I believe there is an unmet need in the lack of a recycling system at my apartment complex. Student residents at my complex all dispose of products that are recyclable, and I often find large amounts of cardboard in the trash compactor. My apartment complex is fairly new but I believe there has never been a recycling system here, and the problem doesn't seem to be going away soon, although I've only lived here since August. The current alternative is residents saving their recycle in their units and transporting it to a third party service. I am almost positive there is a business opportunity here for a recycling company or the City of Gainesville to get involved.
The prototypical customer would be a student resident living here at my complex, so I decided to interview my friend Leo who lives across the hall from me.
Interview #1-
Me: Hey Leo, how do you feel about the idea of introducing a recycling system here at our complex?
Leo: I think it would be good, right now we just throw away all of our recyclable items in the trash which just forces us to take out the trash even more and use more bags.
Me: Would you pay a small fee on top of your current rent to help the complex fund a service that can do recycle collection and pick-up?
Leo: Yes, but not that much, probably one a couple bucks a month, $5 tops.
Me: If we don't get a recycling system, do you think you will take the initiative to find an alternative or just stick with the trash.
Leo: I'd like to have an alternative but I don't really know what to do and I don't have a lot of time to take my recycle somewhere else.
Me: How many recyclable objects would you say you throw away a week?
Leo: At least 10, maybe 15.
Me: How far would you be willing to walk your recycle to a collection pick up point?
Leo: 50 yards, a couple floors walking.
Me: Thank you for your time.
Reflection- I learned that paying for a recycling service costs a lot of money. Leo gave me honest answers that helped me get a realistic sense of what college students are doing to recycle. I believe that most college students are somewhat lazy when it comes to things like recycle will I will need to do more research to find out if this stereotype is true or not.
Summary- After interviewing and doing minimal research, I still strongly believe that there is a opportunity for people to start recycling at my complex. Money will be a factor but I honestly believe that students at my complex care enough to contribute to a communal system that works for all of us. I personally believe that I can come up with a plan for a long term solution that my apartment complex could adopt/implement/ refer to.
The prototypical customer would be a student resident living here at my complex, so I decided to interview my friend Leo who lives across the hall from me.
Interview #1-
Me: Hey Leo, how do you feel about the idea of introducing a recycling system here at our complex?
Leo: I think it would be good, right now we just throw away all of our recyclable items in the trash which just forces us to take out the trash even more and use more bags.
Me: Would you pay a small fee on top of your current rent to help the complex fund a service that can do recycle collection and pick-up?
Leo: Yes, but not that much, probably one a couple bucks a month, $5 tops.
Me: If we don't get a recycling system, do you think you will take the initiative to find an alternative or just stick with the trash.
Leo: I'd like to have an alternative but I don't really know what to do and I don't have a lot of time to take my recycle somewhere else.
Me: How many recyclable objects would you say you throw away a week?
Leo: At least 10, maybe 15.
Me: How far would you be willing to walk your recycle to a collection pick up point?
Leo: 50 yards, a couple floors walking.
Me: Thank you for your time.
Reflection- I learned that paying for a recycling service costs a lot of money. Leo gave me honest answers that helped me get a realistic sense of what college students are doing to recycle. I believe that most college students are somewhat lazy when it comes to things like recycle will I will need to do more research to find out if this stereotype is true or not.
Summary- After interviewing and doing minimal research, I still strongly believe that there is a opportunity for people to start recycling at my complex. Money will be a factor but I honestly believe that students at my complex care enough to contribute to a communal system that works for all of us. I personally believe that I can come up with a plan for a long term solution that my apartment complex could adopt/implement/ refer to.
Hey Joaquin, I appreciate your attention to the opportunity to improve our environment. I have grown up always splitting trash and recycling, however since being in college I no longer recycle. Not because I don't care, but because there isn't any opportunity to dispose of my recycling anywhere so everything becomes trash. I hope this opportunity is something you can move forward with because I would love to see more recycling in college towns!
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