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You'll need a couple of signs, one on each side of the driveway. These will announce the fact that you buy old newspapers. They need not be anything fancy, just simple attention-getting announcements that you're open for business and paying for paper. Generally, the going rate for newspapers dropped off at a central collection depot is 2 cents per pound, and the papers need not be bundled. This will give the sellers $40 a ton for dropping them off, and at $50 a ton, that will work out to $10 per ton profit for you. (again, these rates are rising, so be sure you are absolutely current by checking out the going price in your area.)
In addition to old newspapers, you should organize your time and schedule to call upon all the businesses, stores and warehouses in your area. Talk to the business owners or store managers and ask them if you can haul away their old cardboard boxes.
If there's competition in your area, you might end up having to pay for these boxes, provided they're clean. The thing to do is to call everybody who uses paper products or cardboard boxes. Remember, the more people you have giving you paper, the more money you are going to make. Many already established recycling services do not bother with smaller stores and warehouses, but these add up quickly if you are diligent in finding a number of them.
Check close by in your surrounding area, and find out if the businesses are satisfied with their present pick-up system. Ask first if you can "have" their old boxes; many of the smaller stores will give them to you because it decreases the load for their rubbish service to haul away. Where necessary, offer to pay 2 cents per pound if they'll save them for you.
As mentioned before, the important thing is to get everyone providing paper for you--people collect and have ready for you to pick up when you drop by on your designated collection day. Besides that, you start making really big money when you can park your truck in one place and fill it up from a group of closely located stores or businesses. With this in mind, you could conceivably drive through four blocks, making one stop in the middle of each block, and have a ton or more paper or cardboard boxes every fourth block.
One other thing you'll need for efficient handling of cardboard boxes is a sharp knife with which to slit the sides of the boxes and flatten them as you load them onto your truck or trailer. A simple "handyman's" utility knife costing about $5 will handle this chore for you with ease. When you buy one, though, be sure to buy an extra supply of blades as well, because cutting through cardboard will dull your knife very quickly.
Another paper products source: The offices in your area, particularly those with computers. The age of computers has ushered in more reports for offices than ever before, adding reams of paper to the average office trash basket. When you visit these offices, take along a couple of "Save-a-Tree" boxes and ask the office people to discard all their waste paper into these boxes for you ---letters, envelopes, outdated reports and files. You can usually get the "Save-a-Tree" boxes at your local recycling depot, and when full, we're talking about 35 to 45 pounds of paper. Most offices will fill one of these boxes in a week or two, depending, of course, upon their volume of paperwork. And while you're on this kind of "foraging" trip, don't forget to check in all the print shops. They waste and throw away almost as much paper as they sell.
It will pay you to contract for a quarter page ad, or the largest ad available that you can afford, in the yellow pages of your area telephone and business directories. Whether or not you advertise the prices you pay in the ad is entirely up to you, but generally it's not a good idea to do so, because you would be stuck with those rates over the year. You might word your ad to explain that you pay one rate per pound when the paper is brought to you, and other rate when you pick it up and haul it away.
At the same time, you should run a regular classified ad, perhaps even one with words in the Contract Jobs section of your daily paper. Your best advertising days will be Thursday through Saturday. These are the days when people are specifically thinking about cleaning up around the house or offices. Also, these are the days when people think about what they can do to earn extra money.
This is the kind of business that "snowballs" with visibility and word-of-mouth advertising. It will definitely benefit you, then, to join the various civic and service clubs in your area, attend their luncheons and mingle with the business leaders in your area. Volunteer to assist in some fund-raising events, and whenever possible, become a quest speaker and tell about your business.
It isn't hard to stand up before a group of people and talk about your business, particularly if you know what you're talking about and believe in what your saying. It does take at least an outline or a script, perhaps a few notes, a rehearsal and the essential ingredient of enthusiasm.
Make your talk interesting and informative. Do some research and present statistics on how much paper the people of this country use each year. Explain the limited supply of timber, and the need to recycle as much as possible. Detail how these facts and figures opened your eyes, and caused you to do something about it--to open your own recycling center. And then, lead you talk into explaining how the recycling business is an avenue for everyone to benefit; the ideal fund-raising endeavor, a cleaner environment; and a chance to preserve some forest land.
Getting free publicity for a recycling center can be easy. In addition to serving as guest speaker before civic and service groups in your area, you may find radio and television stations and newspapers, and even weekly shoppers guides anxious to give you time or space.
By all means, try to get a story into these people detailing your grand opening, follow-up with appearances on talk shows, and press releases about the different organizations raising money by collecting newspapers and turning them in to you. Set up a contest among the different organizations, with prizes for the teams or organizations collecting the most paper. Hold special "Seniors Days" when you pay extra for all paper turned in by persons of a certain age. Keep an eye out for angles such as the largest amounts turned in, and stories about your regular collectors who keep turning in paper regular until they attain money goals.
Emphasize to your publicity contacts that recycling is a kind of community service that benefits all citizens. You're cleaning the environment, conserving timber, and putting money into the pockets of all who participate. Think about it; submit press releases to the media; calling them and inviting them to cover human stories emanating from your business!
This business takes organization, some energy on your part, and at least in the beginning, your time. But if you put forth the effort as we have outlined, there's no reason you shouldn't easily realize a very comfortable income with your own RECYCLING BUSINESS. It takes effort on your part, but if you're looking for a lucrative business, you have here a plan to act on!
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