Be a positive contributor to the planet: As a contributor to global climate change, waste ranks third behind energy and transportation. Resolve: Trash2Cash is recycling solid waste and reducing landfill emissions. The reduction of methane emissions as a direct result of diverting organic waste from the landfills and the recycling of paper, is helping to mitigate climate change.
Each month, slum residents enrolled under Trash2Cash collect and recycle 1,000 kg of waste paper and compost 2,000 kg of food waste. This is reducing CO2-equivalent emissions by 520 metric tons each year. Trash2Cash is creating sustainable jobs for the urban poor, particularly women, and unemployed young people. So far, the initiative has trained more than 300 women to turn recycled paper into handicrafts. This empowers women and provides economic security hence evolve with Trash2Cash.
You throw away less stuff. As a multinational business owner or a solopreneur it can feel really painful to see papers go to waste. This is especially true when you’ve made a production or design mistakes that causes the waste. If you are able to help recycle those into marketable handicrafts or at least help to throw away less then you won’t have to wrestle with those negative feelings.
You celebrate history in each of your creations. Maya Donenfeld, author of Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued Materials, said that one of the reasons that she recycles is because it ‘incorporates history and soul into sewing and paper mashing’ and because ‘using items that already have a story creates a connection between the past and present’. Think of the traditional colorful pen stand, a new item that is made with pieces of rugged old new papers. Each time that you recycle an old item into a new one you have the opportunity to bring the story of the object along for the ride.
You’ll attract a new customer base. Let’s face it; recycling is trendy. An article last year at Entrepreneur noted that “the number of products on Etsy.com tagged with the word “recycled” rocketed up from about 7,900 in January 2010 to nearly 30,000 a year later–an increase of 275 percent.” The number has since grown even more. By incorporating a genuine use of recycled materials into your MNC or small business you will be able to attract the market of people interested in supporting this trend with their money. You’ll also be able to appeal to a wider market interested in the “green” trend in general.
You can get attention by sharing what you’ve done. You can further gain attention for your business by telling others exactly what you’ve done to recycle old materials into new ones. Just write up a great tutorial and share it on your blog or as a guest post on another blog. You’ll be offering free advice to others that can serve as great marketing for your business. Many people take pride in being as green as possible with their crafts.