had the most to gain from entering niches for recycled products. However, as recently as the late s, most large companies were still investing in plant upgrades for handling virgin natural resources. In order to produce recycled products of equivalent quality and price, then, industry must now invest heavily in new technologies. Socially responsible mission statements aside, R&D investment on this scale will occur for only two reasons: anticipated profits and the threat of competition.

In fact, a number of products have been made with recycled stock for decades, including steel and aluminum cans, soap, and low-cost toilet tissue. For the past 70 recycling ideas to make money, companies like Fort Howard, recycling ideas to make money, Wisconsin Tissue Mills, and Marcal have used wastepaper from mills and printers as the primary source of their manufacturing processes. By doing so, they tapped a cheap resource that allowed them to create tissue products for the low end of the market. At the same time, recycling ideas to make money, they didn’t advertise the recycled-fiber content of their products because past consumers saw this as an indication of poor quality more than anything else. But with today’s consumer demand for recycled-paper products, recycling ideas to make money, these companies have repackaged a number of their lines to present a greener face. And with the increasing supply of postconsumer wastepaper, especially from office recycling programs, all three have upgraded plants to handle this new feedstock. Now they’re increasing market share by positioning themselves as companies that offer environmentally responsible products.

Or consider Rubbermaid, which has pioneered the use of postconsumer plastic in both blow-molding and injection-molding technologies, recycling ideas to make money, forcing smaller competitors like Zarn and Toter to follow suit. At present, the increased competition and the depressed market for postconsumer HDPE has chipped away at Rubbermaid’s market share, particularly in trash cans and curbside recycling containers. But the company has responded by developing what they call a hands-on, closed-loop approach to feedstock acquisition, allowing better quality management of the recyclables they’re using in the manufacturing process.

Because of Rubbermaid’s closed-loop program, for example, it is now a leader in recycling ideas to make money recovery and reuse of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) stretch wrap. Using a small plastics-processing company to clean up the postconsumer LDPE, Rubbermaid buys stretch film recycling ideas to make money distribution centers for companies like Giant Foods. It ships them for processing and then buys converted pellets from the processor to use in the production of new products (such as recycling containers or trash cans) for resale to the same consumers. In order to close this loop effectively—and profitably—Rubbermaid recycling ideas to make money with both the processor and Giant Foods to ensure that the plastics they recover for reuse are of the highest quality and virtually free from contamination. Quality management is key, since it allows Rubbermaid to produce products in a number of attractive colors rather than the usual black or gray containers made of recycled plastics.

Investing in green R&D creates many opportunities for closing the recycling loop, from new manufacturing processes for a single product to a collection-and-processing loop like Rubbermaid’s. Although a number of large companies have started investing in new processes because of competitive pressures, they’ve also developed strategic alliances with public institutions, local government, or other companies to help split the initial high costs of R&D. In the case of International Paper, its Hammermill division licensed the technology for producing Unity DP from the German company Steinbeis Temming Papier. For more than a decade, Steinbeis has been producing Hammermill’s Unity DP for how to invest in sbi mutual fund sip German market. Steinbeis will continue to manufacture the paper for sale in the United States until production at Hammermill’s new Pennsylvania plant is underway.

Of course, while Hammermill currently plans to price Unity DP competitively in the United States, it had other economic reasons for licensing the technology in Since the licensing agreement with Steinbeis is exclusive, it gives International Paper a niche in the growing recycling ideas to make money for environmentally responsible products. In addition, like most old-line industrial giants, International Paper has had its share of environmental disasters. Switching to more environmentally responsible processes will in recycling ideas to make money of itself help the company retain customers. Not to mention the fact that the wood-pulp processing required to make virgin stock paper creates hazardous wastes that have become increasingly costly to clean up.

Coca-Cola’s partnership with Hoechst Celanese exemplifies another strategic R&D alliance, in this case with a regular supplier. In addition to glass and aluminum recycling, Coca-Cola has invested in developing a 2-liter soda bottle made with 25% recycled postconsumer plastic. Coca-Cola is committed to producing a range of environmentally responsible products; in particular, top managers wanted to address the public’s negative attitude toward recycled plastics and the overall recyclability of plastics. Hoechst Celanese developed the new technology for Coca-Cola in order to remain the soft-drink giant’s main supplier of plastic bottles. In exchange, Coca-Cola underwrote much of the R&D costs and allowed Hoechst to keep the rights to the technology.

