10 Most Promising Waste Management Service Providers in India

10 MOST PROMISING WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA

2019 | VOL .08 | ISSUE .10

Dinesh Ganeshwade Co-founder

Sandeep Kanetkar Co-founder

SMARTENVIRO Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Deepak Kulkarni Co-founder

Managing Waste Wisely

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Rahul Niraj Executive Editor Sneha Sinha Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Associate Designer Poonam Mahajan Art & Picture Editor Rahul Kavnekar Co-designer Karan Gaikwad Business Development Lead Joan Ranbhise Business Development Executive Kirti Vidhate Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Prashant Chevale SME-SMO Executive Manoj Shelge Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

August, 2019 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Ofce No. 22 & 510, Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: +91 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 Email: info@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in

Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

Cover Price : RS. 150/Follow ollow us on :

www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ www

https://twitter.com/insightssuccess

Copyright © 2019 Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success. Printed and Published by Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. RNI NUMBER: MAHENG/2018/75953

Editor

From the

T

raditional Indian household practices are perhaps the most eco-friendly ones. We all might be living in Urban cities right now. But we know of our grandparents who lived in villages or are still in small towns. The way they manage their waste s incredible and something we should carry forward with us. Such households never threw out vegetable scraps or leftover food. Instead, they went to the cows and goats someone had in the neighbourhood, or simply dumped into a pit in the backyard, slowly turning into compost. This was then utilized by the small kitchen gardens that accompanied the houses.

Waste Management Starts with You

Times changed, we moved out to more modern places where development and technology were the buzzwords. Homes made way for apartments and the vast expanse of lands were not to be seen, nor to be seen are the stray animals who could eat the leftovers.

Instead, every waste is transported to landfills. This transportation chain itself adds to the waste and pollution. Gradually the cities and world over have realised that perhaps the way they manage their waste right now needs a new system or maybe just a knowledge transfer from the past.

The current solutions for waste management are a perfect amalgamation of old school thought and technology. But at the core of it are us – the individuals, the consumers. We must change to bring about the sought after change. Waste management must begin at the individual level. We must incorporate the 3RsReduce, Reuse and Recycle in our day-to-day activities.

Minimizing the usage of plastic, segregating our waste, composting the kitchen wet waste at home, responsibly doing away with recyclable objects are all small individual steps that will go a long way.

The damage that has been done can’t be reversed in a fortnight. But to heal where it hurt is essential. The planet is ours and so with us lies the responsibility. It’s high time that along with great education, latest gadgets, and all good things in life, we also pledge to give our future generation a livable planet.

The time to act is now, as Robert Swan, environment champion and the first person to walk both the poles inspires, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

Sneha Sinha

CONTENTS Cover Story

08

SMARTENVIRO SYSTEMS PVT. LTD. Managing Waste Wisely CXO STANDPOINT

INTERVIEW WITH INSIGHTS SUCCESS

22

16 INORA Waste to Health

|E-Waste Industry in India| Hindsight & Foresight ©

30

20

Article

Waste Management A Key towards Sustainable Development

Rebbeca Environment Engineering Solutions Conserving Water Naturally

Scraptap Organizing the waste management ecosystem with discovery platform and technologies

TowaSo

34

Solutions to Make the World, A Better Place

26

1

MOST PROMISING

Waste

Management SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA

Dump yard Ahead!

T

he Earth is the only known planet with human life on it. And with our own misadventures, we the humans are ruining out planet. Our waste management practices have literally gone to the dumps turning the whole planet into a dump yard of sorts.

After several wake-up calls, and troubles, the world is now warming up again to best practices that can curb the ongoing damage, if not reverse it completely. This requires efforts at individual as well as mass levels.

Thankfully, there are some who understand the problem in a more detailed way and are providing solutions that are effective and striving to make earth better again. In this issue of Insights Success, we are glad to enlist “10 Most Promising Waste Management Service Providers in India”. These companies are steadily transforming the cities with organized waste management practices.

The Cover Story of this issue features Smart Enviro Systems, one of the leading organisations in organic waste management.

Also featuring in this issue are Rebbeca Environment Engineering Solutions, a recognized firm engaged in distributing Treatment Plants & Effluent Treatment Plants, Scraptap, a platform connecting Waste Haulers, Collectors, Businesses, Manufacturers, Communities and Recyclers to declare and discover recyclables and TowaSo, a startup initiated by ISMites, which aims at providing a complete, effective and efficient solution to the waste generated in day to day life.

