"What is bumper recycling?"

Just about any automobile accident results in damage to the bumper. Rather than pay for a brand new expensive bumper, insurance companies would prefer to have the bumper repaired. However, body shops often do not have the expertise, the time, or the desire to repair plastic bumpers. What many body shops will do is hire out their weaknesses and call a bumper recycler. A body man may be able to repair a bumper, but it is not something that they do everyday. Body men have to know a lot... frame straightening, panel beating, estimating, paint mixing, steel welding, aluminum welding. Having to repair plastic bumpers is something that body men shouldn't have to know too. With bumper recyclers, there is on less thing for the body man to have to learn.

"Bumper Recycling sounds interesting. How much money can I make?"

You can make a good living recycling bumpers. How much you charge for a bumper depends on the cost of a brand new OEM bumper. Most bumper recyclers charge about 50% of list price for a bumper. So, if a brand new bumper costs $400, you would sell your recycled bumper to the body shop for about $200.

"That sounds like pretty good money. How many bumpers can I recycle in a day?"

You should plan on 2½ to 3 hours per bumper. So, if you work 8 hours a day, you could probably recycle about 3 bumpers per day.

"So if I recycle three bumpers per day and I sell them to body shops for $200, then I can make $600 per day?"

Not so fast. While it is possible, there are other things to consider. Remember, you need to pick-up and deliver bumpers too. This eats into the time available for repairing bumpers. Also, remember that you are charging 50% of list price. So, if the body shop needs a bumper that lists for, say, $120 and you charge 50% of list, then you will only make $60 for that bumper.

"What are the costs involved in recycling a bumper?"

Your direct cost of recycling a bumper are the repair materials and labor. Plan on sinking about $8.00 worth of materials into each bumper. This includes epoxy fillers, welding rod, sandpaper, spot putty, primer, etc. Plus, some body shops want you to give them $5.00 to $10.00 for each bumper you take from their shop. So, it is conceivable that you could have as much as $18.00 of materials in each bumper.

The labor costs is going to be your biggest direct cost of recycling bumpers. Let's say that you think your time is worth $15.00 per hour and you spend three hours on a bumper. Now, in addition to the $18.00 worth of materials in the bumper, you now have $45.00 worth of labor in the bumper, or a total of $63.00 of time and labor in the bumper.

"That doesn't sound very promising if the bumper only sells for $60."

Don't be discouraged. First of all, you probably wouldn't bother recycling a bumper if it is only going to sell for $60. You may decide not to recycle any bumper that you can't sell for at least $100. You may find that your average selling price is $150 or more. Also, you could hire someone (part-time maybe) to do some of the labor for, say, $8.00 an hour. And, there are things you can buy to make the time per bumper much lower. You could get bumper inventory management software to reduce the amount of time searching for bumpers. You could buy a hot water tank for shaping bumpers, a blast cabinet to cut down on sanding time, workstations that improve productivity, etc.; so your time spent per bumper could average only 2 hours... or less. Now let's do some new math.

Call us to learn more about bumper recycling opportunities.