Recycling plastic bottles as a business. How to open a plastic recycling business Selling plastic bottles as a business

A business that is based on processing recyclable materials will always be highly profitable. Use of used plastic bottles for the production of polymer chips, with proper organization of the sales process finished products, can not only quickly return invested cash, but also to ensure a constant, high income.

Advantages and disadvantages of business

The positive aspects of organizing the recycling of plastic bottles include the following:
Business is socially significant Pollution process environment with various plastics is so large that you can count on help from the administration of the locality where plastic recycling will be organized.

The low level of competition in this business is a big advantage for those businessmen who will open a plastic bottle recycling business this year.

In addition to the advantages, such a business has disadvantages:

To open a mini-plant for processing plastic bottles, a large number of permits will be required. In our country, this issue of recycling recyclable materials is not fully regulated and therefore just the legal registration of such an enterprise can take about 6 months.
At first, it is quite difficult to arrange supplies of raw materials for processing. To sell finished products, it is also necessary to establish difficult relationships with manufacturers of plastic products.
Recycling of plastic bottles is highly dependent on manual labor. For the full functioning of even a small processing plant, it is necessary to hire a sufficient number of workers who need to pay wages, as well as make payments to the pension fund and compulsory medical insurance fund.

Despite all the difficulties that may arise at the preparatory stage, a properly established process of supply and sales of products, as well as production technology, will allow you to quickly receive significant dividends from the funds invested in processing.

Process technology

The technological process of processing is carried out in the following sequence:

Collection of used plastic bottles.
Sorting of raw materials.
Removing metal and rubber from each bottle by hand.
Pressing of raw materials.
Pressed raw materials are loaded onto a conveyor for processing.

The result of processing will be flex, which is plastic flakes. Flex is used to make bottles or other plastic products. It is necessary to organize the bottle recycling process in such a way that the equipment does not stand idle. In order to ensure the operation of the equipment, a large amount of raw materials is required. The most suitable places for collecting products are various landfills. You can open a collection point for plastic bottles from the population. In large cities, containers with the inscription “for plastic bottles” can be placed in residential areas. Equipment for bottle recycling

To equip a small processing plant, you need to purchase:

Conveyor for sorting.
Vibrating sieve.
Crusher.
Centrifuge.
Cork separator.
Washing container.
Drying.

This equipment will cost at least 4,000,000 rubles. If you purchase equipment on the secondary market, you can save up to 50% of the cost of a new production line.

Collection of raw materials and sale of finished products

For the full functioning of the processing line, a constant supply of raw materials is necessary, so it is necessary to diversify the channels for receiving bottles for processing as much as possible. This can be direct purchase from the population or from catering enterprises. Most of the raw materials can be obtained free of charge if you place containers for plastic bottles in places where waste is collected.

The less money is spent on purchasing raw materials, the lower the cost of production and the higher the profitability of the enterprise. Serious problems with the sale of finished products usually do not arise.

Flex, which is obtained as a result of bottle processing, is readily purchased in wholesale quantities by manufacturers of various plastic products.

We count profits

It is very difficult to accurately calculate the profitability of a bottle recycling plant. The difficulty lies in the fact that at the calculation stage it is impossible to determine the exact cost of raw materials. If the locality in which it is planned to open this production has a population of more than 100,000 people, then in this case you can count on a constant supply of raw materials at a price of 1 - 2 rubles per kilogram. Considering the large number of people who are below the poverty line, a collection point for used plastic bottles in big city, will allow you to obtain a large amount of inexpensive raw materials.
If the production of processing plastic containers will be located in a rural locality, then you can only count on successful business if there is a solid waste landfill in the immediate vicinity of the plant. In such conditions, it is also enough to set the plastic intake at the level of 1 - 2 rubles per 1 kg, and you will not have to worry about the supply of raw materials for processing.

The products will be sold at a price of 30 rubles per 1 kg of flexible. Considering the minimal amount of waste in the raw materials received, a plastic bottle recycled into flex will cost 15 times more than the original raw material.

This business would be considered extremely profitable, if not for the large monthly expenses for paying salaries to workers of the processing complex. Accepted containers must be manually sorted by color and quality of plastic. There is no automation that would cope with this work, so for the operation of a small production, you will need at least 4 people to work on the conveyor, and you also need loaders and a truck driver.