Further pages in the issue highlight the viewpoint of Shankar Sharma, Founder & Director of Green Vortex Waste Management Pvt Ltd. on E-waste Industry in India: Hindsight & Foresight. Read through the insightful interview of Manjushree Tadvalkar, Founder, The Institute of Natural Organic Agriculture (INORA). Our in-house article Waste Management: A Key towards Sustainable Development from Changing Times will make you think twice before you consider to just throw away the waste.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we did while creating it!!

Cover Story

Dinesh Ganeshwade Co-founder

Sandeep Kanetkar Co-founder

SMARTENVIRO Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Managing Waste Wisely

“

We’ve various

technologies that

can be used to treat organic waste at the Deepak Kulkarni Co-founder

source.

1

MOST PROMISING

Waste

Management SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA

I

ndustrialisation, science and technology have created many things for human beings that have enhanced their lifestyle. But in the process, it has also created a man-made menace that is threatening the ecosystem of the earth like never before. With increasing population, its density, increased production of consumable goods, the problem of waste management has been increasing manifolds. The world right now, according to environmental scientists, is sitting on a huge pile of garbage and needs to find a solution before it gets buried beneath.

A handful of doers, though, recognise the threat irresponsible waste dumping poses and have come up with solutions that are helping in dealing with them in accordance with nature. Smartenviro Systems Private Limited is one such enterprise established in 2013 by the technocrats with a vision to offer efficient solutions in organic waste management. It is one of India’s leading manufacturers offering solutions in decentralized organic waste management.

Visionary Founders Smartenviro’s management team consists of technocrats who believe that there is more to waste than meets the eyes.

They are of the opinion that throwing away waste is unwise and wisdom lies in converting waste into a resource. These visionaries are: Deepak Kulkarni has more than 45 years of professional experience of which he has spent more than 25 years in the field of Solid waste management. A Bachelor in Chemical Engineering, he has worked in senior positions in various reputed companies including many multi-national companies and has vast knowledge and experience in implementing wastewater and solid waste management projects of various sizes. He is also a recipient of the prestigious “50 Most Talented Green Leaders Award by World CSR Congress for 2016” award. He is responsible for process engineering, design and development, business development, marketing and branding of the company.

Dinesh Ganeshwade has a total experience of 32 years in the field of design, engineering and manufacturing. He helms the design, engineering and manufacturing vertical of the company. A Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, he has won many awards like the prestigious “National Quality Award- 1995” and is best known in the town as “serial product developer/designer”.

Sandeep Kanetkar has a total professional experience of 17 years. A bachelor in Computer Science, he has worked in many multi-national companies in India and in the US. He has vast experience managing large projects across geographies. He takes care of marketing, sales and day-today management.

Ecological Solutions The solutions that Smartenviro offers can treat the waste in the range of 50 kg/day to 300 tons/day. Through its direct presence as well as through dealer network it serves a variety of sectors that include Industrial, Real Estate, Hospitality, Institutional, Government Bodies etc. Till date, it has facilitated hundreds of installations across the market.

It has fully automatic as well as semiautomatic mechanised waste treatment systems for treating the waste up to 5 tons/day. For larger capacities such as 30 tons/day and above, it offers a technology called Covered Aerated Static Pile Composting. Additionally, it can also supply Shredder, Baling Machine, Briquetting Machine and De-watering Press. In short, it provides end to end single window solutions right from concept to commissioning and all further necessary support.

Its various products are: SMART Xpress Composter – A Mechanical composter comprising of an inbuilt shredder and a cylindrical container. The churning system crushes and mixes the waste matter simultaneously to break it down shrinking the volume and making pre-decomposition quicker. It is most suitable for urban use.

SMART Drum Composter – The machine provides a complete composting system in a single machine. The input is first fed to the shredding mechanism. Aerobic composting then generates dry, ready-to-use compost in a few days which can be unloaded at uniform levels from the discharge end.

SMART Batch Composter – The machine consists of a shredder and mixer. It also mixes the composting culture and dry material such as dry leaves, sawdust etc. with the shredded waste for the absorption of excess moisture.

Covered Aerated Static Pile Composting – This technology is used for treating larger capacities such as 30 tons/day and above. An improved version of windrow composting, the

One of the top 100 SMEs of India

We possess extensive experience in organic waste management and are committed to creating a resource from waste

We make sure that we are very transparent with our employees, sharing the ups and downs of the company and making them feel a part of it.

waste is arranged in piles or rows. An air pipe is provided underneath to augment oxygen supply and thereby prevent the formation of anaerobic conditions.

