Great ideas get better
when they are shared and as part of that effort, we have asked several people
to share their ideas with us! Today’s entry was written by our guest, Dane
Carlson at the Business Opportunities blog. Dane is an
entrepreneur to the core, and always on the lookout for new opportunities. You
can subscribe to the BizOpp blog here.
My best idea to improve the environment is to create a nationwide recycling pickup business that charges people to pickup their recycling.
Did you know that the first
US recycling facility opened in 1896*? It is now over 110 years later and
we have not come nearly as far as we could have. While many large towns and
cities offer a recycling pickup program, they are not readily available to the
millions of people who live in rural areas. Rather than limiting who can
participate, a large countrywide program should be created so anyone, no matter
where they live, can have their recyclable goods picked up directly from their
home and taken to a recycling facility.
Running much like a garbage service does, a large truck could go around to each home weekly, biweekly, or even monthly, to pick up their recyclables. Once the truck has completed its rounds it would go to a regional facility where the where the materials could then be separated and distributed to centers where they could be recycled appropriately.
The actual numbers for recyclable materials, such as paper
and plastic, are nowhere near as high as they could be. In 2006 a total of
53.4% of the paper used in the
This is not just an eco-friendly possibility but would also be a profitable business, because unlike most municipal recycling programs, the business would charge consumers to pickup and remove their recyclables. As more and more people become eco-conscious, they are trying to do the right thing but don't always know where to start. Paying a small fee to have your recyclables removed would be a great way to make a small contribution to the environment.
A service like this could make the business owner money and save the consumer from having to find and travel to the appropriate recycling facility in their area. People place more value on something that they pay for than what they get for free, so it is likely that people would develop friendly competitions with their neighbors to see who could have the most recyclable material at their curbside. There'd be status in being a recycler.
Anyone who would like to take this idea and form a business out of it wouldn't have to look far to get started. It would be easy to implement this business on a small scale in a local community. By establishing a firm business plan, gathering enough capital to get started, and determining a reasonable fee that the customer would be charged, they could easily take this simple idea and create a booming business.
Because of the money that could be made from the recyclable goods and the fee, the owner would be able to earn back their investment and earn a profit. Then, as consumer demand grew for this service, it could easily transform from a small business into a booming franchise. As a franchise they would be able to bring this beneficial service to households all over the country.
Have comments for Dane? Please post them! If you enjoyed this article, you might also like some of the other ideas popping up on PasstheBall.com. Come look, rate, comment and add your own!
Idea is great.But I dont have much knowledge about recycling.Where to start from?
Posted by: Karan Chopra | July 03, 2009 at 06:44 AM