At least 100,000 rubles will be spent on salaries every month, but this amount can be increased if the processing plant operates in 2 shifts. In addition to salaries, it is necessary to pay utility costs, which will be quite significant due to consumption large quantity electricity. Average utility costs for a small processing plant will be at least 30,000 rubles per month.

At ideal conditions running this business, you can calculate the approximate profitability of the processing plant. With a processing capacity of 100 kg/h, in 1 work shift you can get up to 800 kg of flexible, which will be sold at a wholesale price of 30 rubles per 1 kg. Thus, the daily revenue of the enterprise will be 24,000 rubles. With a five-day working week, monthly revenue will be about 0.5 million rubles. From this amount you must subtract various monthly payments:

Salary - 100,000 rubles.
Rent - 50,000 rubles.
Electricity - 30,000 rubles.
The cost of raw materials is 50,000 rubles.

With monthly expenses of 230,000 rubles, the net profit will be about 300,000 rubles per month. With the initial costs of purchasing equipment, the enterprise will fully pay for itself within 1 year. Of course, such a development of events is only possible if the processing plant operates at full capacity. If insufficient quantities of raw materials are supplied for processing, then revenue will be significantly lower, and the payback period can be increased to 2 or more years.

Business development prospects

If after 1 - 2 years successful work the processing plant will operate successfully, and there will be a need to increase production capacity, it will be possible to transfer the plant to a round-the-clock operation. The profit that will be received from processing and selling plastic containers within 2 years can be used to open a plant with a higher production capacity.

The most promising location for this enterprise would be in a city with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants. To keep production busy, you can additionally purchase products from neighboring regions and deliver the goods by rail.

You can significantly increase the profitability of an enterprise for processing plastic bottles if you organize a full cycle of production of plastic products. In this case, there is no need to find buyers for flex; all produced plastic chips will be used for the production of bottles or other products.

Conclusion

Before engaging in this business, you must conduct marketing research. It is necessary to accurately determine the number of processing enterprises that operate in a given region. If the city already has a processing plant of sufficiently large capacity, then it will be very difficult for a small enterprise to compete.

In any locality, the number of used containers is a constant value, and if someone has already organized the collection of raw materials, then for a newly opened enterprise, the volume of containers accepted for processing will not be enough for full functioning. You should open a small workshop for processing plastic bottles in rented premises. When the business is established and needs to be expanded, it is necessary to build premises for this purpose.

In this case, you can completely exclude rent from monthly expenses, which will significantly increase the profitability of production. Despite the serious difficulties at the initial stage of running a plastic bottle recycling business, this type of entrepreneurial activity brings a very large profit, which directly depends on the correct organization of the supply of raw materials and the sale of finished products.

In contact with

The average city dweller throws out up to 250 kilograms of garbage per year, and about a third of this mass is polyethylene containers. PET bottles are widely used for storing and transporting both beer and kvass, and for mineral waters, various juices and drinking water. There is a lot of plastic containers in the trash from technical fluids, primarily those that motorists use when servicing their cars.

Of course, it would be wiser to recycle the plastic , n Despite the fact that one used polyethylene bottle is an empty space, its weight is negligible. Containers made of glass or cardboard are much heavier. However, it is difficult to find in trash container more expensive and necessary raw materials for the production of expensive chemical fibers from polyethylene, new containers for liquids.

First processed product plastic waste– flex. This is a flake-like raw material obtained by primary processing plastic bottles. With further processing, it can be used to produce the same types of plastic containers as those that were thrown into the trash. The chain of recycling plastic waste is almost endless, and each time, passing through a closed technological cycle, the product returns in an updated form to its consumer - a person.

Chemical fiber obtained from waste plastic containers is used to make brushes for road and sidewalk cleaning machines, and working parts for car washes. Flex is used to make polyethylene film and packaging containers, paving slabs and tiles. This is not the entire list of products for processing plastic raw materials; it can be continued almost indefinitely.

If we also take into account the environmental effect of recycling, then no one will have any doubt that this is a very useful thing. After all, in nature, plastic decomposes over several hundred years, polluting our cities, roads, lakes and even oceans. Opening a mini plastic processing plant in Russia means providing for yourself profitable business for a very long term and to do good to humanity.

Plastic waste recycling technology

When processing solid household waste from plastic, the first step is sorting PET containers into colored and transparent. Then the colored waste is once again sorted by color, since each color will be preserved in the future, and mixing the colors means getting an indefinite color of the product non-standard type. All foreign objects located inside the bottles and adhering to them from the outside are removed.