Assisting Services Apart from exclusive products, the company also oers Consultancy services in accordance with the new law governing new construction project with a mandate that if a project has an area of 20,000 sq. m. and above, it is responsible for and expected to manage and dispose of any waste generated on the premises and within the premises. Smartenviro facilitates the design and layout development in such projects to meet all statutory compliances with the latest Municipal Solid Waste legislation.

It also provides various specialized

tank cleaning services for residential, commercial, industrial and offshore requirements and applications including: • • • • • • •

Sewage treatment plant Corroded and clogged pipelines Petrochemical tanks offshore and onshore Removal and disposal of sludge Spillage cleaning Oil separators Wash water recycling system filter elements for auto car washes

Fighting Challenges and Winning Over with Technology While everyone agrees that waste management is critical, very few actually take care of it. As such waste management companies face several challenges like:

 Lack of awareness of waste management  No monetary advantages such as subsidy, reduction in

and urban local bodies have gone ahead and installed Smartenviro’s machines to treat the waste. It has also supplied its products to many entities in the Institutional sector. Though there are no direct benefits, the word by mouth marketing of these products has helped the company to some extent.

The key still lies in spreading awareness. The more people understand about the advantages of waste management, the more they will assist in the same. Waste segregation at customer end simplifies the waste management process to a greater extent. The company intends to increase social awareness about the benefits of Waste Management through campaigns, seminars, participation in various exhibitions and using social media.

Words of Wisdom With growing awareness, the industry is also witnessing the growth of small and big players. To such start-ups who are focusing on waste management, the founders have a few points to share:

GST etc. from the Government

 Too many players (fly by night operators) in the market  

offering non-standard solutions.

Many buyers buying the equipment only for the sake of compliance but not using it.

No strict implementation of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) Rules 2016

Today the problem of waste management is severe.

Especially, in urban areas most of the authorities such as municipal bodies do not have enough resources to manage the waste. A huge quantity of untreated waste is a major cause of pollution and climate change. In such a situation, technology plays a significant role. It helps to treat the waste efficiently. It keeps pollution and climate change under control. Smartenviro thoroughly understands the requirement of the customer and then proposes the solution.

With its strong technical know-how, it can offer the most suitable solution to the customer. Its product features are much superior as compared to others. Also, a dedicated team for service after sales helps customers to run the machines 24X7.

Increasing Social Awareness The company welcomes and supports the Government initiative of ‘Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan’. Many of the rural

• It’s a journey which is very exciting with lots of ups and

• •

•

down, think it through before embarking on it. Take an informed decision before you start on it rather than an impulsive one.

Make sure you differentiate between a hobby and business. The business has to be done professionally and wealth creation has to be a goal in it.

If you are friends/relatives coming together to start a venture, make sure the roles and responsibilities are clearly demarcated. This will cause some friction in the beginning but it goes a long way in avoiding conflicts.

If you have the conviction then be persistent, but be practical as well. Many a time, entrepreneurs become blindsided by their beliefs and do not see (or do not want to see) the realities around them.

For a Greener Future Smartenviro has had steady growth over the years. In 2014, it became the first in India to offer 3 different technologies of composting systems. In 2017, it also became the first to offer Covered Aerated Static Pile composting solutions. In short, it has been a pioneer in the field and has been putting technology to great use in order to fight the global issue of waste management. It now aspires to be a global brand in giving solutions for organic waste management. http://www.smartenvirosystems.com

Interview with Insights Success

INORA A

fter decades of using chemical fertilizers to boost agricultural production, the world has finally realized the value of organic farming and is literally returning to its roots. Individual farmers and organizations are now promoting and adopting organic farming at a large scale. In the process they also deal with another global issue – waste management.

In Pune, India, Know How Foundation (KHF) was established to work in the area of organic agriculture, waste management and appropriate technologies that are sensitive to nature and the planet. KHF established INORA Biotech Pvt. Ltd. to provide R&D and technical development capability in organic farming, soil biotechnology, city farming and waste management. The following interview re-lives the story of KHF, INORA Biotech and Manjushree Tadvalkar, who come together to enrich the soil in a way prescribed by nature.

