One of the nation’s most essential modern businesses began about a century ago when new Americans found ways to make usable, salable products out of bottles, cans and other castoffs they picked up in streets and alleys.
Recycling for profit had its start in the early 1900s, when Italian and Jewish immigrants collected junk to sell. Then, it was a matter of survival – they were barred from primary metals trading. So they found a niche, filled it and embarked on an entrepreneurial life.
“Scrappies” come from every walk of life and every background. It doesn’t matter what you think you’re trained for; real success comes from jumping in with determination. The scrappies know this well – who else could build a business out of finding a second, third or more use for something?
Today, any material that can be recycled is bought, sold and traded, then given new usefulness in other forms – fueling countless other industries. The entrepreneurs who move someone else’s junk are as diverse as their products – and their stories provide great inspiration for startups of all kinds.
Here are some key lessons from the country’s scrappiest industry, on which everything else, literally, is built.
Integrity is Not a Part-time Job
So says Marsha Serlin, CEO of United Scrap Metal in Cicero, Ill. Serlin started by renting a Budget truck with her only credit card and grabbing old cans that she and her kids found in alleys. “I knew nothing about the business,” she says.
Author: Lynne Meredith Schreiber
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