I am taking a class at university for my business major entitled "Innovation!" For this class each student has to come up with an innovation and write a paper on it. One of my ideas revolves around recycling. I know that innovations regarding this area are numerous but I was wondering if you guys might be able to give me some constructive feedback that might help mold my simple idea into something a little more refined. I go to school at a large university, around 20,000 students. There are trash compactors everywhere but no recycling bins. I was thinking about placing "smart" recycle bins around campus. Students would swipe their ID cards at these smart bins and then insert their recyclable items. These machines would then credit the account of that student a few cents per bottle, say 2 or 3 cents. These machines would then be brought to recycling facilities where 5 cents would be made per bottle. There are stores around this area that give 5 cents per bottle but it seems that students lack motivation to bring their bottles there. Hopefully by bringing the recycling to the students, I could increase recycling rates by a lot and make a profit. Any advice?!
I would contact the city public works director and the campus facility maintenance foreman and interview them.