1. Kindly brief us about the Founder/CEO and the mo va on behind venturing into this industry  Ms. Manjushree Tadvalkar, holds an M.Sc. in Zoology and has always had a passion for learning about sustainable lifestyle and promoting it. Manjushree has developed her expertise in the field of vermiculture and soil health. She has used her knowledge and skills to the best of her ability to develop and create awareness on organic farming and decentralized waste management.

Her efforts have now successfully reached 11 villages through CSR projects, 500 + urban housing societies and successfully implemented 14+ projects for companies to manage their organic waste sustainably.

2. Kindly brief us about the company.  The Institute of Natural Organic Agriculture (INORA) was founded in 1992 by Dr. M. R. Bhiday, an eminent Physicist from Pune and Dr. R. T. Dhoshi, as a division of Know How Foundation. The foundation works with an objective of developing and imparting know how in the field of organic farming, city farming, waste management, and overall a sustainable living. Since its inception, INORA has conducted numerous awareness and training programs among the citizens of Pune to help promote decentralized waste management. Through the medium of Garden Clubs it promotes city farming among the citizens. INORA directly works with farmers to promote organic farming and agro waste management

16

Waste to Health to enrich the soil which is deficient of the required nutrition due to years of chemical based farming. Waste to Compost to Gardening / Agriculture has yielded some significant benefits like prevention of waste to landfill and sustainable resource creation for soil health. The Green-skilling programs have benefitted the Farmer groups, Women Groups, urban Citizens, Schools, Corporates, Slums, Gram Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies.

3. What are the company’s different solu ons for trea ng waste?  INORA helps create awareness on waste management, “WHY” it is important to segregate waste into organic, recyclables and the reject waste. And how organic waste can be treated in a decentralized manner at home or within the society premises by using appropriate in-situ composting solutions.  We work with the industries to treat Industrial sludge with organic treatment plants set up within the company campus  We have Effluent treatment solutions, where we manage effluent waste organically  We take care of sewage by setting up Sewage treatment plant that includes grey water as well, where we organically segregate the sewage and the water can be reused for watering landscapes and the sludge can be treated to make manure  We also compost garden and agro waste to create manure out of it 4. What is the USP of the company that serves as an advantage over compe tors and benefits clients/customers?  Our USP is that our solutions address the complete 360 organic cycle to ensure sustainability. Our systems and technology in waste management care about the dignity and health of the people working in waste by providing them a sanitized work place. This approach has helped us change the attitude towards waste among the citizens, as they are now willing to have organic waste managed in their own backyards. Our R&D team is constantly working on improving our decomposing solutions to make the composting efficient and ensuring that the produced manure prescribe to the FPO standards. We are also improvising our solutions to be able to decompose efficiently all types of organic waste like August 2019|

feather waste from poultry shops, and degrade the new biodegradable disposables that have flooded our markets. In the area of organic farming we have developed inputs that enrich the soil and mobilize the missing organic matter in it, this helps reduce farming cost by reducing the dependence on chemical inputs and making farming water efficient.

5. Share with us the challenges faced by companies in this sector.  One of the biggest challenges that we face is to change the way people think about waste, they do not want to take any responsibility of the waste that they produce and have an apathy towards the waste and people working in waste. Whereas the waste generator plays the most important role in the management of waste – starting from reducing the waste they produce, composting their organic waste and segregation of dry waste to ensure it finds its way to recycling and not a landfill. Through our awareness programs we try to make people realize that the biggest hazard the earth is facing today is the disposal of waste and how they in their small way can contribute to make this earth a better place to live.

Manjushree Tadvalkar Founder/CEO

6. What role does technology play in managing waste?  Technology has a vital role as it becomes our medium to communicate and share information with the masses.

Also as technology evolves we will have more and more ways that help build a sustainable lifestyle.

7. How closely is the company a ached with the Government’s Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan? And how does it benefit from the same?  We closely work with the Urban Local Bodies, we collaborate for the Swachcha Maharashtra Mission which comes under the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan.