This new type of container has been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration for use in direct contact with beverages. The container’s innovative packaging design closes the recycling loop, since the same plastics used in making the bottles can potentially be cycled back into Coca-Cola’s manufacturing process and reused to make the same product. In order to gain approval for this new packaging technology, Coca-Cola had to convince the FDA that the company could handle any possibility of recycling ideas to make money or resulting health problems. As a result of this pioneering work by Coca-Cola and the FDA, some of the outdated government regulations for hygienic quality in the packaging of recyclables have been changed. Now other food and beverage containers made from postconsumer plastic—including jars and bottles for salad dressings, peanut butter, and ketchup—are either on the market or in development.

Bell Atlantic’s approach to recycling ideas to make money government and business interests presents an interesting twist on R&D costs. As a public utility, recycling ideas to make money, the phone company is subject to more government regulation than private companies, and, consequently, Bell has developed new manufacturing processes. Bell hasn’t only invested in using recycled paper for its telephone directories, it has also extended resources into making the phone directories themselves recyclable, recycling ideas to make money. Among other things, Bell has eliminated the use of hot-melt binding glues that would literally gum up paper-pulp recycling operations. In addition, the company has done away with glossy paper covers.

However, Bell Atlantic and other utilities can also raise consumer rates to cover additional R&D expenses. This public-private balance of costs is delicate; but it can spur the larger changes a complicated economic issue like recycling requires. Bell has also invested heavily in establishing working phone-book recycling partnerships with local public-sector recycling programs in its service territory. Local recycling coordinators are responsible for setting up the collection and public-education component of the program, while Bell pays for transportation to markets and guarantees that recycled phone books will not be landfilled.

One of the best examples of a government-business partnership driven by leading-edge ingenuity can be found in Recycled Plastics Marketing of Seattle. RPM, a small but keenly entrepreneurial company, has entered into an agreement with the City of Seattle to produce a backyard composter for use in Seattle’s intensive waste-reduction program. RPM’s composter is made of % recycled plastic. The program’s inventiveness stems from the fact that the Seattle Composter is made of the HDPE milk jugs recovered in the city’s recycling program. RPM receives a predictable flow of materials for its product, and the city guarantees payment on a large number of composters. The composters, in turn, are given to the city’s residents for free; but their use reduces the quantity of recycling ideas to make money that must be picked up at the curb, recycling ideas to make money, substantially cutting down on the city’s waste-management costs. Cooperative partnerships like this demonstrate the potentially positive effects of recycling on local economic development—as well as how business and government can negotiate mutually beneficial deals.

Closing the Loop: The Business Case for Recycling

Some companies, of course, contribute to the public interest simply because they believe in the importance of doing so, recycling ideas to make money. For example, recycling ideas to make money, Conservatree Paper Company, a San Francisco-based recycled paper distributor, recycling ideas to make money, recently began a pilot project in 20 California school districts for the Inner-City School Donation Program. Under this program, Conservatree helps schools that have funding problems by donating paper supplies worth 1% of the company’s total sales. Schools receive sorely needed supplies and recycled paper, recycling ideas to make money. From an educational standpoint, children get a chance to see the full recycling loop—from curbside collection to buying recycled products to recollection—in action.

But coordinating business-government programs to this extent is no easy task, whether a participating company is driven by public or private interest. Even in the case of the Seattle Composter, RPM and the city went back and forth with bids and counter-bids for six months before the program was implemented. In many respects, the partnerships that do exist now, such as the Buy Recycled Business Alliance, are a public-private experiment in social change. Given that consumers currently receive mixed messages from industry, environmental groups, and their own local recycling programs—and given that recycling professionals still argue about everything from the value of bottle bills to whether or not there’s a landfill crisis—how government and business achieve their respective recycling goals will doubtless shift and adapt over time.

In addition, business strategists and policymakers can’t rely on hard data to model the benefits of recycling based on classic economic theory. Assuming that issues of feedstock supply, labeling standards, and pricing are adequately dealt with, whether full-scale demand for recycled products will actually create enough stability in the marketplace to assure the long-term economic viability of recycling infrastructure remains an open question. The Environmental Protection Agency’s goal for the United States is to divert 40% of waste by the year That means individual consumers and companies would need to buy back approximately million tons of recycled products per year. At present, million tons of postconsumer material are purchased in the United States (about 50% by business) and turned back into recycled products.

