Introduction
When setting up a company it is very important to consider different factors before starting to assess the viability of the company in the future, in addition, it helps to do research about the company’s success in the targeted market. The research may revolve around the expected operations the company is expected to undertake. This is usually necessary as it gives the entrepreneurs a chance to have in advance a taste of the expected results of the performance of the company they intend to set up. The research is better taken directly from the field as this apart from getting credible data one is able to interact with would be future customers who may even assist with ideas one can sharpen and make even better the initial business plan. Although, there is not much difference between any other company and a garbage collection center; there are different and additional factors that have to be considered before setting up one. There are several factors while setting up a garbage collection point one has to consider, before setting it up in an area. First and foremost, for example, one has to consider the nature of waste being disposed of this is because there is a variety of wastes of which there are equally very many different means of disposing of them.
Presence of customers that is if the area is populated well enough, in addition to the size of the population there is a need to consider age groups spread of the target population as this determines amounts of waste. Secondly, on the nature and number of customers, it is also good to look into the aspect of social status and lifestyles of the people. It is not merely enough to analyze that population is high and conclude that the venture is worthwhile. Thus in addition to the population, it is important to analyze the distribution of age, families, presence of house help which determines the wastage disposed of. This influences the amount of waste or garbage to be disposed of and the frequency of the wastes. Disposal points or locations of the waste collected, legal matters like the permit to undertake such a business in the area are also among the many factors one has to take into consideration. Furthermore, it is of paramount importance to consider the cost i.e. the initial capital required for such undertaking and more to that the government or local council policies which govern the disposal and wastage collection which may work to either the peril or advantage of the venture. Moreover, another factor one has to look at is the composition of the garbage i.e. if the garbage is recyclable or not, to determine whether there are chances to resell and make additional income for the business. This may be beneficial to the company given its income is monthly.
I have had the desire to set up a garbage collection center in either Al Mosoud or Farajhazza. These two areas are well populated and have many residential houses. There are other garbage collectors but due to the large populations, they are not in a position to satisfy the market for collection of garbage within these two locations. The plan is to start the venture before June 2011. The initial capital had already been raised the only hindrances that was on the way was a feasibility report to assess the profitability, nature of work to be undertaken, nature of the customers and their age groups and their impacts on the amount of garbage collected which would be translated to income. To attain the above objectives a research was done to analyse the impacts of family, age and presence of house help in the garbage distribution. The data and results of the research are given, analysed and results and conclusion drawn from it within this paper.
Methodology
I got an opportunity to do my research from a garbage collection company where I had been working as a part time garbage collector for about five months since leaving the school; this was very good opportunity as it would facilitate getting valuable and accurate data that I could work with. The data for this project was collected from the field through the help of staff and the management of the company I was conducting research from. The method applied was direct collection of data and observation. To collect the data I decided to take the two areas I had passion setting my own garbage centre in, among the various areas serviced by this company. In addition, I decided upon these since they had well cut differences in that there were only two colours of garbage bins black and green ones used to collect garbage from these locations which were different from those used in collecting garbage from the other areas. In addition to this these areas were in cross proximity and were the hub of most of the customers serviced by the company. Furthermore it would involve less effort to manage and organize my research team since I had been assigned to be working between these two locations.
The company had a policy of keeping track of garbage quantities and the varieties of garbage collected so as to assess the trend in the market and determine the strategic steps to be taken. This facilitated in the collection of data as I had just to make copies of the work reports which indicated the quantity of waste collected, from which area, different varieties of the waste collected. The research involved collection of garbage, and filling in the work report required by the company as accurate as possible and then making copy which would be the primary data. This was necessitated since I needed wanted first hand information so s to be precise in the decision making and any judgements or estimates I was due to make concerning the venture should be based on factual data. Thus the research involved going to the field and collecting garbage from random sample of people either males or females, families, house hold. These details of status of customers I observed them and recorded on the field, while others like the age I got from the database of the company through the help of the I.T technician. Once the data was collected from the field I had to analyse it, the break down of the analysis is given below.