Our projects in Malkapur – Kolhapur, Kasar Amboli & Sawardari (CSR Projects) projects have won Swachh Survekshan awards.  Most of our projects through CSR are a part of Swachh Abhiyaan 8. How does the firm intend to increase social awareness about the benefits of Waste Management?  We have multiple ongoing awareness programs like social entrepreneurs to reach out to housing societies, satellite centers in all areas of Pune for guidance and material availability, garden club, awareness programs for farmers in rural areas to support and promote organic farming, 9. What would be your advice for the budding start-ups and entrepreneurs in the industry?  It is extremely important to give something back to society and environment. Always have a sustainable approach and try to think out of box. Team is the most important asset in the organization and it is important to August 2019|

take care of them and as well of your surroundings, do whatever small things possible for the areas that you are situated in and it will be a big contribution to the society 10. Brief us about the company’s future perspec ves  We plan to reach out to more and more corporates and use their network to increase our reach in the society and help us take this initiative to various corners of the country.  We also wish to closely work towards the capacity building of the government bodies (Zilla Parishads, Gram Panchayats and Swachhata Committees) to help them build a socially and environmentally sustainable approach of governance.

17

1

MOST PROMISING

Waste

Management SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA

REBBECA ENVIRONMENT ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS Conserving Water Naturally

T

he summer this year was witness to one of the worst water crisis in recent years.

Global warming, mass deforestation, burgeoning population, delayed monsoons, urbanisation and more issues ensured that the water-crisis aggravated further this year. This serves as a huge wakeup call that if we don’t act now, it will be too late. While water conservation practices are yet to reach the masses, there are a few dedicated to the cause and relentlessly trying to better the situation.

Ashish Paius, while in India, noted that a high amount of water is nonrecycled and wasted and there are no solutions for biodegradable wastes which is considerably increasing the landfills. Having spent a quarter of his life abroad in different countries he challenged the vision of a Greener and Cleaner India. Alarmed by the impending crisis, recognising the opportunity and in search of the true sense of purpose of his life, he set up his company Rebbeca Environment Engineering Solutions with the vision of Clean, Green India and water conservation.

A Natural Company Founded in February 2015 with a 20

vision of Green India, Clean India, Rebecca’s principal company is Sludge Hammer, USA. It basically cultures the bacteria present in the atmosphere and puts in the sewage tank to provide completely recycled water which can be used for any purpose. The systems developed by Rebecca doesn’t have any chemicals and it is completely natural. It provides a sludge free and odour free system. It also gives solutions for high-end Reverse Osmosis Plants where it tries to bring down the wastewater to 15-20% and the water is again recycled and used again. It also designs certain biodegradable waste solutions and toilet waste disposing solutions.

By following only aerobic nature of waste-treatment, Rebecca offers a natural solution for recycling.

Certainly, the capital expenses increase, but it brings the operational cost of the entire system to less than 10% which compensates the capital expenses thus making it cost-effective in the long run.

Ignorance – The Biggest Challenge The first and foremost challenge, Ashish shares, is to make people understand the advantages of this system. The Indian market, being

majorly dominated by builders, always tends to look to the capital cost rather than operational cost. So, they are not basically bothered about water conservation and recycling system on the premises and their efficiency. When it comes to educational institutions, they are more interested in a water purification plant but not on a sewage treatment plant. He says,“Basically, the awareness of how important it is to save water is not created in India.

People have started taking water for granted. But we are worried about what our next generation is going to face? If we don’t start saving water now, then a time will come when we are gonna pay an exorbitant price for water. It’s gonna be like we are gonna pay for oxygen soon.”

But, Ashish is not someone who’ll just mull over this lack of awareness. As of now, his company is targeting state-bystate. Rebecca’s representatives move to different schools and educational institutions and have started educating students about the importance of water conservation. In several areas, it has started giving 2 disposals one for degradable and another for biodegradable to bring in practice proper waste disposal.

August 2019|

‘‘

We believe in going with nature rather than going for nonaerobic treatments

‘‘

Ashish Paius CEO

Being Different and Effective Rebecca is a recognized firm engaged in distributing Treatment Plants & Effluent Treatment Plants. It has been appreciated in the market for delivering high efficiency, easy installation and maintenance services.

Various products in its portfolio include: Sewage Treatment Plant Food waste Disposer RO Plant Sewage Wastewater Treatment Plant Portable Sewage Treatment Plants Wastewater Treatment Plants Packaged Effluent Treatment Plant Ultrafiltration System Rebecca’s Solutions have certain advantages over competitors that makes it unique: Other traditional or conventional methods for waste management have huge infrastructural cost and operating August 2019|

cost. Rebecca’s systems utilize a biological process for recycling making it more cost-effective.