Yet the simple economics of supply and demand can’t fully capture the value of building demand for recyclables. When compared with their virgin counterparts, recycled products provide a number of intangible but increasingly crucial business benefits. From a marketing perspective, use of recycled office products or investment by industry in new technologies that use recycled feedstocks will help win new customers and retain old ones. In addition, reassessing procurement policies to determine if there are subtle prejudices against recycled products calls into question more general quality standards and buying great sources of passive income that may cost more than management had assumed, recycling ideas to make money. Investment in recycled products recycling ideas to make money means more competition and will inevitably force design innovations and new technologies that can further lower production costs.

Needless to say, recycled products tend to be less energy intensive and often have a lower impact on the environment than their virgin counterparts. Although it’s exceedingly difficult to calculate the relative levels of environmental and energy impact, it is conceivable that in the near future, U.S. companies and government agencies alike will list their investment in these products in an official green “report card.” This report card (somewhat akin to the social balance sheets many German companies produce voluntarily) will detail the energy a company has saved and the pollution it has reduced through buying recycled products and developing new manufacturing technologies.

Even when it making money raising cattle to policing industry claims for recycled content, business has the most to gain by helping to coordinate, recycling ideas to make money, rather than hindering, the efforts of the EPA, environmental groups, the Federal Trade Commission, and private companies. The Recycling Advisory Council to the EPA is making tremendous strides in working out suitable and acceptable standards for all parties. But since its technical capacity and understanding of recycled products increases yearly, industry is best equipped to lead the others. Witness Coca-Cola’s efforts to change FDA regulations and testing procedures.

On a grander scale, consider the potential of recycling for revitalizing U.S. industry. With some of the cheapest power costs anywhere in the United States, the Pacific Northwest is a prime area for the paper industry to invest in plant retrofits that can use recycled feedstock instead of virgin wood pulp. In fact, a number of companies like Smurfit, International Paper, Georgia Pacific, and Weyer-haeuser have already done so.³ Loggers can then be retrained to operate recycling vehicles, “mill” plastic lumber, operate paper balers, or work in deinking plants. Emphasizing the recycling industry just might be one answer to an ailing local economy, provided corporate managers and government policymakers are willing to work as partners rather than the usual adversaries.

A version of this article appeared in the November–December issue of Harvard Business Review.

Waste diversion is a noble cause and it’s the SMART thing to do. Not only for the environment, but also for your finances. At CleanRiver recycling solutions, we have been helping commercial businesses and homeowners save money for over 30 years with our recycling programs. 

But what if we told you that it’s possible to make money on some of the waste you throw in your outdoor recycling bins? The good news is you can recycle for money! Even commercial recycling bins and commercial trash cans could be filled with valuable materials. Turn trash into cash and bring a whole new meaning to the phrase “green recycling”!

From Green Recycling to Green Cash

Before we reveal what recyclable materials earn the most cash, it’s a good idea to understand that not all materials in the categories below will be recyclable. Certain facilities don’t accept certain things. Essentially, recycling solutions work, but only if you work for them.

Most of the time it’s hard to determine what to recycle and what not to recycle so figuring out what can be recycled for money and what goes in the garbage isn’t always clear, recycling ideas to make money. Luckily we have plenty of commercial recycling, green recycling, and office recycling blogs to help you. Click on the phrases underlined in green for links to more information on each category in the material descriptions below.

Now let’s start using trash for cash!

1. Aluminum Cans

This is the classic example of cash for trash that’s been around for years. Aluminum takes more energy to mine and produce than any other metal so it is worth paying for these cans. Recycling aluminum not only prevents more resources from being extracted from the Earth but it also saves energy as well!

When collecting aluminum cans for profit, crushing them saves a lot of space for storing even more cans. A common way to store these cans is in a commercial trash can, or a plastic bag, recycling ideas to make money. Then you just have to bring them to your local recycling or scrap metal center to get paid.

Depending on your local recycling facility, if you are tossing individual cans into your outdoor recycling bins it’s not advised to crush them as they can get caught in the sorting machine and slow things down.

2. Plastic and Glass Bottles

Cash it! Don’t trash it. Many governments have implemented deposit return recycling programs that attach cash values to bottles based on the material they’re made of. Returning glass and plastic bottles to recycling facilities and stores where they offer bottle return can net you a decent amount of coin.

