The growing demand for easier ways to recycle isn’t going anywhere. The Australian Government continues to make grants and subsidies available to businesses in recycling. With available funding starting your own recycling plant becomes more achievable. It’s simpler than you might think to create your own profitable recycling plan that also helps the planet, you just need to take it step by step.
How To Start Up A Recycling Plant
1. Choose your waste
There are many different types of waste that can be recycled, and your first job is to figure out what waste streams your recycling plant will manage. Paper, metals and plastics are more obvious possibilities, but you can recycle almost any commercial waste material that would otherwise go to landfill. Think recycling old electronics, batteries, medical product waste, or even car tyres. Find out the business activities common to the area your recycling plant will serve and what waste streams are produced by those businesses. Also, be sure to look into what other businesses may already be recycling your chosen item, and either rethink what you plan to recycle or find a way to stand out from the competition.
2. Select Your Waste Management Machinery
Selecting the optimal set of Commercial Waste Management equipment is an important step in the planning of your recycling plant. Waste Initiatives has the widest range of Heavy-Duty waste machinery. These products are fit for purpose and ideal for a recycling plant:
- Industrial Shredders: supporting a necessary step in the processes of a recycling plant, shredders can be configured to handle a number of waste streams such as paper, cardboard, plastic, ferrous and non-ferrous metal and tyres.
- Sorting Equipment: the most efficient recycling plants make use of waste sorting equipment to effortlessly separate materials.
- Glass Crushers: Glass is a very common waste stream. In recycling plants processing glass with a glass crusher enables the operator to handle glass safely and use the components of the crushed glass as a product that can be sold to companies who require it for manufacturing.
- Horizontal Balers: Recycling plants handle a high volume of paper and plastic. Horizontal Balers dramatically reduce the volume of space required to handle and transport this waste.
In many cases, a recycling plant will require a combination of the equipment above to operate efficiently. Our team of Equipment Specialists are experts in the application, design and implementation of waste machinery. With a little knowledge of your operation, our team can help you devise an integrated system of machinery with Australia’s widest range of Waste Management Machinery.
3. Consider the Logistics
There are three main ways to collect your waste materials: putting out a collection container, offering to pick up the waste from customer premises, or working with another business to source the waste. Do your research to figure out which one will be best for your recycling plant and have the plan in place before you get started. Consider what resources you have available in your business and consider how you can provide a very convenient waste collection service for your customers.
4. Source financing
Recycling plants typically need $10,000 to $15,000 just to get started the first month – so you’ll need to figure out where yours will come from. These could mean looking at loan options from banks, finding independent investors, or applying for government grants. There are different initiatives in each state, but you’ll find an overview here. To help with the upfront costs, Waste Intiatives has a range of Certified Refurbished Waste Machinery – contact us to find out what’s available in this range.
5. Establish a business plan
Like any other business, you’ll need to have a good plan in place for your recycling plant before you can get started. As well as the other points we discuss here, consider things like what your budget will be, what your staffing situation will look like, the aims of your recycling plant, marketing strategies, and so on.
6. Find your market
You’ll need to establish your buyers so you can earn revenue and maintain your recycling plant. Generally, for a recycling business, your customers would be other businesses. One place to look is at small and medium businesses, local business operators in retail, food service and offices that use recycled materials in their production. Another idea is reaching out to government organisations that may be looking for recycling solutions. Before we enumerate too many ideas for finding your market, the best piece of advice we can give here is to motivate you to create a one-page marketing plan that will help you think strategically about customer acquisition. Here’s a great resource to get you started.
7. Find a suitable facility
The size and location of your recycling plant will depend on the waste stream you choose to recycle and the machinery you’ll need to install – like an industrial shredder. Every recycling plant needs the basics like electricity, water and good ventilation – but you’ll need to consider a few more things, like:
- Environmental considerations – will there be any noise, traffic, fire or environmental studies to consider
- Health & Safety requirements – this is especially important when using machinery.
- Access and Space – waste management takes up a lot of space. Your plant will need to be easily accessible to large vehicles and provide ample space for dropoff, handling and processing.
8. Get licensed
There are a number of permits you’ll need before you start running a recycling plant. Again, it differs between states, but you can start your research here.
9. Find project partners
There are many associations, stewardship councils and other non-profits around Australia dedicated to recycling. Forming strong partnerships with these groups can be key to making your company more competitive and keeping it growing.
10. Run a trial
You don’t want to hit the ground running, only to realise your machines or logistics have defects. Waste Initiatives can help you run trials before you get started to ensure everything is running smoothly. You’re now ready to go and start helping the planet with your very own business.