We discovered that many florists believe their waste can compost in the landfill, which is a misconception as there is no air in landfill for the composting process to occur with the waste instead rotting. Further to this, the nutrients from organic waste never get the chance to reach the soil due to the plastic lining of the landfill. Leachate is a natural occurrence when waste comes into contact with water, and this, along with the issue of harmful methane gas given off by the landfill are significant issues for society.
The rise of the ‘Eco-Citizen’ has been a slow building trend, but one that is in full fruition now, with many consumers opting for environmentally friendly options where possible. This in turn means that businesses look to satisfy these customers and improve their brand image with green initiatives.
In response to this, we have developed Offcut: a service-based enterprise that makes getting rid of green waste for florists in the city, easy, and helps the world a little bit.
We propose to offer a monthly subscription based service which provides florists with specific bins for their green waste to be disposed in. We will offer two different bin sizes, a large 200L bin and a small 150L bin, which will be collected and replaced weekly. The large bins will be charged at a weekly rate of $20, while the smaller bin at a weekly rate of $15 to the florists. We have arrived at these costs after surveying a range of different florists across New Zealand. There is also a one-off starter fee for each florist to cover the cost of one bin, with the cost of the other bin in rotation covered by Offcut. For the large bins, this start-up fee is $160, and for the small bin, $100.
HAND OUT PAPER
In response to this, we have developed Offcut: a service-based enterprise that makes getting rid of green waste for florists in the city, easy, and helps the world a little bit.
We propose to offer a monthly subscription based service which provides florists with specific bins for their green waste to be disposed in. We will offer two different bin sizes, a large 200L bin and a small 150L bin, which will be collected and replaced weekly. The large bins will be charged at a weekly rate of $20, while the smaller bin at a weekly rate of $15 to the florists. We have arrived at these costs after surveying a range of different florists across New Zealand. There is also a one-off starter fee for each florist to cover the cost of one bin, with the cost of the other bin in rotation covered by Offcut. For the large bins, this start-up fee is $160, and for the small bin, $100.
HAND OUT PAPER
The next step in our company’s circular economy system is to turn the collected waste into paper. These are some examples of papers made entirely from plant materials. We will develop a range of paper products to sell back to the florists; including wraps, tags, cards, general note paper, and more as we continue to expand. We plan on using beeswax to coat some of our wraps and make them water proof, as the reason florists currently use lots of plastic in their bunches is to accommodate the water on fresh flowers.
One florist we spoke to said that she spends $52 for 140m of plastic wrap per week, and $28 for 36m of paper wrap per week. This means in one month she spends $320 on bouquet wraps. If we were to supply just the wraps to all of the 26 florists in the CBD, we would generate approximately $18,000 per month income, if we were to charge the same amount for the wraps per metre as her current supplier. This demonstrates the profitability of our business as these wraps are only one of our products which Sam will expand on later in our product timeline. The same florist told us she would like to use a more Eco friendly option however she hasn't yet found anything that would suit the water resistant, flexible needs of her business.
We have mapped the Offcut journey, which will start with a call to arrange an initial face-to-face meeting where we will be able to educate florists on the environmental impact of green waste ending up in the landfill. This will be followed up by further evidence on our website, with the opportunity to sign up to our service during our initial meeting or on the website. Once a business is signed up we will work with them to arrange the bin drop off/collection that will occur weekly. Using an electric or hybrid vehicle we will collect the green waste from our CBD florists and take it back to our workshop where it will go through the paper-making process of being rinsed, boiled, shredded, formed by the moulds, pressed and dried. Then the papers are ready to be sold back to the florists.
One florist we spoke to said that she spends $52 for 140m of plastic wrap per week, and $28 for 36m of paper wrap per week. This means in one month she spends $320 on bouquet wraps. If we were to supply just the wraps to all of the 26 florists in the CBD, we would generate approximately $18,000 per month income, if we were to charge the same amount for the wraps per metre as her current supplier. This demonstrates the profitability of our business as these wraps are only one of our products which Sam will expand on later in our product timeline. The same florist told us she would like to use a more Eco friendly option however she hasn't yet found anything that would suit the water resistant, flexible needs of her business.
We have mapped the Offcut journey, which will start with a call to arrange an initial face-to-face meeting where we will be able to educate florists on the environmental impact of green waste ending up in the landfill. This will be followed up by further evidence on our website, with the opportunity to sign up to our service during our initial meeting or on the website. Once a business is signed up we will work with them to arrange the bin drop off/collection that will occur weekly. Using an electric or hybrid vehicle we will collect the green waste from our CBD florists and take it back to our workshop where it will go through the paper-making process of being rinsed, boiled, shredded, formed by the moulds, pressed and dried. Then the papers are ready to be sold back to the florists.
We have also developed a reward for participating florists that is visible to both the public and other florists, to display that they are a part of our initiative, and are addressing their environmental impact. We are currently exploring the design of this. The sticker will be presented to the florists after 3 consecutive months using our service, and would remain with the florist as long as they stay subscribed to our service. This reward will be a key aspect of our strategy as we are aware that these visible displays are a significant contributor to behavioural change. Think of it as similar to the heart foundation tick, or Fair Trade badges.
Our business timeline outlines our intentions during the first 3 years of operation as we progress through our initial set up, growing our customer base, expanding our paper making through a potential partner, and expanding into other cities. Our product timeline shows how we plan to expand and develop a diverse product range that will eventuate in products like seedling papers and trays that promote the growing of new flowers. Plant based products even have the potential to expand as art papers, egg cartons, and other general packaging.
We have broken our costs up into one-off start-up costs, and recurring costs, the breakdown of these costs can be found in our one-pager. We have arrived at a total of around $71,000 in one-off costs, and are looking at approx. $11,000 in recurring monthly costs. This means that to get our business started we need around $82,000. We qualify for a $50,000 waste minimisation grant, so require a further $32,000 to get our business off the ground.
We believe that Offcut is addressing an important environmental issue, and has found a nice gap within which it can make a difference, and hope that you will invest in this idea.
Our business timeline outlines our intentions during the first 3 years of operation as we progress through our initial set up, growing our customer base, expanding our paper making through a potential partner, and expanding into other cities. Our product timeline shows how we plan to expand and develop a diverse product range that will eventuate in products like seedling papers and trays that promote the growing of new flowers. Plant based products even have the potential to expand as art papers, egg cartons, and other general packaging.
We have broken our costs up into one-off start-up costs, and recurring costs, the breakdown of these costs can be found in our one-pager. We have arrived at a total of around $71,000 in one-off costs, and are looking at approx. $11,000 in recurring monthly costs. This means that to get our business started we need around $82,000. We qualify for a $50,000 waste minimisation grant, so require a further $32,000 to get our business off the ground.
We believe that Offcut is addressing an important environmental issue, and has found a nice gap within which it can make a difference, and hope that you will invest in this idea.
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