3. Ink Cartridges

Green recycling solutions for when you can’t print the colour green anymore! Why recycle ink cartridges? A number of office supply stores such as Staples will offer $2 back per cartridge. That means your office recycling aaii stock investor pro mac can start saving on printer costs!

4. Cardboard

Cardboard boxes are a necessity for moving items from place to place. But they’re also very valuable and can get you around $45 per ton. We recognize that this may be more viable for commercial recycling or office recycling rather than at home. Hard to fit recycling ideas to make money literal ton of cardboard in your outdoor recycling bins! However, that doesn’t mean you can’t shop around for cardboard. Local businesses and people on sites recycling ideas to make money craigslist might be happy to give their cardboard away for free. Once you’ve collected enough simply stack it and tie it together for easy transportation to a nearby cardboard recycling facility.

5. Electronic Waste

Can electronic waste be recycled? It depends on what you’re recycling and where you’re bringing it to. Collection sites like waste depots and recycling centres, as well as special collection events (like those arranged on Earth Day) and stores involved with e-waste recycling can all recycle electronics for cash. The problem is it’s not always clear if electronic waste is valuable because it contains materials that may or may not be worth money. Valuable materials found in e-waste include the following:

• Copper
• Gold
• Silver
• Platinum
• Palladium
• Iron
• Aluminum
• Plastics

We recommend doing some research before trying to profit off your e-waste. Don’t forget electronic waste also includes batteries. If you’ve recently replaced the battery in your car you could get up to $10 for your used car batteries depending on the location. Some auto part stores have incentives for these particular batteries. Regardless of whether or not you are able to recycle your electronics for cash, it is still important to make sure your e-waste doesn’t end up in a landfill.

“E-waste is a very big problem because the amount is growing at a very rapid pace each year, and the level of recycling is just not keeping up pace,” -Kees Baldé

6. Scrap Metal

The final and most profitable material on our “best items to recycle for money” list is scrap metal. You may already be aware of this if you’ve ever visited a scrap yard for cars or other types of scrap facilities. Commercial recycling is lucrative in the metal business, so if you’ve got a broken down car lying around you can still get some money for it.

Just be aware, recycling solutions for certain metals are not viable.Click here for more information about money for scrap metal recycling and why you should recycle scrap metal. Don’t let your scrap rust! Take a look at how much money scrap yards off for certain metals:

• Over $2 per pound of copper
• cents per pound of aluminum
• $ per pound of yellow brass
• cents per pound of die-cast metal
• Etc.

Recycling Solutions for Your Wallet

After reading our list, you’ve probably noticed that there are many more materials you can recycle for money like paper, cooking oils, clothes, motor oil, etc. Even reselling or repurposing old items like toys and pottery can be considered recycling for money. This particular list was chosen with the idea that these materials are the easiest and most readily-available items to recycle.

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Looking for more green recycling tips? Check out these other blogs: 

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CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible and customizable recycling solutions. Start saving money today with our green recycling programs.

If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at or email solutions@www.oldyorkcellars.com

11 Jul The 5 Most Profitable Items for a Recycling Center

Not only is recycling great for the environment, it also has the added benefit of being extremely profitable if you are receiving the right items from people. Whether you are simply flipping these old items, or repurposing them and selling them after the fact, recycled goods are a wonderful way to make money.

1. Aluminum cans and plastic bottles.

A new trend has started recently in most homes: The act of collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles and putting them in a separate bag than the rest of your trash. Many people do it casually, while a select few collect bottles and cans almost religiously, recycling ideas to make money, even going to the point where they might ask their family and friends to collect cans for them as well. While a single bottle or can will only earn your business five to ten cents, if you are able to attract the type of people who collect a lot of bottles and cans to your recycling center, the money can quickly add up.

2. Old cooking oil.

Used cooking oil is a niche market, you will most likely be hard pressed to find someone who is able to recycle large quantities of it. You might be wondering: “Why would I want to get people to bring used cooking oil to my recycling center?”. Recycling ideas to make money little known fact about used cooking oil is the fact that it can be refined into diesel fuel. The process isn’t too complicated, and if you can find people who are recycling used recycling ideas to make money oil and someone who is trying to buy diesel fuel, it can make for a wonderful way to make money for your business.

3. Old electronics, recycling ideas to make money, computers, and appliances.

Another new heavily recycled item are any recycling ideas to make money that include electronic components, recycling ideas to make money. If your recycling center can advertise to the people in your recycling center’s area that you are collecting old or broken items, recycling ideas to make money, such as calculators, washing machines, laptops, desktops, phones, microwaves, etc. it can be extremely profitable. Due to the fact that most newer electronics include rare metals such as gold inside, you can harvest these rare metals if you know how the process works.