It is unacceptable for materials such as glass, rubber, paper or other types of plastic products to be included in the total mass of plastic. Each color will be processed separately in the future. Plastic recycling technology necessarily involves careful sorting of waste, since the price of finished raw materials will also depend on this.

At the next stage of processing, plastic raw materials, sorted by color tones, are pressed with special presses and sent to processing machines. In the machines, plastic is processed into granules, and the output is a flaky granular material - flex.

The plastic waste recycling line consists of several machines connected into a common conveyor chain using roller belt conveyors. In the first machine, raw materials are rotated at high speed, at which various labels, caps, caps and other foreign objects are separated from the walls of plastic containers. Next comes the crushing of the raw materials in a plastic processing plant, which is similar in principle to a blender. Grinding occurs using a knife mechanism that cuts the raw material into small crumbs.

The next stage is the supply of crushed raw materials to the steam boiler using a screw conveyor operating on the principle of an Archimedes screw. Under the influence of hot steam, the remains of foreign impurities and adhesive compositions in place of labels and lids are separated from the chopped mass. The raw materials become cleaned and washed to an intermediate degree of readiness.

The material washed in the steam boiler goes into the machine for more thorough washing and polishing of the crumbling surfaces. The next type of treatment is rinsing in water. The mass of raw materials is mixed with water, creating turbulent rinsing conditions. Only after this treatment can the plastic be considered completely cleaned and ready for a new stage in the manufacture of products from it. Of course, the washed mass should be dried well in a dryer and packaged in standard containers.

As if summing up the results of the study of the technological sequence of processing plastic waste, we list all its main operations:

sorting PET waste by color and composition;
pressing of dirty waste;
rotation;
splitting up;
steam cleaning;
washing with water;
drying and packaging.

This sequence may change during the operation of other automatic processing lines, and some operations may be combined into one. But the basic principle of sorting and cleaning remains the same.

If the processing and granulation of PVC raw materials is carried out as part of an integrated organization of plastic waste processing, then the technology uses slightly different equipment. But everything that is needed for waste treatment described above is stored as a preliminary processing step. If the waste arrives in sorted and clean form, then this raw material is loaded directly into the machine line of the complex.

The line consists of an apparatus for crushing PVC waste, a device for mixing various compositions, a two-screw extruder, a granulating apparatus and a sieve. If you buy equipment for processing plastic of this type, you will need an amount of about 2,500,000 rubles. This price of equipment for processing plastic into pellets is not so high if you consider the possible profit from its operation.

You can buy plastic recycling machines separately, but this will not necessarily be cheaper. The typical productivity of a small line for producing raw materials from plastic waste is up to 30 kilograms per hour. The cost of finished granulated PVC raw materials, depending on its color, technical properties and granule size, is up to 80,000 rubles per ton. Considering that even the smallest processing enterprise produces dozens of tons of raw materials per month, the plastic processing business can provide quite a large profit. If you increase the scale of production, then the income of the enterprise will grow in proportion to the increase in the total productivity of the machines.

Where to get PET waste?

Gaining access to raw materials of plastic waste means concluding agreements with waste processing plants. It is also beneficial for them when a company purchases plastic in large quantities for recycling. After all, the price for one kilogram of empty plastic containers reaches 30 rubles and more. Again, you can use the main lever in the fight against competitors - increase the purchase price. But here, too, you need to see a dangerous line, beyond which there is a threat to deprive your production of profits.

Another option for obtaining PET waste is to install machines for receiving empty containers in places where juices, waters, and beer are sold. Such machines can often be seen in front of the entrance to the trading floor of large stores. There are collection points for used plastic containers in all big cities. The manufacturer of plastic raw materials should also establish contacts with them.

There is nothing humiliating about visiting large city dumps. After all, it is there that all the solids flock household waste, including PET bottles. Placing an advertisement on an A4 sheet of paper with an offer to buy plastic bottles, indicating the price of accepting plastic for recycling in the region of 20 rubles per kilogram is a matter of minutes. It is also important to indicate in the advertisement that the bottles must be empty and without caps, since caps complicate the waste sorting process.

To save yourself the hassle of traveling, you can place your own collection point for plastic bottles somewhere not far from the recycling workshop. Even if in small batches, but in this way the raw materials will find their way into your production.

