can a recycling business be profitable?

Question

please explain

Answer 1

Guys that recycle metal are making a lot of money now. Of course there is a huge capital expense to get started in that. Same thing with auto dismantlers; a lot of regulation, but good profit margin.

The term recycling could mean anything; reselling outdated computer equipment, operating the service to collect and dispose of haz waste, so if you the numbers work in the biz plan, it could work.

The big problem with recycling is there is no valuable end market for a lot of items like glass or construction/demolition debris. By the time you collect it, sort it, process it, and ship it to the end user, a lot of times it would have been cheaper to just buy new; and most people are still making purchasing decisions on price over enviornmental concerns.

Answer 2

My friend owns a printer cartridge recycling business and is turning a decent profit. It all depends on exactly what you are recycling.

Answer 3

It depends on what you're recycling, how much you pay for it, and how successful you are at finding a way to sell the output. The guy in this article sells it as organic fertilizer, and comes out quite well, it seems.

Answer 4

Very difficult tried it myself in Los Angeles.

Too much competition. You need a lot of capital to really work this into a business.\\

Did I mention there is a lot of competion. I was interested in shipping plastic and metal wate to China.... The problem is to many other people are doing it. I learned from a fellow business man that the return after shipping taxes and all of that $400 per container.....

Not a good return

Answer 5

With a good amount of work it could be very profitable, and the best part is that it helps the enviorment!

Answer 6

very, very much so.