One
of the easiest (and best) ways of making extra money is by
collecting
old newspapers and selling them to
"recycling plant"
in
your area.
Just
look around your own home - in the garage or the basement.
What
do you do with the old newspapers after you've read them?
Most
likely they just pile up in a corner of the garage or
basement
until one of your kids asks if he can haul them off for
the
school or cub scout paper drive.
Or
maybe your wife and kids get ambitious some weekend, clean out
the
garage and haul all those newspapers off to the collection
truck
at the local shopping centre.
It's
true that selling stacks of newspapers you've accumulated
during
the past couple of months or so won't make you rich, or
really
amount of much extra income.
But
think about the stacks of old newspapers you would have if you
were
to collect and haul away for the people in your neighbourhood
-
say a ten pound stack of newspapers from each house on your
street
every Saturday.
The
picture changes, doesn't it?
If
you're serious, and get yourself properly organised, you can
easily
make œ300 or more every weekend.
Right
now, the going rate for old newspapers is about œ50 a ton,
depending
upon your area.
Most
recycling depots prefer the papers loose, rather than bundled
or
sacked. Check with the recycling plant
you plan to sell to
before
delivery to them.
Ordinary
cardboard boxes which have been flattened is bringing
approximately
œ75 a ton. If you're going to collect
old
newspapers,
you may just as well take cardboard too.
Most people
have
old boxes around that are jut taking up space, and some will
even
pay you to get rid of them.
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You
start by clearing a space in your garage for storage.
One
side of a two-car garage, or just an 8 by 12 foot space would
be
sufficient.
If
you have a garden shed that is dry, that would work well also.
Some
collectors even rent space in a neighbourhood warehouse.
Next,
you should place an ad in your community newspaper or the
weekly
shopping news, something like this:
Junk,
old newspapers and cardboard boxes hauled away.
Phone
123-4567.
Then
you visit your neighbours. Tell them you
are collecting and
hauling
away old newspapers and boxes in the neighbourhood each
week.
You
might even offer them œ5 a month if they'll have everything
ready
for you when you make your weekend collection rounds.
On
Saturdays, starting at about 9.00am, rent an open trailer and
hitch
it to your car. If you have a pick-up
truck, or can borrow
one,
so much the better. With your spouse or
kids, a couple of
neighbourhood
boys, or a couple of friends, start making your
rounds.
You
drive the car with the trailer. Your
helpers, one on each
side
of the street, knock on each door and ask the residents if
they
have any old newspapers or cardboard boxes you can haul away
for
them.
It
would be advantageous for you to have a large sign on each side
of
your trailer, and on each side of the car as well. It might
read:
Paper
Collection Service.
Visit
the people you've talked to on your block first.
That
will give you some paper in the trailer and from there, you
just
expand.
Go
to the next block and the next, driving up and down the
streets,
visiting, stopping at all the homes, in an ever expanding
ripple
from your own street.
When
your trailer is full of newspapers, you can either take them
directly
to your recycling plant and sell the load, or take them
to
your storage area, unload them and get everything organised.
It's
very important, though, that you get right back to the job of
knocking
on doors and collecting more newspapers and cardboard.
Some
people will (foolishly) collect a load, take it in for sale,
and
then waste time gloating over the easy money they've just
made.
One
load won't make you rich or even really pay for your time.
Get
right back on the job and collect as many loads as the
daylight
hours will allow.
Make
the same rounds: follow the same collection route, at least
once
every two weeks.
Once
you've got the routine working well, you'll be ready to hire
a
couple of college students to help, perhaps with another car and
trailer.
The
best way to pay your help is with a percentage of the tonnage
you
sell.
And
then too, once you have it all together, you'll want to go
with
a truck or trailer that allows you to haul a couple of tons
of
paper per load.
It's
important that you make regular rounds, calling on the same
houses
regularly.
After
about six months of this, you'll be ready to open a local
recycling
depot.
This
simply means taking the accumulation of paper out of your
home
or garden shed and moving it to a business location.
Because
of your advertising in the newspapers, and the sign on
your
truck or trailer, people will be calling you during the week
to
come and pick up paper out of your home or garden shed and
moving
it to a business location.
Because
of your advertising in the newspapers, and the sign on
your
truck or trailer, people will be calling you during the week
to
come and pick up the paper they have ready for you.
Also,
your neighbours will very likely be dropping by with
armloads
of paper for you from time to time, as well.
..page
Specifically,
these are the reasons you'll need storage space to
store
the paper in your garage or other storage area until you
have
enough to load up and take to the recycling plant.
One
of the best locations for your recycling depot is an abandoned
or
closed down service station.
Or
perhaps a vacant plot, or even a corner of a large shopping
centre
parking area.
You'll
need some scales (you can rent or lease one of these for a
small
amount), and a quick set up tent or large truck.
What
you want to do is establish a location where people can come
to
you.
They
bring their newspapers, you weight what they've brought and
pay
them a penny a pound for newspapers and 2p a pound for
cardboard
boxes.
You
can hire someone to man this centre for you during the day, or
perhaps
only open between 4 and 6 o'clock in the afternoons.
Advertise
your hours, and be dependable, so that people can count
on
you.
To
establish your location, you'll have to check with the owner or
management,
and agree not to interfere with their regular mode of
business.
If
you do go to a shopping centre car park, sell them on the idea
that
your recycling depot - clean and neat - will actually bring
more
people into the shopping centre on a regular basis.
The
important thing always is to establish yourself in the best
possible
location for the least amount of money.
Even
though you have a collection depot, you'll still want to
continue
your weekend collection rounds.
But
with a collection depot, you can hire other people to do the
driving,
knock on doors, make the collections and transfer their
loads
into the depot facility.
If
it's a big truck or trailer, you'll be selling ten to fifteen
tons
of paper whenever you make your trips to the recycling plant.
Another
important thing you should think about doing is getting
the
whole community involved with you.
Get
them to thinking about recycling paper and selling it to you.
Run
some promotions; work for free publicity; and be conspicuous.
Don't
be embarrassed; everyone is aware of the need for recycling
everything
that can be recycled.
And
you'll be admired as someone with the ambition to make it
happen,
picking up a good second income while you're doing.
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