The price for waste must be set in a differentiated form: for transparent bottles it should be higher than for colored ones. Then colored waste will occupy the average price niche, but for bottle waste Brown the price should be lower because industrial application This plastic is limited. There is also another reason for this - the distributors of plastic waste will sort it themselves, without distracting the workers of the recycling workshop.

It will be difficult to start a business on the scale of a mini-workshop for processing plastic waste alone. To fully load the workshop with work, you will have to hire up to ten workers to organize shift work of the equipment. The minimum wage for a machine operator should be 15,000 rubles per month. You will also need auxiliary workers and an electrician with an accountant.

Profitability of recycling plastic waste

Receiving plastic for recycling gives this material a second life. It again becomes dishes, film, tape, chemical fibers. A ton of processed raw materials – flex – costs up to 22,000 rubles, and this is not the limit. Of ten tons solid waste It turns out about 8 tons of raw materials. It turns out that recycling bottles can bring even a home mini-workshop a monthly profit of 80,000 rubles.

You can compare the benefits of recycling different types of plastic – PVC and PET. At recycling plastic (PET waste) results in a fairly high profitability of the enterprise. Even if the monthly salary for all employees is 190,000 rubles and the price of purchased raw materials is 3,000 rubles per ton, then with the number of working days in a month equal to 24, the productivity of the line will be at least 10 tons of flexible. And this is more than 300,000 rubles of net profit on the gross product. Taking into account utilities for the operation of the enterprise in the approximate amount of 25% of the gross profit, the net profit of the entrepreneur will not be less than 200,000 rubles.

A similar calculation is made for recycling PVC waste. The cost of purchasing a production line will be about 2,500,000 rubles. Typically the number of workers on such a line is 2 people. Their average salary per month can be approximately estimated at 30,000 rubles. By purchasing raw materials from intermediaries at 20,000 rubles per ton and receiving more than 200 kilograms of finished product per day, the monthly gross income will be 240 thousand.

If you manufacture more expensive types of PVC and transfer the production line to three shifts, you can increase the net profit of the enterprise by 3 times.

Even if we take the minimum numbers of the main indicators of the enterprise’s performance, then in 2–3 years the costs of the equipment will be recouped and the entrepreneur will reach a high-level profit regime. It is important not to get confused halfway, to be stubborn until you overcome any problems!

Experience of other producers of PET raw materials

The Russian waste recycling niche is practically unoccupied, especially in small towns. Such production is necessarily supported by the authorities, which means that it will be much easier to obtain a bank loan for a developed detailed business plan for plastic processing than for other production. In addition, you can count on free assistance from the city budget, taking into account the unfavorable environmental situation in the areas of landfills and adjacent city blocks. It would not be surprising if sponsors and patriots of their city could easily be found to help buy machines for plastics.

The popularity of business on secondary raw materials is explained by the following reasons:

a business that processes PET bottles can count on government assistance, as it improves the state of the area’s ecological system;

Recycling PET bottles and other plastic products became relevant immediately after the start of their mass production for household needs. Under natural conditions, plastic decomposes for a very long time, so sooner or later society faces the question: what to do with waste from this material - dispose of it or process it into raw materials that are in demand for various production purposes. Statistics show that the profitability of enterprises involved in plastic processing is quite high. This is due to the insignificant costs of creating enterprises, the simplicity of processing technology and practically inexhaustible sources of raw materials.

IN Russian Federation This business is much more promising than in European countries. The numbers speak volumes about this: in Russia only about 6% of plastic bottles and other types of packaging are recycled annually, while in Europe this figure is 80%. The recommended business plan for plastic processing with calculations is a project for organizing a small plant that will be in demand in almost any region of the country, especially in small towns and near places of mass recreation.

Market Review

Worldwide, over 3 billion tons of waste are generated every year from various materials. Of this amount, at least 11-12% is plastic. The United States produces the most plastic waste – approximately 77 kg per person. In our country this figure is 25 kg. Mostly polyethylene and polypropylene are recycled. Combined waste is practically not processed. Recyclable materials obtained from plastic waste are sent to enterprises engaged in the production of various structures, composite building materials, packaging products, etc. An important advantage modern technologies recycling is that during the recycling process, many of the original properties of plastic materials are lost and the scope of their recycling is narrowed, thereby reducing the re-generation of waste.

In Russia, the annual volume of plastic waste generation is estimated at approximately 40 million tons, of which only 35% is suitable for recycling. As noted above, only 6% of this amount is sent for processing. The rest is transported to numerous landfills, the size of which grows from year to year.

