Recycling helps in reducing the harmful effects of pollution. Climate is relevant todays as we are in the summer season, and heat indices in the Philippines are continually rising. Moreover, as warned by Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) the country’s heat is expected to reach dangerous levels. In line with this, extreme heat occurrences are shifting upward as the earth’s total temperature rises due to climate change. The vigorous pursuit of economic growth by emerging nations such as the Philippines has resulted in the manufacturing, distribution, and usage of products, resulting to garbage creation, all contribute to environmental deterioration and as well as global climate change.
Recycling is a major factor in reducing the adverse effects of climate change. When people burn waste products, it depletes the ozone layer and emits hazardous gases, which can cause respiratory disorders such as cough and asthma, among other things. Also, garbage dumped in the water has the potential to destroy and harm our marine resources and coral reefs. That is why, by reducing, reusing, and recycling our garbage (from old plastic bottles, disposable cups and utensils, paper, and other plastic products) we are able to rescue the environment and perhaps millions of lives from the detrimental consequences of pollution.
Read Also: Sustainability 101: How to be an Eco-Friendly Homeowner?
Proper Waste Disposal in the Philippines
The country’s solid waste management is becoming an alarming concern for the general public due to its population growth, living standards rise, and industrialization and urbanization accelerate which contributes to the growing waste disposal. According to the Philippine National Statistics Office (NSO), the country’s population in 2012 was predicted to be about 97 million, with an annual growth rate of 1.87%. Due to this number, the Philippines is now the world’s 12th biggest country. Moreover, according to the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO), the country’s garbage output climbed from 37,427.46 tonnes per day in 2012 to 40,087.45 tonnes in 2016, and is anticipated to rise by 165% to 77,776 tonnes by 2025. This exacerbates garbage disposal issues in the Philippines.
In line with this, Local government units (LGUs) in the country are primarily responsible for ensuring effective and efficient governance. LGUs are required to establish a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in each Barangay (smallest administrative area) or Cluster of Barangays to receive mixed waste for final sorting, segregation, composting, and recycling in accordance with Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Residents in a barangay in Quezon City, for example, bring their kalakal (recycled materials) to their local Materials Recovery Facility or MRF in return for stamps that may be redeemed for things such as laundry detergent.
In the Philippines, the recycling value chain is managed by both formal and informal private sector entities. Small recycling centers known as junk shops play an important part in this chain by buying recyclables from individual garbage collectors and reselling them to bigger materials processing plants.
The Junk Shop Business in the Philippines
A Junk shop is more than just a buy and sell business, it is one of the industries that are consistent in promoting environmental awareness to the public is the Junk Shop business. The practice promoted environmental awareness of proper trash disposal and recycling is most vigorous since garbage is believed to contribute to pollution, which causes floods and climate change in most locations, particularly in the Philippines. The Junk Shop operation is perceived to be a lucrative business that generates cash in flow coming for local business establishments.
Read More: A Junk shop and Scrap Business at Home
What Do Junk Shops Buy?
1. Paper
Buying Price: Php 8 per kilo
All types of papers, sorted by color, size and thickness, are also accepted by junk shops. Paper is one of the simplest materials to recycle. Scrap Business recycles paper to create new paper products. This reduces waste while also conserving materials and energy utilized in the production of paper from scratch. Reusing paper extends the lives of the materials while lowering the carbon impact of the production process.
2. Tanso (Copper)
Buying Price: Php 35 per kilo
The refining of new copper is hazardous for the environment. The waste that is spewed into the atmosphere throughout the process might be deemed damaging to the wider ecosystem, which is why recycling copper and its relatively safe method is a more ecologically friendly alternative, reducing poisons and gases that affect our world. Copper is another waste metal that is energy efficient, with recovered copper using 90% less energy.
3. Sibak (Hard Plastic)
Buying Price: Php 15 per kilo
Plastic recycling decreases the need to extract new, raw materials from the environment by reusing previously processed materials and protecting natural resources. This can assist to minimize heat-trapping gas emissions into the environment. Plastic manufacture consumes a significant amount of oil. Although recycling consumes fossil fuels, the amount utilized is far less than that needed in the production of new polymers. It also keeps more garbage out of landfills.
4. Bakal (Scrap Metal)
Buying Price: Php 14 per kilo
The production of new metal resources consumes significantly more energy than the production of recycled metal. These ecologically destructive energy must be applied for mining and processing the minerals through shaping and treating the metal for usage. On the other hand, repurposing scrap metal is a considerably more waste-efficient process; for example, recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy.
5. Yero (Corrugated Iron Sheets)
Buying Price: Php 11 per kilo
Steel, one of the world’s most recycled metals, is currently used to make corrugated iron. Recycling scrap iron sheets consumes 75% of the energy necessary to process iron ore and uses the same grade as fresh metal. Because washing and enrichment of iron ore are not necessary, the amount of water used in recycling steel is also considerably decreased. Steel scrap is chemically analyzed to determine alloy composition and categorized by kind. Scrap is then melted down and reused in the creation of new iron and steel.
