Recycling industry witnesses enormous change.From throwing waste into a horse-drawn cart in the early 1900's to separating office recyclables into designated blue bins in the modern age, the world of recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. has undergone many dramatic changes since its inception. The past year was no different. Numerous new technologies and waste management programs intended to make recycling easier and more cost-efficient were introduced. As a recycling service provider to the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. real estate industry, we know first-hand how confusing con·fuse v. con·fused, con·fus·ing, con·fus·es v.tr. 1. a. To cause to be unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence or understanding; throw off. b. all of this new activity can be to property managers and building owners. That's why executives at VIBRO have been hard at work trying to explain how the changes can affect a building's bottom-line, and develop easy-to-use systems and programs that help owners and managers recapture recapture n. in income tax, the requirement that the taxpayer pay the amount of tax savings from past years due to accelerated depreciation or deferred capital gains upon sale of property. (See: income tax) RECAPTURE, war. and contain their recycling costs. One of the major trends influencing recycling costs this past year was the constant fluctuation Fluctuation A price or interest rate change. of volume and pricing in the commodities markets, especially related to paper. Certain grades of paper experienced price swings of over 1,000 percent, up and down the ladder. This is important because recycling companies sell recyclable waste Recyclable waste is a waste type that has the potential to be recycled. A typical municipal waste stream (bin bag) contains the following components that can be recycled if recovered in a suitably clean state with little contamination: adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. . These profits are then passed on to customers by lowering a client's waste removal fees. Ultimately, waste paper as a valuable commodity means diminished di·min·ish v. di·min·ished, di·min·ish·ing, di·min·ish·es v.tr. 1. a. To make smaller or less or to cause to appear so. b. waste management costs for everybody. But for now, the key to managing a client's waste is not only reducing costs, but delivering long-term stability The long-term stability of an oscillator, the degree of uniformity of frequency over time, when the frequency is measured under identical environmental conditions, such as supply voltage, load, and temperature. in pricing and quality of service. In addition to the volatile commodities market, a number of other factors influenced the recycling industry this year, and will continue to do so in 1996. Smaller recycling companies entered the market hoping to capture a large share of business by offering drastically dras·tic adj. 1. Severe or radical in nature; extreme: the drastic measure of amputating the entire leg; drastic social change brought about by the French Revolution. 2. discounted prices. Their strategy is to anticipate another up-swing m the commodities markets. While the fees these "companies offer may sound remarkable, they can't always be guaranteed. Should the value of waste paper drop, companies who base pricing on anticipated gains see their profits shrink shrink Vox populi noun A psychiatrist dramatically. Naturally, the customer then sees their long-term prices rise. The operating side of the waste business has also experienced change in 1995. Many recycling companies are broadening their horizons and entering the waste processing industry. By processing waste ourselves, we cut the need for a costly middle-man to sell the waste to a separate processor. VIBRO is currently exploring opportunities to own and operate a paper mill, in addition to processing plastic and aluminum waste. Leading the field in processing capability is the key to significantly lowering hauling fees. By increasing market share in office waste, our goal is to bring our selling power to full potential with our waste paper mills. VIBRO anticipates continued 20 to 25 percent market growth and this should equal results of the past three years. We will also increase our strategic commodity alliances, allowing us to sell recyclable waste to more buyers, creating more opportunities to create value in 1996. Without these capabilities, companies will simply not be able to meet the obligations of client demands for the lowest possible hauling fees. Pie in the sky anticipation of future commodities market earnings will not be enough to sustain industry newcomers. As profit margins continue to shrink, recycling companies will be challenged to meet the demands to sustain optimal levels of service. Companies who want to keep their market share will have to explore creative new cost-cutting strategies, while still maintaining the service building owners have come to expect. Once again, our main goal in our client relationships for 1996 is to facilitate understanding between the real estate and recycling industries. Consequently, property managers and building owners who take the time to learn about the waste industry and its relationship to the commodities markets will be positioned to make the best long-term decisions about waste management. |
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