Ewaste?? Was it the next big thing?

I'm certainly no financial guru, but I think we may not be looking at all the many aspects here folks! Also we are talking about a few different things as well. I think and correct me if I'm wrong! Mike asked a good and necessary couple of questions. (in a round about way) This is what all businesses and industries do. This happens within all companies, the particular industry (market sector) and others. Governments and governing organizations, federal, state, local and global (IMF and World Bank) are very interested.

Is the e-waste side of scrap business sustainable?, Was it just a fluke? Gold and the other PM's had their run and E-waste was just another "Gold Rush"? Is it worth the effort for such a diminished payment? How long before we see those better profits again? 1 year? 2 or will it be 5 years? If we invest in a E-wast business, what will it be like in 20 years? How can I better my return on my efforts and investment? Is it worth it? (heard that one before?).

If you just want to get by, take care of family and those you care about (absolutely nothing wrong with this). If you want a one man show, do what you want when you want. You have a job, but want more! If your desire is to build a successful and needed business. Recycling, processing of waste, reconditioning or re-purposing a disposed of resource, even limit or decrease a waste stream. All of these scenarios or going to be needed and around well into the foreseeable future. We really haven't even got started yet. There is so much potential for more growth, materiel not even processed, Social demand and regulated demand. I really don't see how it won't be viable. Will it be a get rich, with a guarantee of best business to ever come along and fail-safe endeavor? NO, there is no such thing, up to you if it works out.

Why and how do I know. Waste is starting to overwhelm us all, it is expensive to manage, it's everywhere we go, it's affecting our health and it will be everyone's problem until we do. Any intelligent person knows how important environmental management is and nothing new about bad air and water. The solid waste we generate is growing at a expeditious and unmanageable rate. I never thought, trash would be a occupational concern for myself. My dad was a civil engineer my mom an educator, I started out after school with a electronic engineering degree, working in the military/airlines. After years of management, I wanted to run my own company. One month after owning my company, I became concerned with waste! I understood why labor was my biggest expense. Fuel cost was second and to this day, they are still 1 & 2 expenses. Both are manageable and billing is understood to a customer. This becomes much harder when you need to bill a customer for their trash. Their trash is now your problem and they really don't want to hear about or pay for all the expenses of trash. I learned to make trash a priority, convert as much of it as you can to a value added product as efficiently as can be done. My landscaping company's trash became many products and money in the bank. I know waste can be converted into revenue, like anything you have to be willing and driven to do so.



Some numbers for you to think about. In just the last four years I have cut a $500,000 trash bill to less than $300,000. We do this with only one full time employee, hired for this position. I do a lot of after hour work myself (ask my family) and don't deduct myself as a expense. I have needed to add labor from my existing labor pool often this year. Will add another dedicated to recycling next week, just for E-waste. Want a sales person before December. 2010 was my first year managing solid commercial waste and I was not very productive at it. We only had six grades then (#1 Cu, #2 Cu, Red & Yel. Brass, Painted Alum. and Uncleaned Alum.). These were the only grades we had already been sorting by for years. I did find SMF that year and started reading everythread I could. I knew nothing about scraping, so I just read and asked no question! It was a post Mic started on metal identification that really "hooked" me to this site. After that night, we had 20 grades of scrap. I joined SMF soon after, you guys were way into it and obvious place I needed. I hired a guy part time that year, had a company to run. On the first day he asked, shouldn't we do the Aluminum cans? I still had a lot to learn, he went full time! We will do close if not more than $5k CRV cans and plastic bottles this year. Started doing E-waste in late 2012 have a lot to learn there as well. First and biggest mistake, I tore apart six working cat-scan machines. Way more than scrap value, hint when they build two large rooms for a series of connecting large devices and you have never seen anything like it. Just because you see gold, don't tear it apart because you can. Months after, I found, restored a very rare and old Gibson 1954 GA-20 guitar amplifier (I was starting to learn and think). Will keep this to remind me of my father, how I started, what one can do when you really want something and never get hung up on the doomsayers, obstacles and problems. There's always up's and downs, that is what makes a good ride, a ride worth having. Hang um out there, seek your dreams. The "They's" don't know anything, the only one that needs to know is you, on your last day who's keeping count.

it's never to late to do anything.

And some E-waste info:The average American gets a new cell phone every 18 to 22 months.
Our nations best year at recycling e-waste? last year 2013 25% with 75% into the trash it went.
Where are you going to find e-waste? Ask your neighbor or anyone for the e-waste stash they/we all have. 68% of us all have electronic gadgets that we quit using a long time ago and we will never use again. Next place to find e-waste? It's in the trash!
Least likely place for e-waste? Not being sold, only 2% of computers are ever used by a second owner, yet a computer is the most valuable source of e-waste overall and easiest to make ready for resale!
Here is why this needs to be a successful and I think it will be. E-waste is only 2% of the material in our landfills today. That 2% is 71% of the toxic substances in our landfills! E-waste recycling businesses have many valid reasons to work. Just the amount of material that has never been recycle is enormous. If we throw it away, none of us will be healthy much longer.