The main obstacle to organizing a civilized approach to plastic recycling in our country is the lack of a separate collection system. Only such activities can become the basis for deep processing, because sorting mixed waste makes it possible to extract only 10-15% of recyclable raw materials from them.

Despite all the difficulties, the plastic waste recycling industry is developing in Russia. The number of factories producing flex from used plastic is gradually increasing in the country, their profitability is increasing, and the cost of primary raw materials is increasing, which, in turn, leads to an increase in the use of recyclable materials.

It's gratifying that state level new laws are adopted and attractive economic conditions are developed for market participants. On it in given time The main players are:

11 thousand landfills and landfills.
4 waste incineration plants (all located in the capital region).
5 waste processing plants.
39 sorting bases.
Over 1 thousand transport organizations involved in waste removal.

A feature of the domestic plastics processing market is its predominantly local nature, which leads to a constant increase in the area occupied by landfills. According to the FAS Russia, the market is characterized by an extremely low level of competition, especially in the regional context. An example of this is city statistics, which depend on population size. In particular, 45% of cities with over 100 thousand residents are served by one waste removal company. Much more organizations are engaged in recycling,

In general, according to Research.Techart, the domestic recycling market is estimated at $1.5-2 billion. There are quite a few “pure” processors; most enterprises prefer to produce flexible products.

In addition, the Russian plastic recycling market is technologically underdeveloped, as evidenced by the following statistics:

There are 36-38 million tons of waste in the country's landfills (i.e. 90-92% of the total).
Only 1.8% of solid waste is burned in the country.
1.2-1.6 million tons (3-4%) are subjected to industrial processing per year.

Thus, opening a small plastic processing plant is a socially significant and economically attractive business line.

Organizational and legal form

A plastic processing enterprise is created within the legal form of a limited liability company (LLC). This choice due to the advantages that the plant will have in production and commercial activities. First of all:

Possibility of concluding contracts for the supply of products abroad.
Granting the right to cooperate with legal entities.
Wider prospects for the development of the enterprise.

In accordance with the chosen form of business organization, taxation is carried out according to the general system.

The main taxes paid and their amounts are indicated in the following table:

Tax	Applicable tax base	Periodicity	Bet amount
By the amount of profit	Amount of profit received	Mts	20%
VAT	Amount of accrued VAT	Mts	18%
For property	The amount of the cost of the acquired property	According to schedule	2,2%
Income	Payroll	Mts	13%
Social payments	Payroll	Mts	34%

Description of the object

The plant being created for processing plastic waste will produce flex as a final product. This material is in the form of granules, which can later be used to make disposable plastic tableware, packaging containers, plastic films and tapes and other products.

Implement milestones of this project is planned within the following timeframes:

Stage / month, decade	1			2			3
Stage / month, decade	1 Dec	2 Dec	3 Dec	1 Dec	2 Dec	3 Dec	1 Dec
Registration of LLC, enterprise	+	+	+
Registration with tax authorities, opening a current account		+	+
Signing a lease agreement for production space		+	+
Purchase of production and technological equipment	+	+	+
Repair of industrial premises		+	+	+
Registration of permits and conclusion of contracts for the supply of raw materials for the enterprise				+	+
Installation, commissioning and testing of a plastic processing production line			+	+	+	+
Conclusion of contracts with consumers of final products (flex)					+	+
Recruitment			+	+	+
Starting a business							+

Selection of production premises

For the normal functioning of a plastic processing enterprise, an unused premises of a factory or large warehouse with a total area of at least 120 square meters are selected. m. The facility must have a connection to the electricity, water supply and sewerage networks. The most preferable location is the plant near landfills for waste collection and storage. This will reduce the costs of transport support for the project.

The facility is equipped with premises for:

Enterprise office.
Warehouses for raw materials and finished products.
Factory workers.
Workshops with an installed plastic processing line.
Sanitary and hygienic needs of personnel.
Storage of spare parts of equipment and tools.

On the territory of the plant there is a parking area for vehicles delivering raw materials for processing and exporting finished products.

The best solution for choosing premises is to provide them for rent by the city administration as part of a regional environmental program.

Production and technological equipment

The preparatory stage for plastic processing consists of the following operations:

Collection of PET bottles and other types of plastic packaging.
Sorting of raw materials by classes (colors).
Rejection of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products.

