Recycling is seen as a way of saving the planet from ultimate doom and annihilation. But this is not the only benefit. It can make a person a millionaire.
Is it really possible for someone to become a millionaire just by selling scraps? Well, one man proved it is, Curt Degerman.
For about 40 years, this loner scavenged for scraps such as tin cans and bottles in his hometown in northern Sweden. When he died in 2008, he left an estate worth about US$1.4 million.
Most of the people who knew him thought of him as a poor and miserable man who made ends meet with the little money he earned by selling garbage. But what they did not know was what he did with his money.
How Degerman used his money
With the small income he got, Degerman began buying stocks on the Swedish stock exchange, which gradually increased in value as time went by.
He spent hours in the local library pouring over financial newspapers and, over the years, he became an expert on the stock market.
At the time he died at age 60, his shares were worth about US$1.4 million, which remained a secret until a dispute arose as to who should inherit his estate.
By investing what little money he had on the stock market, he was able to increase his wealth as the years went by. This is the power of compound interest, the eighth wonder of the world, as Albert Einstein described it.
Degerman is a lesson in some fundamental principles of accumulating wealth:
1. Live frugally
Apparently, Degerman lived way below his means. He could afford fine dining but he scraped leftover food from garbage bins. He didn’t even buy newspapers because he could read them for free in the library.
2. Buy assets that beat inflation
Had he put the money in the bank, Degerman’s estate would not have been worth anywhere close to US$1 million. Other than the stock portfolio, he also left behind gold bars worth over US$400,000.
The power of compound interest is significant when the investment return is much better than the inflation rate. Leaving money in a savings account for decades will, in the end, result in less buying power for sure.
3. Learn about what you don’t know
Most people ignore the problem of not having investing skills until it is too late to do anything about it. Degerman spent hours in the library researching the financial markets inside and out. As a result, he became an expert.
If this is possible for an uneducated man, someone with more schooling should be able to do it with relative ease.
The jury is out on whether Degerman enjoyed eking a living out of scavenging for recyclable items, but he did provide value to the earth.
Saving the planet is a significant advantage of recycling. What would all the wealth mean if the planet is no longer sustainable for the next generation?
Of what importance is money if there is nowhere left to live? Recycling reduces the damage being done to the planet.
4. Get acquainted with ‘precious scrap’
Most people think selling tins cans and bottles would not provide enough money to buy stocks, and it can be bad for the image as well.
But there are also high-grade recyclable materials – scrap precious metals, electronic parts and so on. Scrap precious metal can range from old dental fillings and bridges to old, discarded jewellery.
Precious metals like gold, silver and platinum are used to make electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, medical devices and catalytic converters and can command high prices as scrap metals.
Entrepreneurs have built empires based on this business model. With the prices of precious metals getting higher every day, green businesses expect to earn handsome profits.
Nucor Corp, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, made a net profit of about US$800 million in 2016.
So for environment-conscious citizens who want to contribute something to saving the planet and are business-minded, try recycling. And by cutting down environmental waste, one might even become a recycling millionaire.
This article first appeared in kclau.com