6. Plastic Bottles
Buying Price: Php 10 per kilo
The plastic bottles are classified according to the type of plastic they are constructed of. The bottles are then thoroughly cleaned to eliminate any food, drink, or chemical residue. The bottles are then pulverized and shredded into flakes. They are then melted and shaped into little pellets roughly the size of a grain of rice. The pellets are packaged and sold to firms that can melt them down and turn them into a variety of items. Consider all of the plastic toys, tools, technological devices, and other items in your home. Many of these are constructed from recycled plastic.
7. Lata (Tin Cans)
Buying Price: Php 8 per kilo
Recycling aluminum cans saves a significant amount of energy while also lowering carbon dioxide emissions and garbage sent to landfills. Recycling your cans is a vital action you can take to protect the environment.
8. Karton (cardboard)
Buying Price: Php 4 per kilo
Recycling aluminum cans saves a significant amount of energy while also lowering carbon dioxide emissions and garbage sent to landfills. Recycling your cans is a vital action you can take to protect the environment.
On the other hand, there will always be items that cannot be recycled. Since they are no longer useful. Certain materials should also not be recycled such as those tagged as “toxic and hazardous waste” (THW). Most paints, paint thinners, and solvents have hazardous waste properties. This condition also applies to expired batteries, cleaning chemicals, and insecticides. Other hazardous waste types include, but are not limited to: motor oil, gas tanks, fire extinguishers, bleach, and brake fluids.
How to become a Junk Shop Owner?
Penetrating the junk shop industry is relevant today as world leaders have encouraged environmental consciousness among people all over the world, highlighting the significance of appropriate waste disposal and recycling as a critical role in environmental preservation. In considering what sort of business to launch, junk shops aren’t exactly at the top of the list. In fact, it means getting one’s hands filthy in the most literal sense, but dirt and junk may be profitable.
Junk shops, as one of the sectors participating in the country’s Solid garbage Management, are now being acknowledged for their significant contribution to recycling and garbage waste recovery too. Below is a simple step by step procedure on how to be a junk shop owner here in the Philippines.
1. Prepare a Feasibility Study
No business is free from risks and threats of loss. Hence, studying the business before jumping into bad decisions. Feasibility studies look at prospective hazards to see if they’re worth taking. A thorough feasibility analysis helps distinguish between genuine economic prospects and potentially risky projects. Moreover, it can assist you in better understanding the business environment. It offers you a clear picture of the problems your firm will experience in the beginning and how much profit you can expect to make. In preparing your feasibility study it is important for you to take note of the following:
A. Sourcing of Potential Clients
In the context of Scrap business, Clients is what is referred as “recycling agents” whom the junkshop owner will sell the sorted and segregated trash products. Potential junk shop owners must scour the market for various prospective recycling agents in order to deal the best bargain possible, such as a one-month lock-in term on the purchase price of a certain items. Another is the cost of delivery pick-up impacts the price and should always be considered. The junkshop owner must haggle for the best deal feasible and organize the payment schedule and volume of delivery or pick-up with the individual recycling agencies. Both the junk shop and the recycling agent should agree into terms on how they will both conduct business. In addition, potential clients is not limited to recycling agents but they can also be potential walk-in customers who are scavenger residents near the area.
B. Location and Business Space
Choosing the right place to operate is an important step in ensuring that your business has consumers. To provide a satisfying experience for your walk-in customers
Sharp metals and things at a junk business might be dangerous if put in a crowded area. If you have a large enough garage, you can put it up there. Make certain that it is fenced in order to prevent wandering children from playing.
C. Minimum Starting Capital Investment
Generally the minimum starting capital is around Php 100,000 this includes government mandated business registration, property, plant and equipment (PPEs), security and rental deposit (if you are going to lease a lanzd), renovations or land improvements, and other miscellaneous expenses.
2. Business Registration
You must register your junk shop at the DTI (sole proprietorship) or SEC (for partnerships and corporations) for business name registration, at the BIR for taxation purposes, obtain barangay certifications, and obtain a license to operate from your city or municipal LGUs, just like any other business.
3. Secure a License to Operate
In addition to mandatory government requirements, the Business Permits and Licensing Office requires junk shop businesses to sign an agreement stating that they will not cause complaints from the neighborhood (smell, noise, clutter); will not obstruct the natural flow of traffic in the area; will practice good sanitation; and that the owner has obtained a location or site clearance order from the local planning office, which will comply with the planning office’s land use plan or the zoning ordinance.
Conclusion
Most human activities produce solid waste as an inherent byproduct of our everyday lives. Residents’ waste output in the Philippines, particularly in metropolitan areas, has lately increased due to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and population increase. The junkshop industry is a profitable business which aids in environmental cleanup, flood prevention, and conservation of natural resources.
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