The aim of the research was to determine the possibility of and the degree to which the nature of customers as a factor that affects setting up a garbage collection centre and again if there was a chance of making profit from selling the recyclable part of the garbage collected. Secondly to determine the best among the two areas under consideration ranks higher than the other, so as the decision of the location to set the business can be made factually.The data given in tables below relates to composition of garbage bins collected in both Al Masoudi and Falajhaza. The data relates to the garbage collected in either the black or green bins during the month of February 2011 from Monday 21 st to Monday 28 th. The percentage of the useful or recyclable composition of garbage collected was determined through sorting and recorded. In a given day garbage collected was separated according to the area it was collected from and given a sample ID either FH for garbage collected from Alajhazza or MA from garbage collected from Al Masoudj. Immediately after sampling from location each bag is determined its weight. After which it was thereafter analysed in different categories of waste products. The composition may compose of plastics, cartons, aluminium wastes, glass, paper, HDPE cans, PET, Mix cartoon, textiles, fabrics, leather etc. Once the garbage bin for a certain day is sampled into respective compositions, then the percentage of each composition in terms of weight is determined and noted. A sample of data summarised is given in the tables below.
Analysis
The table1 below is an example of one of the sample collected from the two areas under consideration, which reveals the type of data that can be collected from the source. Where the garbage collected was analysed as per the date it was collected i.e. from 21 February to 28 February 2010. The garbage was sampled in terms of the location it was collected from e.g. If it was collected from Falajhazza, it was given the code FH while on the other hand if collected from Al Mosoudi it was coded as MA. I analysed data into different compositions as shown so that one could have an idea of the composition of garbage collected. This could also assist to determine the nature of the composition to foretell if there is any feasibility as to which type of wastes are to be recycled or which ones are to be sold off for some income. This was assessed based on the percentage of contamination which implies the higher the percentage the greater the value of the garbage, as it can be resold.
The total kilograms of the garbage collected over the eight day period was 4,549, of which composed of 119.15 Kg for plastic, 88.80 kg for carborn waste, 11.33 Kg aluminum waste, 67.50 kg metal waste, 87.50 kg glass waste , 0. 46 kg of paper waste, 63.69 kg of HDPE cans, 116.55 Kg of PET waste and finally 436.48 kg of mix cartoon waste. The net weight column represent the amount of kilograms of the total weight garbage bag that is recyclable, for example on 21 February garbage from Farjahaza was 170 kg of which 36 kg was contaminated or recyclable which was 21.18 % ( from the % of net recyclables column ) of the total garbage collected. While the total weight column represent the kilograms of garbage which was not recyclable which constituted a given percentage of the total weight as given in the % of (garbage) collected.
Table 1: Composition of Garbage Delivered in Black BIN
Table 2: Al Mosoudi Composition of Black Bin Garbage
Black
Table 2 above is an analysis of the quantity of the black garbage collected from Al Masoudi. Whereby it represents the amount of garbage collected from the 15 different samples taken from the area. Each sample is properly classified into the total amount in kilograms and the amounts out of the total which are recyclable. Again for each sample taken the total for the eight days is taken, then totals for the contaminated of the same sample is taken then divide with the total sum earlier to determine the percentage of contamination of the specific sample i.e. For sample one 18.1 % of the sample was found to be recyclable. This is repeated for the fifteen samples within the eight days time period. Sample M A 10 and M A 8 both had the highest the highest percentage of recyclable waste with every thing being reusable, followed by M A 6, M A 9, M A 3 and M A 5 respectively.
Table 3: FalajHazza Composition of Black Bin Garbage
Table 3 above is an analysis of the quantity of the black garbage collected from FalajHazza. Whereby it represents the amount of garbage collected from the 15 different samples taken from the area. Each sample is properly classified into the total amount in kilograms and the amounts out of the total which are recyclable. Again for each sample taken the total for the eight days is taken, then totals for the contaminated of the same sample is taken then divide with the total sum earlier to determine the percentage of contamination of the specific sample i.e. for sample ten (Ma 10) 26.9 % of the sample was found to be recyclable. This is repeated for the fifteen samples within the eight days time period. Sample F H 13 had the highest the highest percentage of recyclable waste with 48.6 % of the total being reusable, followed by F H 7, F H 8, FH 9and F H 6 respectively.