A second most important issue in the conventional system is sludge removal and odour. Rebecca’s system is a sludge free, odour free, and maintenance free system.

these days tend to demean other start-ups and entrepreneurs. You forget they are one amongst you who have the same dream and aspirations as you. Be the odd one out. Help your fellows and grow together. The old saying always comes true, Unity is the Strength.”

For a Cleaner Future

So, basically this system doesn’t have any cost on chemicals, manpower, electrical equipment, chlorination and electrical. It just uses the bacteria which is present in the atmosphere which can digest the sludge to achieve the desired results.

Words of Wisdom An entrepreneur himself, Ashish advises his fellow and younger entrepreneurs as under: “Ethics, principles and hard work.

People do see you. If you work hard and do ethical business with proper principles, the sky is your limit. People

From 2015 till now, the company was targeting the Delhi/NCR, Kerala and Bangalore market. The biggest challenged it faced and is still facing is lack of good salespeople and manpower who are ready to take the ownership, are passionate and full of energy. Now, it has started its operations in Punjab and Jharkhand. It is also planning to start its operations in Madhya Pradesh by next financial year. It is tying up with different NGOs to create awareness about water conservation and is also appointing different volunteers to help Rebecca for the same.

21

|E-Waste Industry in India| Hindsight & Foresight ©

T

he last 10 years have been a trying, tumultuous ride, with turbulence testing the service provider companies from all directions: Clients, Regulators of all hues, Commodity Prices, Logistics and Employees.

E-Waste management is now a reasonably stable industry in India, with most players able to cover expenses and grow at a steady pace. This short article briefly touches upon the various drivers of the business, the journey so far, and the directions that future is likely to bring.

This article is introductory article to a 5 part in-depth series brought to you by Insight Success magazine Key drivers of business: 1. Clients: From having to explain a-z of the sector, regulation and why hazardous E-Waste should only be given to authorized market players instead of the neighbourhood kabadiwala, many clients have evolved to the thought process that at least they don’t question why they should not give E-Waste to unauthorized sector, even if that’s exactly what they do behind the regulator’s back !

2. Regulators a. Environmental From the go-slow, reluctant policies & implementation of last 10 years, the environment regulators are now certainly in the driving seat, with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) carrying out EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) reforms with the rigour that is probably the best EPR execution in the world so far.

State pollution control boards are close on the heels, implementing the E-Waste rules smoothly.

The issue that has been bothering many industry players is the confusion between Rules and guidelines. The EWaste management Rules, a legally applicable framework, clearly give jurisdiction for evaluation of capacity to District Industries Centre. The Guidelines, which are advisory in nature and have no legal validity under the constitution, have cut the above capacity 22

drastically to only 15-20% of evaluation by DIC. This needs to be clarified either by MoEF & CC, or in a qualified court of law. b. Taxation Customs department has been an equal running mate with CPCB in implementing the EPR reforms by strictly implementing the policy of allowing imports of electronics only to those companies that are duly authorized under EPR clauses. This, in addition to helping the implementation of E-Waste compliance targets, is also helping create a level playing field for the hitherto disadvantaged domestic manufacturers, in line with ‘Make In India’ policy and vision of the Modi government.

The implementation of GST has done away with complex and business unfriendly VAT/CST regime and paved the way for organized, honest players to score above the unscrupulous, unorganized sector in a big leap.

If you are law compliant, it is a good time to be in the industry. If not, the days are numbered.

3. Commodity Prices a. Metals & Precious Metals Instability is the word that comes to mind when we speak of metal prices in last decade. Though it has been an overall upward trajectory, the climb has been anything but smooth. That makes it very difficult to plan the budgets properly and stick with annual and quarterly plans.

What has also been a short sighted move by the government is putting the unofficial freeze of permissions to export PCBs to established markets.

There was no warning, no official word on this policy and no planning could be done as a result.

It was short sighted because there is no infrastructure, existing or in the pipeline, to recover precious metals from PCBs in India on a globally competitive scale.

While Western Europe and Japan clock recovery rates of August 2019|

CXO Standpoint

Shankar Sharma Founder & Director

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shankar Sharma is the Founder & Director of Green Vortex Waste Management Pvt Ltd. It is an early mover company in organized electronic waste management space with the capability to handle all E-Waste /WEEE in a safe, transparent manner complying / exceeding the directives set by the government.

Shankar contributes regularly to industry bodies and think tanks on topics of waste management, environment & entrepreneurship. He can be reached at Shankar@greenvortex.in and https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmashankar/

August 2019|

23

99.7%, we are still struggling with even 85% at any respectable scale, ignoring a few fanciful, bogus claims by unscrupulous entities.

