Recycling, reusing, upcycling and other similar words (and the processes behind them) are more than just environmentalist buzzwords. These terms also happen to refer to some of the best and most lucrative business opportunities, ideas and models out there. Presented here are just five ideas which show how one can turn literal trash into gold.
Repairing and reselling second-hand books
Despite what many think, the adoption of e-books has been slow and surveys show that many people still prefer hardcopy books to electronic ones. It seems that one of the few major driving forces behind electronic books is simply the lower cost, otherwise, physical books still have a very healthy market. A bookbinding or repair business is therefore still viable. If you are in this line of business your clients can range from the ordinary avid reader to big institutions like libraries and schools. You can either offer repair services, where you will be accepting large numbers of damaged books (e.g. textbooks from schools) and repairing them for a fee or you can buy damaged popular books at low prices, repairing and then selling them at a markup. You can also strike up relationships with local bookstores and make money through dealing in rare or antique books. Bookbinding equipment is relatively inexpensive and the learning curve is not that steep.
Reuse of industrial packaging
Zimbabwean companies, particularly manufacturing ones, discard the packaging containers which so many of us find valuable daily. Drums, pails and cardboard boxes are all considered to be space-wasting garbage by a lot of these companies. You will notice that in Zimbabwe many of these containers are the same which end up being sold on the streets. Drums and pails are valued as water containers because the water supply in several of our major towns is unreliable. Steel drums can also be upcycled i.e. hacked, sawed and welded to produce all manner of new products e.g. refuse bins. You can “help” companies which have to contend with all this waste packaging by taking it off their hands to either resell it as it is or by first adding a little bit of value of your own as shown in the drum example. You can offer to emblazon the rubbish bins you make from steel drums (and then place in public places) with the promotional material of local businesses in exchange for a fee.
Repairing and reselling old gadgets or appliances
Televisions, stoves, fridges and other appliances require a significant investment when bought brand new from the store. You can start a business which offers lower-priced versions of these. Many people prefer second hand, brand name gadgets to new same-priced ones of questionable quality like the infamous Chinese knockoffs. You can buy broken gadgets and appliances from people at very low prices and then repair them to resell with a mark-up added. Repairs can either be conducted in-house or subcontracted to an external repairman. To run this business successfully, you must not only be a good negotiator but must also develop the skills to assess how much repairing something will cost you and how much the repaired version can fetch—this is important if you want a profit. You must know what people want and which appliances or gadgets are most likely to sell. For instance, it would be much easier (and profitable) to sell a record player than a VCR; both are obsolete but the former is usually considered to be more valuable.
Car battery reconditioning
Car batteries do not last long and have to be regularly replaced. Sometimes the need for one of these replacements can occur at the most inopportune of times: when you are broke. This also means that these old, dead batteries are everywhere. Fortunately, car batteries can have some of their life restored through what is called reconditioning. You can easily buy old or dead batteries for cheap, recondition them and then sell them at a mark-up. Besides targeting customers who just want to save money, you can also appeal to their eco-conscious counterparts.
The work will involve dissolving the crystals which accumulate on the lead plates inside the battery. This is done to restore the battery’s efficiency. The process requires both dirty and hard work not to mention that it involves working with dangerous chemicals so it is best left to professionals—or you can hire one. To be more specific, sulphuric acid is one of the most corrosive acids out there while lead happens to be a poisonous metal.
Car restoration
Classic cars are big business throughout the world. The definition of a classic car also happens to be a flexible one; a car from the late 90s can be considered a classic as can be one more deserving to be in a museum than on the road. Depending on the car model, your restoration skills and the customer, you can sometimes sell one of these cars at a price much higher than that of a brand new one. For you to “restore” a classic car, technically all you need is the body, everything else you can take from newer cars or even off the shelves. The bodies of old cars can be found straddled on bricks all over the country. I have a friend who can turn a rusty pile of old junk into a polished beauty that turns heads wherever it drives.
There are a lot more of these ideas out there. If you think you have any brilliant ones or would like to further discuss any of the ones listed here, do not hesitate to inbox. Indeed, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