Green
Table 4: Al Mosoudi Composition of Green Bin Garbage
Table 4 above is an analysis of the quantity of the green garbage bins collected from Al Masoudi. Whereby it represents the amount of garbage collected from the 15 different samples taken from the area. Each sample is properly classified into the total amount in kilograms and the amounts out of the total which are recyclable. Again for each sample taken the total for the eight days is taken, then totals for the contaminated of the same sample is taken then divide with the total sum earlier to determine the percentage of contamination of the specific sample i.e. for sample five (Ma 5) 72 % of the sample was found to be recyclable. This is repeated for the fifteen samples within the eight days time period. Sample M A 10 and M A 8 both had the highest the highest percentage of recyclable waste with every thing being reusable, followed by M A 6, M A 9, M A 3 and M A 5 respectively.
Table 5: FalajHaza Composition of Green Bin Garbage
Conta.
Table 5 above is an analysis of the quantity of the green garbage collected from A FalajHazza. Whereby it represents the amount of garbage collected from the 15 different samples taken from the area. Each sample is properly classified into the total amount in kilograms and the amounts out of the total which are recyclable. Again for each sample taken the total for the eight days is taken, then totals for the contaminated of the same sample is taken then divide with the total sum earlier to determine the percentage of contamination of the specific sample i.e. for sample ten (Ma 15) 47 % of the sample was found to be recyclable. This is repeated for the fifteen samples within the eight days time period. Sample F H 10 had the highest the highest percentage of recyclable waste with every thing being reusable, followed by F H 5, F H 13, FH 8 and F H 14 respectively.
Summary of the data obtained from the above tables is given in the table below. The table indicates the total of quantities of garbage collected from the two locations from the fifteen different samples for each of the eight days. The amount of garbage collected from Al Mousodi in the fourth day was 247 Kg collected from the black bins and 108 Kg collected from the green bins for the total fifteen samples taken from the area. On the other hand the amount of garbage collected from FalajHazza in the fourth day was 264 Kg collected from the black bins and none collected from the green bins for the total fifteen samples taken from the area. During the period of survey it is evidently clear from the table given below that in Al Mosoudi the average amount of garbage collected from any given sample would be 28.25 Kg per day independent from whether it was from green bin or a black bin while on the other hand the average of garbage that was and presumably would be collected from Falajhazza would be close to 24.49 kg per sample per day. In addition if any sample was taken at a random from either of the two areas in question, the quantity in kilograms one would expect to collect per day would be 26.49 Kg. It is better to point out that these quantities include both the recyclable and the non recyclable part of the garbage collected to avoid any confusion. This implies that Al Mosoudi is the best place to locate ones business in terms of the garbage quantities derived from the area.
Table 6: Summary Table
The following table describes the age distribution and gender of the people who constitute the sample taken for both the areas. This table shows that there was only one person from the sample who was 70 years of age and there were seventeen people in the sample taken who were 27 years of age. This goes to show that most the customers serviced by the garbage collection company. In MA the average age of the various customers is 47.71 years. Inferring from the standard deviation of the age of customers from the same location which is 14.24 years implies that the main customers age in the sample were from the age of 33 years to the ages of 62 years of age. This translates to that customers from this area comprises of the middle aged people. In FH the average age of the various customers is 43.8 years. Inferring from the standard deviation of the age of customers from the same location which is 13.21 years implies that the main customers age in the sample were from the age of 30 years to the ages of 56 years of age. Taking the whole sample in consideration the average age of the various customers of the whole sample is 45.41years. Inferring from the standard deviation of the age of customers for whole sample which is 13.34 years implies that the main customers age in the sample were from the age of 32 years to the ages of 58 years of age. This translates to the fact that most of the people serviced by the company are above in the middle age bracket or slightly above.
Table 7: Distribution of Age
Table 9
Finally the table above is the analysis of the composition and nature of the customers. The sample taken was generally composed of families this is because inferring from the data collected in Al Masoudi the average likelihood of taking a sample comprising of a family at random is 1.466. In addition the likelihood of sampling a family in Falajhazza is 1.33. That of the whole sample was determined to be 1.4 families implying that all the sample taken were composed of families. Furthermore the presence of house helps i.e. the maids was also determined whereby we found out that in Falajhaz there were 2.8 or approximately three house maids for each sample taken. While in the Al Masoudi there is an average of 3.6 maids or approximately 4 house maids per sample taken at random. Taking the whole sample into consideration there is a likelihood of finding between 1 maid and 6 maids per sample taken at a random. Finally the age of the household head was also assessed and found that the average age of the household head for the entire sample set was 45.41 years but the spread of the age for the house hold head for the entire sample was from the age of 58 years and 32 years.
