The problem – Materials recovery as a business enterprise is based upon the principle that waste is a resource, but how big must an operation be and how much material must it recover in order to be able to cover the costs associated with waste collection and storage, and with worker salaries?  An individual waste collector has the benefit of complete ownership of his business and all of its profits, but has to deal with uncertainty in supply created by competition, a greater potential perception of illegitimacy of his business, lack of collective bargaining power, and limits in the amount of material he can collect in a day. At what size of an operation is the revenue from sale or usage of recovered materials large enough to cover the variable costs of operating the business along with any fixed costs associated with financing the ownership of a facility?

The way forward – A not for profit in Dhaka, Bangladesh developed a model for funding and incubating resource recovery centers in secondary cities in Asia using profits from the sale of receivables and from carbon finance.  Start-up capital was provided to them to create a new organization that could duplicate their model in other cities in Asia and in Africa, and to explore the use of additional sources of revenue such sale of green energy.

Contribution – Project management through meetings, regular calls, and site visits; budget analysis and review; development of metrics for growth and sustainability; business plan review; dissemination of learning.