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Turning waste into wealth

Most manufacturers traditionally see the disposal of their waste products as an unwelcome cost; but what if they were actually a potential source of revenue?

Jeremy Kay of iTrading International is helping many Kiwi firms realise that much of what they are disposing of as ‘waste’, is actually a tradable commodity, capable of providing an ongoing revenue stream for their company whilst also improving their green credentials.

The latter point alludes to the double benefit of recycling waste materials – it’s a far better solution than choking the earth with land-fill sites.

Kay says there are three key steps to gaining maximum value from a successful recycling revenue system:

realising what you can recycle from your waste materials
separating these materials to as high a spec as possible
finding a buyer.

iTrading works openly with its customers in all parts of this process. Rather than just offering a price for recycled materials, Kay educates them about what can and cannot be recycled, works with them to get the best value from their waste and identifies all possible revenue streams.

He is so careful not to miss an opportunity that he’ll take a material’s specs and go around his international network of mills and buyers to find a market for it. He’ll explore all possible trading options and prices, which he’ll then openly share with clients.

This transparent business model is based on taking a small cut off large volumes. Kay says being totally open and transparent is how he likes to do business.

He set up iTrading in January this year after returning from several years working in the recycling and recovered materials industry in London, for BPR Group Europe.

“Because New Zealand is very small, and we don’t have money or volume of material for recycling mills to be set up, recovered materials need to be traded internationally. Countries like China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan have huge mills, expertise and capital investment to recycle these materials.

“There is a vast untapped market out there. What many people don’t realise is the range of materials that can be recycled. For example, plastics go from Grade 1 (e.g. coke and water bottles) to Grade 7 (e.g. car bumpers and compact discs).”

Kay recognises that a lot of businesses know they should be recycling, but get too preoccupied with their core business. Many also don’t realise that much of their waste could be turned into revenue rather than being a cost.

“We like to work one-on-one with the companies to educate them about separating their waste materials to achieve the best price. If they can sort the material to a very high spec, rather than sending it off with contaminants in it, they increase its value significantly.

“We’re focused on helping businesses to better understand their recyclables – working with them to put a recycling process in place. We also directly export the materials for them, which cuts out the added cost of collection companies. Manufacturers can then realise the value of their recyclable materials – ticking both the cost saving box and the environmental box.”

Kay is already starting to expand iTrading into prime export markets in Asian countries, capitalising on the value of New Zealand’s FTAs. His trading partners in these countries often have very large business portfolios and are already approaching Kay to source other Kiwi products, as well as recyclable materials.

“We’re looking to expand into other commodities and leveraging our international client relationships to offer NZ businesses avenues for international growth – especially those who may not have the capacity to have a trading team in place.”

So if you’re wondering how you can reduce your costs, become greener, and capture all potential revenue streams; start by asking the following questions: what do you throw away, what’s it costing you, and could it be recycled? If you don’t know the answer to the last question, just ask Kay – he’ll scour the earth to find it, and give you the dollar value.

By Catherine Beard
Executive Director
ExportNZ