Results
There are several categories of garbage the company is supposed to be ready to deal with e.g. plastics, metal waste, and may others. Moreover, all these categories have a percentage of them that is reusable. Thus, it was found out that there is a great potential in the recyclable aspects of garbage collected which implies that there is a good chance that there is a guarantee of raising additional income from the garbage apart from the income generated from collection of garbage. This translates to the fact that the company once put up may be able to run smoothly without major cash hurdles especially given the fact that income for the company will only be got at the end of a month. It was again found out that the amount of garbage collected varied due to various aspects like the nature of the sample selected for example if it was a family or not, the age of the sample persons from whom the garbage was collected from and finally presence and their number also determined the amount of garbage to be collected. Inferring from the analysis of the data it was clearly evident that in Al Mosoudi which was the location with the highest number of aids per sample and had the largest average of families per random sample was the one where a random sample would have the largest quantities of garbage collected from it. This means that there is a high connection or relation between the garbage collected.
This is mainly because as a house helps are employed largely employed to assist in maintaining cleanliness to the houses, thus this implies that the maids have a positive contribution to quantities collected due to their duties. Moreover on the other side of families this has to do with the physical number of individuals per sample taken. The larger the number that is if it is a family this translates to large quantities of waste. In addition the age dispersion also affects the amount of garbage collected, the larger the dispersion or age difference the more the quantity this is because there will be variety of different waste collected due to the differences of tastes of the diverse age group. This is merely because the elderly and the young have different lifestyles all together. Thus fro the above explanations it is the reason as to why there were greater quantities of garbage collected from Al Mosoudi than in FalajHazza.
Conclusion
Through the research it was noted that it is very important in addition to considering the other factors affecting garbage companies to assess the nature of the target market before entering the field of garbage collection in form of a business. This is mainly due to the fact that showed up from the analysis of the data collected that aspects of the people living in the target market, their lifestyles, age influences greatly on the size or quantities obtained. The major aspect to consider is age differences this is because the larger the age gap of the population of the target market the greater the chances of collecting large quantities of garbage, this as explained earlier is largely contributed by the differences in tastes which amounts to various types of garbage. Consequently, the more the income that can be generated from the recyclable wastes which is a plus for the business. Secondly, if the target market comprises of places where house helps are employed then this may work to the advantage of your business in terms of quantities collected. This was explained by the fact that there is greater frequency of cleaning more often compared to houses where there are no maids translating to more wastes. Thus the conclusion to this finding is that Al Mosoudi is the pace to set the business as from the data obtained it ranks higher than FalajHazza.
In addition to the above data while in the field collecting data I was in a position to interact with my would be customers and through it I have been able to perform SWOT analysis and have noted that there is a great deal of market available in terms of opportunity for the business to even make profit within the first few months of operation. This is due to the fact that there is great demand than there is supply of the service of garbage collection. Moreover the companies who would be my competitors are charging costly to the customers.
In terms of setting up the business there are very high potential bearing in mind the above discussed advantages and opportunities which are available to be exploited at the earliest chance obtained. All together there are still some challenges which can not deter anyone to start. The fact that one has to advertise intensively so as to attract customers because the disadvantage with these types of business is the loyalist attached to customers by the companies already in the market. This translates to additional costs in addition to the starting capital required to start the business. Regarding the profitability status of the company, given the condition that the company will hit the market and establish itself, then there are great opportunities to get a higher percentages or quantities of recyclable materials to the advantage of the venture.
Thus in conclusion and bearing in mind the information inferred from the data collected and analysed it is prudent to conclude that the most promising location for the business is Al Mosoudi. This has been analytically evaluated and also based on the other factors such as the population which could not be addressed within this short period report it has high population which is well dispersed in terms of age structure and life styles. Thus Al Mosoudi is the place start the garbage collection centre in June 2011.