After their completion, the raw materials are sent to a technological processing line consisting of the following units:

Band conveyer.
Rotary machine.
Screw conveyor with Archimedean screw.
Machine for removing caps and labels from bottles.
Crusher.
Boiler.
Screw.
Washing machine.
Rinsing machine.
Dryer-water separator (centrifuge).
Air drying equipment (pneumatic dryer).
Flotation baths.
Storage hopper.

The capacity of the purchased equipment is 700 kg of flex per hour. The line is operated by two workers.

Recruitment

At the initial stage of the project, 18 employees are hired to work at the plastic waste recycling plant. The staffing table and labor costs are shown in the following table:

Name of position (specialty)	Number of full-time employees	Size wages per month	Payroll per month
Director	1	30 000	30 000
Collectors-sorters	15	12 000	180 000
Workers servicing a plastic processing line	2	20 000	40 000
TOTAL	18	62 000	250 000

Accounting services at the initial stage of operation of an enterprise are outsourced.

Financial plan

The total investments in the project are distributed as follows:

Directions for project financing	Total
Purchase of equipment	3 500 000
Working capital	155 000
Organizational expenses	610 000
Total (in rub.)	4 265 000

It is planned that plastic bottles will be purchased mainly from the local population at a price of 15-18 rubles per 1 kg (calculations use a price of 18 rubles per 1 kg). Considering that approximately 800 grams of flexible are obtained from 1 kg of plastic waste, the technological losses of the line will amount to 20% of the total mass of waste. The average cost of flex granules is 35 rubles/kg. Transport costs are accepted in the amount of 20% of the cost of raw materials.

Under these conditions, the plant’s revenue from product sales for the first year of its operation will be 17,248,000 rubles.

The total costs of the project for 1 year of operation of the enterprise are shown in this table:

The projected revenue of the plant for 1 year of operation will be 17,248,000 rubles, with a production cost of 18,651,000 rubles. Taking into account the payment of taxes in the amount of 172,480 rubles, the net profit of the enterprise will be 1,575,480 rubles. Thus, with a planning horizon for the enterprise’s activities of 1 year, projected expenses and income, investments in the creation of a plastic processing plant will pay off no later than 8 months from the date of its opening. The profitability of the enterprise for this period will be 27%.

SWOT analysis of business

A SWOT analysis provides a clear picture of the potential risks and benefits of a given business.

Strengths:

Availability of versatile international experience activities of enterprises in this industry.
Availability of standard design and estimate documentation for the creation of plastic processing facilities.
High social significance of the type of activity.
Availability of public environmental organizations, supporting the creation of processing enterprises.
Availability of environmental programs implemented by local government bodies.
Simplicity of raw material processing technologies.
Constant availability of raw materials for processing.

Weak sides:

Insufficient development of a regional regulatory framework for the activities of plastic waste recycling plants.
Possible limitation of raw material sources in some regions of the country.
Insufficient level of organization of separate waste collection.
Poor development of the industry in the country.
Low social prestige of the activity.

As a result, a business may face the following risks:

Market fluctuations in the cost of final products.
Decrease in investment attractiveness.
Changes in the field government regulation waste management rules.

Eventually

Creating an enterprise for processing plastic waste is an economically viable and profitable business. The profitability of the production process is ensured by insignificant costs for the purchase of raw materials, low current production costs and high level profit after the enterprise reaches break-even operating mode.

In the modern consumer world, the problem of waste disposal has become global scale. Cities and their surrounding areas are simply drowning under the pressure of accumulating waste, which is especially felt due to the lack of recycling plants. The biggest threat to the planet is plastic, which the population refuses to hand over to collection points, and there are very few factories that could solve this problem. In light of this, it can be assumed that the business plan for plastic recycling production can even become very topical issue for those who intend to succeed in this field.

Business Features

We can say with confidence that this niche is practically unoccupied in Russia. This can be judged by the rather deplorable state that has developed in our country with the issue of plastic waste disposal. Many businessmen believe that opening such an enterprise is not profitable and profitable. And this opinion can be considered erroneous.

There are two reasons for this:

this processing area is very actively supported by the authorities, who are happy to accommodate those who decide to organize such an enterprise;
Waste processing plants allow the state to save on measures to improve the environmental situation.

And, although the money received from the state budget does not cover all the costs of organizing a business, it will still help solve most questions at the initial stage.

