Start by clearing a space in your garage for storage. One side of a two-car garage, or any 8 by 12 foot space should be sufficient. If you have a garden shed that's dry, that would work well also. Some paper collectors even rent space in a neighborhood mini-warehouse. We've even seen some paper collectors store their collected paper on pallets in their backyards, using tarpaulins over it to keep it dry. The important thing is to have a space available to store your collected paper until you're ready to haul it to the recycling depot.
Being a firm believer in doing as little as possible of the physical work involved in any business, I recommend you hire people to do a lot of this for you. By that I mean you should contact all the cub scouts, girl scouts, and civic organizations in your area; tell them you'll pay them money for the paper they collect and turn in to you. At the same time, contact the counselors at the schools and colleges in your area and tell them you'll pay them for all the paper they collect. The idea is to get everyone in your area collecting paper for you, eliminating the need to do the actual collecting yourself.
How much of the gross profit you allow or pay these people who do the actual collection is up to you. The average rate is $25 to $30 per ton when you are getting $50 per ton.
In the beginning, you may have to make up a sign and tape it to the side of your pick-up or car, and "pound the pavement" yourself, but you would expect to do this in starting any business. Basically, there's nothing to this excepting that it takes time you could be using to do other things; but is there anything more important than getting your new business "off the ground?"
A simple sign such as JOE'S PAPER RECYCLING SERVICE - Phone 123-4567, is about all that's necessary. You could have this made up on a magnetic mat at most quick print shops. Have a college art student make one up for you on butcher paper, or have a professional sign painter produce one for you on heavy card stock.
With this sign on the side of your pickup, car, or trailer, simply drive through the residential neighborhoods of your area. Park in the middle of a block, get out and start knocking on doors, asking the residents if they have old newspapers or cardboard boxes they'd like for you to haul away for them. Generally, you'll get an armload of old newspapers at every house. Simply carry them to your pickup or trailer, then go on to the
next house.
If you'll set up a definite route to follow, certain streets on certain days about once every two weeks, you'll find the homeowners will have stacks of paper waiting for you. Regardless of whether the person answering the door gives you a stack of papers, always leave a business card at each home.
Some paper recyclers offer to pay the people saving newspapers for them, and having it ready for them when they make their collection rounds. Generally, this isn't necessary. If you'll develop regular collection days for each street or neighborhood,
you'll find the people putting papers out for you just as they set out their garbage for collection.
There are even some paper recyclers who charge the people to haul their paper away. This isn't advisable, because once you start hauling rubbish, you'll end up doing clean-up work, and hauling more to the dump than you do to the recycling depot.
Once you have your collection routes organized, you can hire students to make your collection rounds after school, and haul the paper to your storage center. You can set up crews of three - one to drive the truck or car while the others knock on doors on each side of the street.
Depending on how much paper each route gives you every two weeks, you could have a crew working several routes each day for minimum wage, probably so much per truck or trailer load, and expect to collect a couple of tons of paper for every three hours
they work.
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