4. Car batteries.

One downside to car batteries is the fact that so many other places will try to coax their customers into recycling their car batteries at their store, automotive shops, repair shops,and even some department stores, are trying to collect used car batteries. Not only are they bad for the environment, they can be extremely useful in a variety of projects, recycling ideas to make money, some people recycling ideas to make money even using them to make working solar cells, meaning you can sell them for a good amount of money.

5. Scrap metal.

Most of the things in our life require some sort of metal, which is why scrap metal can be extremely profitable. Even better yet, scrap metal is also found in abundance almost everywhere, even on the side of the road in most cities, meaning people in your area recycling ideas to make money to make money recycling will bring it to you often, and most likely in large quantities. On top of all of this, most appliances and electronics also have scrap metal that can be ripped from them, such as the body of a large appliance. Scrap metal has the added bonus of being great for projects. Whether you melt the metal down and sell the ingots, or find people who are looking for certain pieces from appliances, such as the drum from a washing machine, scrap metal is always in demand.

Starting as a recycling center can be hard, but one of the most important things you can do is inform the public about the items they can recycle at your center, and encourage them to do so. When you need equipment for recycling, consult with H-West Equipment to determine the equipment that is best for your facility. We sell every piece of equipment necessary, from Balers to Compactors, to Shredders, Conveyors, and much more throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Northern Mexico. We also provide expert service throughout the same coverage area. For consultation, or to schedule service, reach us through our contact recycling ideas to make money or call us at () today!

Featured image by Shirley on Pixabay

The amount of scrap materials that people throw away every day is unbelievable, recycling ideas to make money. Whether it’s food, aluminum cans, recycling ideas to make money, or paper, you will be surprised to see the vast quantity of scrap accumulating in scrapyards every day. However, that doesn’t mean scrapyard owners throw or recycling ideas to make money everything down. Instead, they segregate waste materials according to their types and sell them to waste recycling businesses. Here are some of the companies that recycle waste materials:

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1, recycling ideas to make money. Paper Recycling

Paper recycling is one of the most popular business ideas. Once recycled the waste paper gets converted into various things, such as egg trays, cartons, paper bags, and decorative handmade paper. The business model is simple enough for any new entrepreneur to start a paper recycling business, recycling ideas to make money. For example, if you want to recycle waste paper and make egg trays, you need to buy an egg tray-making machine, keep it in a shaded and protected area, and start making egg trays according to your average demand.

2. Tungsten Recycling

Tungsten is available in appliances, scrap cars, and heavy machines. Those who throw these items recycling ideas to make money scrap don’t know that tungsten carbide recycling can help make a variety of things. For example, a waste recycling business can make tungsten carbide wear parts, tungsten carbide drills, tungsten carbide mining compacts, tungsten carbide tri-cones, tungsten carbide inserts, asphalt milling teeth, and tungsten carbide fixed cutter matrix bits. The hard scrap goes through a molding process to shape these items that are useful in the construction and car-making industries.

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3. Food Waste Recycling

Food waste recycling is one of the most profitable recycling ideas to make money globally, especially with the amount of food that gets wasted every day. Did you know that businesses process food and convert them into power and energy? Apart from power and energy, many companies are also recycling waste food into fertilizers and pesticides. Fortunately, there is an abundant supply of waste food, and you can turn them into fertilizers and sell them under your brand name. Businesses make at least 15% profit and more in the food waste recycling industry.

4. Vermicompost Recycling 

Many companies in tier-four cities are making considerable profits by recycling vermicompost waste and selling them as fertilizer. However, farmers often don’t have time to make compost. It takes approximately six months to convert biodegradable substances, such as fruit and vegetable peels, waste food, and animal feces into fertilizers for crops. Moreover, they can’t afford the space required to make compost. In such cases, various companies are responsible for collecting these waste materials and converting them into compost.

Instead of using chemical fertilizers, farmers can use compost, recycling ideas to make money, better for the soil and crops. Compost maintains the soil’s microbial balance and ensures that the crops grow fast. 

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a business idea where you don’t have to break the bank but can earn a handsome profit, you can start a waste recycling business, recycling ideas to make money. You can grow your business within your city and then gradually scale it.

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