Advantages

In addition, the result of processing can be very profitably sold to manufacturers of the same bottles, films, boxes, since plastic can be successfully reused. The price per ton of this recycled material is $700. Other advantages of this direction include:

no problems with raw materials, since there is no alternative to plastic yet;
low cost of starting an enterprise;
simple technology;
accessibility even for beginners;
no need to obtain a license;
quick payback;
low competition.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that recycling plastic requires 88% less energy than producing it.

Room

individual entrepreneurship;

a machine that removes labels and caps;
crushing apparatus;
conveyor;
a boiler in which all unnecessary elements are removed with the help of steam;
washing machine;
dryer;
air drying machine;
container for finished products.

Installation of domestic production will cost 15 thousand. e., but imported equipment will cost from 60 thousand. e.

Raw materials and personnel

An important question is where to get raw materials for processing. There are many options:

collection from landfills;
purchasing from companies. With successful negotiations, you can get this waste for free, because in large cities there are a lot of restaurants, factories and other organizations that daily get rid of large quantities of this product;
advertisements on the Internet;
plastic collection points. Alternatively, you can negotiate with existing ones, but it will still be more profitable to open your own.

As for the personnel serving your plant, here you need to provide the following positions:

The entire workforce will “cost” approximately 7 thousand USD. e. monthly.

Financial part

The main expense items look like this (in dollars):

premises rental – 70-730;
equipment – 60-100 thousand;
raw materials – $100 per month;
salary – 7 thousand;
utility bills - 5 thousand.

Of this amount, monthly expenses will be approximately $12,800. At the same time, a ton of already recycled plastic can be sold for $500-800. The price depends on the color and quality of the product. If we assume that the plant processes one ton of waste per day, then in 23 working days in a month it will produce products worth $16,100 (we take an average cost of $700). Thus, it turns out that the net profit will be 3 thousand dollars per month.

Hence the conclusion - the initial costs can be recouped within the first few months of work. At the same time, do not forget about advertising, which should provide you with a constant influx of consumers, which can be not only manufacturers of plastic bottles, but also manufacturers of disposable tableware, toothbrushes, and other essential household goods.

Business from scratch - how to write a business plan: Video

In an interview with Kontur.Zhurnal, the author unique technology on converting plastic into building materials, he spoke about the advantages of materials from recycled materials and the difficulties of working in Russia, what he learned in the USA and how he intends to turn his project into a franchise network.

No one teaches you how to recycle plastic

I started the project in 2002. We recycle all types of plastic waste and produce Construction Materials, and we are also trying to create fundamentally new materials, exploring how to obtain a higher quality product or a product with different properties from the same raw materials.

Scientific research is one of the most important areas in our company. I do them myself, although I do not have a specialized education, I have two diplomas - an economist and a lawyer.

There are no chemists at our enterprise, this is pointless - they don’t teach plastic recycling anywhere. At most they give some formulas, no one knows what to do with this next. I am confident that anyone can achieve success in this matter high altitudes, develop similar technology and build a house for yourself. After all, the project began precisely with the fact that I wanted to build my own home or start a business: there was not enough money for both, and I decided to combine my goals.

Over the 11 years that we have been present on the market, we have gained a lot of experience in the field of processing. Most likely, only a few people in Russia have such knowledge. Of course, we have competitors, but their activities are narrowly focused. For example, they only recycle plastic bottles. We recycle absolutely any plastic: we try to diversify our project in order to reduce risks, because if some type of waste cannot be sold, it is unprofitable for us.

Recycled materials are better and cheaper

We are experiencing a bit of a lull now. We are waiting for orders, because Volgograd is a city with its own specifics, it is focused on the construction sector, and it is just winding down in the fall. The peak construction season is in spring and summer. At this time, many people are building private houses. Basically, they order polymer sand blocks from us. Also at this time, tiles or paving slabs are ordered. Half of the orders come from private individuals, the other half from organizations.

Word of mouth helps a lot. Once we brought materials to one client, he built an extension to the house, then a bathhouse. After that, the neighbors on the street started asking him questions, about half of them placed an order with us. Our materials are especially suitable for the construction of baths and swimming pools, because the blocks are made on the basis of foam plastic, which does not absorb moisture.

We produce polymer-sand products: tiles, tiles, polystyrene concrete blocks. We resell some of the recycled plastic to businesses that need it. The main advantages of our materials are that they are economical and high quality. Tiles made of plastic are much more durable than concrete. The service life of concrete in Russia is approximately four years in the northern and central regions; our tiles last at least 10 years.

