Text: FWD Business Desk Photos: Various Sources
EVER THOUGHT OF MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR YOU AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU? RECYCLING BUSINESS IS PROBABLY WHAT COULD MAKE YOU REALLY RICH AND GET THANKED BY THE SOCIETY AT THE SAME TIME.
The Recycling business is definitely the need of the hour and something which will always have its scope. It is good for both our environment and economy. Recycling is, in fact, a major business in countries like Sweden. They have reached a recycling rate of 99% by converting all their trash to energy. In fact they import more trash from other countries to meet the energy demands.
Indian entrepreneurs could learn something from this. It is indeed a business with huge prospects. After all, ours is a country that produces 70 million tonnes of waste. The figure could reach up to 160.5 million tonne per year within the next 25 years if preventive measures aren’t taken. In Chennai, 6000 tonnes of waste is produced each day, 10 % of which is highly hazardous. Most of the urban currently have a centralised dumping ground. The municipal corporations spend huge amount in transporting the waste to the dumping ground. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s spends around Rs 900 crore a year. For what? Dumping on some piece of land.
30 % of urban India’s waste goes into the drains. The quantum increase in the country’s waste generation is 5 %. On an average, 32,000 Indians T will be urbanised each day until 2021. The waste sector today is worth 5 billion dollars in size. Most of it is the dry waste. Only 30 % of that is recycled and the rest goes to landfills. World Health Organisation says that 1 % of the population in urban of India actually works in the waste sector. This suggests that there is definitely a demand for Recycle business entrepreneurs. So if you want to exploit the current situation and also want to do something for the environment by starting Recycling business, here are a few things you should do to succeed.
LOCAL WASTE DEPARTMENTS
Your local economic development is probably the best place to target your networking when starting a new recycling business for a possible funding opportunity and incentives. Your local waste and public work departments are also a good source to get familiar with required licenses and local rules for collecting waste. These rules can vary in different regions. The rule for a residential area might be different from that of a government agency or other public places.
FINANCING YOUR RECYCLING BUSINESS
Getting finance for a business can be tough, recycling industry is no different. There are sources of capital and investment resources available for people who want to start a new recycling business or expand their current recycling business. You can either chose to take capital from angel investors, Venture capitalists, government agencies or NGOs or take a bank loan. The choice is yours to make.
BUSINESS PLAN FOR YOUR RECYCLING BUSINESS
It is very important to have a solid business plan very early itself if you are trying to secure a fund to start or expand your business. There must be a clear idea of what type of fund you need for the different criteria of the growth of your business. Your business plan should have the company’s mission, management team, marketing, operations, current financing and upcoming needs.
CHALLENGES OF STARTING A RECYCLING BUSINESS
Though recycling business has many advantages. Yet, there are so many challenges along with it. A recycling business takes time, effort and resources to setup. Finding the right location, manpower, facility, registration, market study, and machine installation will all take a considerable time. Dealing with garbage makes the business be perceived as a very dirty one. So
there will not be a class outlook to it. Sourcing for scraps and waste products maybe the greatest challenge as it takes a great effort to gather a reasonable quantity. And then lies the problem that not all scraps are worth it. It is required that you sort out those scraps are useful and in high demand. Some of these scraps are hazardous. Some of them are sharp metal objects. So your labors are prone to get injured also. Toxins are inevitable because the nature of this business involves sieving through waste. These toxins are harmful to humans. Transporting all these scrap to the recycling plant might also prove to be a challenge because most recycling plants are very far away and will require a lot of money to transport the scraps to the place of recycling.
Every job has its pros and cons and Recycling Business isn’t any different. If you are looking to do something that will be in demand forever, make you rich and also has a cause to it, then this is something that is meant for you 4.
[An average 32,000 Indians will be urbanised until 2021. The waste sector today is 5 billion dollars in size. Most of it is the dry waste. Only 30 % of that is recycled. World Health Organisation says that 1 % of the population in urban cities of India actually works in the waste sector.]