Here at UNTHA UK, we work with hundreds of organisations across the country – spanning a broad spectrum of industries – helping them to boost their on-site recycling capabilities.

With over 50 years’ experience within the sector, we regularly receive queries about not only our shredding machinery, but ways to optimise waste and recycling operations.

And it’s not solely large, established waste operators that approach us for help – we’re often in dialogue with entrepreneurs and ambitious start-up organisations too, looking to take their first steps in the world of waste.

No matter which side of the commercial spectrum you’re on, our sales manager, Ian Harvey, shares some pointers to get you started – including some information on how an industrial shredder can help you along the way!

Understanding the ‘waste’

First and foremost, it’s vital to truly understand the ‘waste’ you want to deal with. This involves knowing where it has come from, what its composition is, how much you want to process, and what will happen to the resulting material.

After all, you’ll be transforming it into a valuable resource for reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, or energy recovery, so it’s crucial you’re clear on what the end-product will be and its destination.

There are many waste streams to consider – from medical, plastics, and metals, to WEEE, wood, tyres, industrial, and more – so defining your key area of focus will form the foundation of your entire business venture.

Researching the market

This phase goes hand-in-hand with point one. In order to create a comprehensive business plan, alongside the ‘waste’ itself, you should also carry out research into your chosen market, outline your objectives, identify your target customers (and partners), and take a look at competitors, too.

This all helps to get ‘under the skin’ of the sector as well as distinguish your point of difference.

Building a site specification

Once you know the ‘what’ and ‘where’, you can then turn your attention to the facility you’re going to create – and the machinery you’ll need to make it a reality.

And in building the best-fit specification for your shredding machine, in particular, here are some of the things you’ll need to think about:

• What material are you shredding?
• What is the largest bulky item you need to shred?
• What throughputs do you want to achieve?
• What end particle size would you like to achieve?

For instance, some companies might know they want to process single or multiple waste streams, while others may have identified a gap in the market when it comes to very specific material. Either way, this builds upon steps one and two – defining your niche and what your site will achieve, to be able to establish the tools you’ll need to get there.

You may also need ancillary recycling or waste-handling equipment, so this step will determine what other kit will be required, too.

Establishing the location and obtaining permits

Once you know the scope and size of the facility you’d like, next comes picking the right position for the facility and commencing the relevant planning and permitting processes, to ensure your site is compliant with current regulations.

Establishing the commercials

Another question we’re often asked is, “Is waste and recycling a profitable business?”

When setting up your organisation, it’s important to think about how processing of your chosen ‘waste’ will become a successful commercial venture.

For instance, while there are many social enterprises and community interest companies, which – as part of their CSR agendas – are looking to turn their redundant materials into a valuable resource, unless they will be heavily reliant on continued funding, they will struggle for that process to remain commercially viable in the long term.

Therefore, ideally, if you can turn the resulting product into a revenue stream, that’s the dream from both an environmental and financial perspective.

You’ll need to think about whether the resulting product can be sold for reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, or energy recovery. And if so, what does that target market look like, and what are the routes to market for the product?

Being aware of the support on offer

Never think that setting up your own waste and recycling business is something that’s out of reach from a financial perspective.

There are many flexible finance options and agreements available to suit your individual requirements, meaning it’s possible to obtain the equipment you need at an affordable monthly cost over an agreed term.

Identifying your own journey

While some waste and recycling ventures will be set up from scratch, this isn’t always the case.

More than ever before, we’re seeing established organisations – outside of the waste industry – realising that they need to be doing more when it comes to sustainability. Many are searching for ways to take more control over their waste management strategies and close the loop to turn their ‘waste’ into a revenue stream.

The opportunity to reap ethical, environmental, and financial advantages from compact, affordable  machinery – such as the S25 and PS1300 – are some of the reasons why we see companies come to UNTHA for that advice and steer. These are easily-attainable machines that are simple to run and maintain too.

And we appreciate that doing the sums and keeping a close eye on the finances is a crucial part of any new business venture – but also a time-consuming task. That’s why we’ve done the legwork in understanding how to make ‘waste’ shredding a commercially robust activity in the long term. See for yourself with this 9-page guide to profitable shredding with the PS1300, for instance.

Ultimately, if you have the industry or material-specific knowledge, but you’re not sure exactly what you need from a machinery point of view, there are experts on hand who can help you. A reputable machinery manufacturer with a true commitment to environmental progress will want to support you with your commercial vision.

If you have any further questions, you can request a quote or get in touch and we can help you build your business case!