🗑India's Waste Problem
Climate change, global warming and pollution are all problems that are constantly being discussed. But there is yet another major problem facing the Earth.
This pale blue dot that we live on is getting increasingly browner, thanks to us.
This blue dot gave us life, but in return, we are sucking the life out of it.
So, this Earth Day we decided to focus on a major issue facing the world that doesn’t really get highlighted that often.
Waste.
The Wasteland 🗑️
Every year we send over 2.12 billion tons of waste to landfills.
Because to make more money, we have created a culture of use and throw. 99% of the things we use, we trash in about 6 months.
Sadly, this waste will stay on much longer with the Earth than you and I.
Not just that, this waste is polluting our soil and our groundwater with dangerous chemicals.
Attempts to dispose (like burning) only cause more pollution.
And if left to rot, it releases methane and other toxic gases which warm up our planet.
But why are we drowning in waste? Why isn’t it being managed properly?
Because only 68% of waste is collected properly in India and of that only 28% of this is recycled in municipal corporations.
Why only 28%?
Because even throwing away your trash has some rules.
You can't just bag everything and dump it. You have to channelise your inner clean freak and dispose recyclable and non-recyclable items separately.
But very few people in India actually follow this.
The long-term solution to this problem is education.But thankfully a few companies have entered this space to at least kick start our zero waste journey.
Startups to the Rescue 🚀
Saahas Zero Waste: This Bengaluru-based waste management consultancy service, allows major companies, offices and hotels to go the zero-waste way. What it does is educate these organisations about how to segregate waste, sorts the waste into categories, helps recycle the waste that can be recycled and even sells these recycled products. Basically, it provides end-to-end zero waste management services to companies. The startup prevents 25 tons of waste from going to the landfill each and every day!
TrashCon: TrashCon has developed the first fully-automated waste segregation robot (with 99.6% accuracy) It then recycles this plastic waste into sheets which are then used to create furniture (thus also saving trees in the process).
The Disposal Company: This B2B startup partners with brands to help them achieve plastic neutrality. Huh? What it does is audit a brand’s plastic footprint and understands how much plastic it uses in a year. Then it gives its network of ragpickers a target to collect the same amount of low plastic, segregate it and recycle it. Just like “committing sins on all the days of the week and going to Church on Sundays” (900 chuhe khaa kar Billi hajj ko chali). Though this may seem like a loophole that allows brands to pollute as much as they want, the cost of being plastic neutral (Rs. 25/kg), will keep them in check.
Araatrika: Araatrika is an eco-friendly stationery startup that recycles old newspapers to create sustainable stationery and gifts like pencils, diaries, notebooks and more. Why stationery? Because creating stationery leads to deforestation. Every year 82,000 trees are cut just to manufacture pencils. And what’s worse we usually throw away these pencils when they get tiny, or notebooks when they’re used. So, it further creates waste. To solve this, Araatrika has created pencils and notebooks that you can plant when you’re done using them. So, it is not just recycling waste but also decreasing deforestation, and planting more trees.
There are many other startups working in this space to solve this problem and literally change the face of our Earth. And they are doing good work. But the thing is that the problem is too big to be solved just by a few. You might feel that what value you alone can add, but every drop in the ocean is valuable. You can curtail your expenses in fast fashion, start segregating waste, consume less, dispose less, stop using plastic, and invest in environment friendly businesses. The list can go on and on. All you gotta do is start. The world will follow.
If you know any such earth-friendly businesses, do connect us with them. We will love to cover them in detail, inspiring our readers in the process.
In A Line: India has a massive waste problem and startups are trying to solve it, but nothing can be done until you and I pitch in.
Quick Question: Can startups alone solve our waste management problem or does the government need to step in?
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