The marketing potential of your recyclables can be improved if you cooperate with neighboring businesses that generate the same types of materials. For example, businesses in the same building or in a shopping mall might share storage space for recyclables at the loading dock or other central location. Together, they can find a buyer for the larger quantity of material. Businesses also might be able to share processing equipment, such as balers. The second key to selling recyclable materials is meeting the buyer's quality requirements.
Quality refers to the extent to which the materials are clean, consistent, and contaminant-free.
Your program should stress the importance of minimizing contamination and collecting high-quality recyclables. The vendors you ultimately contract with will provide specific quality requirements and explain how the material must be sorted and prepared. Once you have decided what materials to collect and you have located a vendor, it is time to set up your collection program. Use your ingenuity and creativity to design a program that suits the specific needs of your business. Place collection containers in convenient locations as close as possible to areas where recyclables are generated.