Polystyrene concrete is available on the market, but it is made from virgin material and is expensive. The one made from recycled materials is very warm and light, suitable for industrial and office construction. For example, last year we built a kindergarten.

How to surprise the USA

I recently completed an internship at the Unreasonable Institute in the USA. They support projects in the field of social entrepreneurship - not only in the field of waste recycling, a variety of projects are welcome. For example, in India they organize access to clean water, in Africa they produce feed additives from mango waste. In the USA they make hammocks, sell them domestically and give jobs to people from Thailand. There were 14 projects, among them was mine, the first project from Russia.

I studied for five weeks and during this time I visited many specialized enterprises. Among them there were also non-traditional ones: for example, those in which office equipment is dismantled. 95% of the employees there are people with autism and other mental disorders. Is there any unique projects: in Denver there is a center where you can bring your furniture and building materials and leave them on site for a fee. Then other people can come, look, choose something and buy. It’s like a second-hand store, but instead of clothes there are building materials. In the USA they are very expensive, people are ready to remove both boards and paving slabs and bring them to their home. In addition, recycle construction waste very expensive so this is a good alternative.

In the USA, sorting companies resell some of the waste to China. Some remains unclaimed, and if there is no buyer, it is more profitable to bury the plastic in the ground. We are developing technologies so that not a single gram of waste is wasted.

Americans were surprised when I showed them the garbage they weren't using and told them that I would ideally recycle it into my own building materials. For example, we produce foam blocks, but they recognize it as non-recyclable.

Russian specifics

I try to put the experience and knowledge gained abroad into practice, but I don’t copy everything blindly. Adaptation requires finance, which we do not yet have.

The total investment in the project over the entire period of its existence amounted to approximately 6-7 million rubles. So far we have not purchased anything new, but we have been able to reduce costs.

We moved from the regional center back to Volgograd and moved production there. Previously, we worked in an industrial zone 50 km from the city. If we received investment and recycled 100% of plastic, this distance would be invisible. But under the circumstances, these 50 km took a lot of time and money.

After the sanctions, foreign investors are reluctant to invest in Russia, and even before that they were afraid to do so. However, there is a double impression here: some categorically do not want to work in Russia, other companies work here and say that this is the most profitable market in the world.

Foreigners constantly entice me to work: they offer to either move with them, or simply organize the same business with them, and they will already find financing.

Now I have prospects abroad. If things don’t work out in Russia, then I will move with great pleasure. It’s difficult to say where: in Europe everything is compact and collection will be better; in the USA there will probably be problems with logistics, but there more space for creativity.

It is difficult to work in Russia. We are not entitled to any benefits. Although we are, in fact, engaged in social entrepreneurship, according to the law we are equated to an ordinary and even an air-polluting enterprise. Last year we were heavily fined; these fines almost led to bankruptcy. Of course, during processing some harmful substances are still released, but if this waste is left in the ground, the damage will be a thousand times greater.

Last year we launched separate collection, but did not know how to do it correctly, so the project has not yet paid off. Now we have developed our own containers from Russian materials. Before that, they were supplied to us from abroad. We try to do everything ourselves, we are working on import substitution, since buying something is usually expensive.

Nobody wants to give away their plastic for free. If you go to large retail chains, they say: either buy, or we won’t give you anything.

After the abolition of waste licensing last year, a lot of resellers entered the market, as a result, the price of waste soared and a “soap bubble” formed. They end up selling it to the highest bidder.

In such a situation, it is very difficult for processors. We hope that a federal recycling law will be passed next year and this chaos will end.

Further development

Applications come from a variety of cities, but transportation is very expensive - this is what often stops people. We want our project to appear in all cities of Russia, so that anyone can build their own home from these materials. We are trying to find people who will use our technology and work with us. They are found, but, as a rule, they are enthusiasts who do not have an initial investment. We are moving the project towards franchising, so that banks will provide financing, and people can buy equipment and develop the project in their region. We are also looking for investments to organize a business in another region. So far, neither one nor the other has worked out.

Recently, Promvyazbank and I won joint financing for our project, but now we are thinking whether it’s worth taking it. Loan at 20%, the risks are very high. We tried to establish work with two investment companies: one has suspended its activities for now, the second refused, since processing is not their profile. In general, they can be understood.

There are funds that are aimed at agricultural financing, they have experience in this area, and they can establish sales even with poor financing. Waste recycling is a young industry for Russia, the legislation is very vague, and so far investors are in no hurry to invest.

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