Salvage Lumber Success in Petaluma: $700,000 in three years

12/17/2009 There's big money in salvage lumber. This fellows success reminds me of how well I did in the deconstruction business. I often found that when I tore down an old building or structure - that I usually got for free or was paid to tear down - I would have all or most of the material sold before it ever hit the ground. I'll be including more about my experience in deconstruction and building material salvage in upcoming realeases of my Gold from Electronic, Telecommunication & Computer Scrap: Experiences from the Field. Please check my Deconstruction, Recycling and Reusing Lumber and Building Materials pages for more articles and inspiration.

Read about making $700,000 in three years in the salvage lumber business




View the Original article

Home Based Recycling and Salvage 101: Bootsrap Yourself out of the Recession

I began in the recycling and salvage business in the early 1980s. Like today, but not as bad, there was a housing boom and bust that made making a living and maintaining a home difficult for many.

I was inspired to get into the recycling and salvage business after reading a little booklet titled, "Surplus and Salvage." I was amazed that everything I needed to improve my conditions and make a decent income were right in front of me - most everywhere I looked.

Without the insights in that little booklet I would have never dug myself out of the hole I was in. My hope is that this little article will help you see what is out there and how you might change your life for the better once you do.

Recycling and salvage is much more than collecting cans, cardboard, paper, etc. and taking them to a recycling center. This works, but to a very limited degree. For me, recycling and salvage takes some creativity.

In my mind, one of the reasons that our economy is failing is that "find a need and fill it" has become "create a need and fill it." Our economy is driven by greed and over-consumption instead of need. With enough money for advertising ANY need (e.g. desire) can be created. Recycling and salvage brings us back to a solid economic foundation based on need not greed.

In this work we are really operating at the ground level of needs and fulfillment. When I started out I first went from business to business and asked them, "what is it that you need?" Just a few days of doing this produced a long list of things that I should be on the lookout for. It included: old brass valves for rebuilding, auto parts for rebuilding, electric motors and generators for rebuilding, wooden shelving, steel shelving, desks, chairs, file cabinets, hand tools, power tools, plumbing supplies, glass ... The list went on and on.

So, now I had a list of things to keep my eye out for and ...

Read the entire article at RecyclingSecrets.com

View the Original article

Recycling and Salvage Opportunities Increase as Economy Continues to Worsen

Recently I went to my favorite recycling yard to sell and give away some of my household recycleables. I was amazed to find that, due to budget tightening, the city was no longer helping to fund the center and they now had to charge $5 for each vehicle coming in. Thats a big DISincentive for recycling.

But... It increases your market if you are into recycleables. Folks no longer wishing to pay the $5 may be very interested in your picking them up for free. $5 won't seem like much to you if you are able to collect a large load from folks in your locale.

Also, while at the recycling center recently, I was in line next to a guy who was about to pay $9 to recycle his computer. I looked at it and told him that I'd take it for free. Turns out it was only a year old and terribly fragmented and full of viruses. It took me about 2 hours to clean it up and it works great - a one year old HP with all the bells and whistles.

Just think about how many folks in your town have computers that they'd like to get rid of. If your town is like mine, the line extends for miles when the center offers a free electronics drop off.

Why not save these folks a trip and others a fee and offer to pickup these computers from them. You can keep what you want and take a load of what you don't want to your center on a free day.

One last thing. I've noticed a couple of signs saying "free electronics recycling day cancelled." I'm betting that this too is because of the bad economy. So... it may be harder at the moment to get rid of what you don't want, but easier to get quality computers for reuse, recycling or salvage.

Good Luck

Visit RecylingSecrets.com for More

View the Original article