The government should support to bring expert foreign JV partners into the precious metal recovery business in India and till such time, avoid drastic steps. b. Polymers Though not a stable trajectory, I feel it is not of much consequence as the percentage amount for an E-Waste management company is not much, at the moment. Here is where an opportunity lays hidden in plain sight.

Around 55 different types of plastic are present in EWaste but most companies are not able to give it the due attention as their internal volumes don’t add up to a substantial amount. Time is ripe for a company specialized in E-plastic, focused on recycling FR (Flame Retardent) containing plastics. c. IT Equipment Refurbished IT still remains the uncrowned king for most E-Waste management companies and the glut of Low cost, low quality imported electronics in the market has significantly dented this market in the last decade. Companies who are fully dependant on this output stream need to be careful in forthcoming times.

On the bright side, with the great market size, speed of market adoption and the classic Indian hunger for a ‘good deal’, the time is right for a specialized platform for sale and purchase of certified refurbished IT. 4. Logistics Reverse logistics is a critical part of the chain, and now an attractive vertical itself, as EPR obliges electronics companies to organize mass scale take-back programs.

Companies can either partner with a logistics companies, or even create subsidiaries / full service operators to cater to this requirement. Since it is a relatively new segment, early movers can expect to reap rich rewards and long term business engagements with both the electronics produces and recyclers.

5. Employees & Associates The journey so far has been a free- for –all, where people come and go out of companies and business associations like a merry-go-round, for a few rupees more, or after conducting scams of various sizes and seriousness. The industry has been replete with examples of this frivolous behaviour, and gross misconduct, in the past decade. But now as the industry evolves to the next 24

level of maturity and organization, the coming times necessitate professional behaviour and career minded people, at all levels, from labourers to CEOs 6. Consultants Consultants are generally numerous and fulfil a specific awareness need in any nascent industry, as E-Waste in India has been in the last decade. In the next stage of industry growth, there is place for fewer, more knowledgeable and capable consultants who command a higher premium for their time & efforts. Now is the time for that metamorphosis as the few who evolve into capable knowledge partners will see their practice grow manifold while the others will have to find alternate livelihoods.

7. NGOs & Industry Associations NGOs and industry associations have played a critical role from the beginning, or even before the rules were notified and the industry began in full swing. These are anti pollution groups such as Toxics Link and Manufacturers associations such as MAIT & ELCINA. They have been a guide to the evolving legal framework as well as the nascent industry and we all keep seeking their reagent like influencer to our industry.

A glaring gap has been a strong association of the recycling industry. Though attempts have been made in the past, they have all come to a naught due to power play and all players trying to grind their own agenda above industry welfare.

8. PROs (Producer Responsibility Organizations) In classic trigger happy fashion, PROs are approved without due rigour in formulating their features, do’s and don’t’s. PROs could be a useful chain connecting all parts of the industry but due to short sighted policy, they are not more than roadblocks in the current situation. It requires a proper discussion with all stakeholders and formulation of a proper policy that makes PROs enablers.

Conclusion To conclude, the industry has gone from an infant to teenager with plenty of teething troubles. With the right regulatory environment, almost all players are seeing good business opportunities, but the ones who’ll choose and stick to their specialization are the ones who’ll trump above the masses.

Enough of snorkelling on the surface, time to dive deep!

August 2019|

1

MOST PROMISING

Waste

Management SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA

Scraptap Organizing the waste management ecosystem with discovery platform and technologies

I

t won’t be an exaggeration if we say that the world right now is sitting over a giant dump yard.

Years of unsegregated and nonmanaged waste that humans have generated is still lingering on the land and water bodies. This waste now generating issues previously unnoticed and uncared for. By 2050 there will be more plastic and debris in oceans than aquatic animals. The landfills are leaching polluting the soil and the air. To summarize, the situation is grave if not acted upon.

And while some people are still trying to grasp the damage that has happened, some like Deepak Maurya has gone ahead and started doing their bit for the earth. Deepak is the Founder and CEO of Scraptap, a social enterprise that is connecting Waste Haulers, Collectors, Businesses, Manufacturers, Communities and Recyclers to declare and discover recyclables and

26

transact with few taps (mobile) and clicks (web-based platform). For Scrap Buyers, Sellers and Waste Haulers Scraptap is a platform that offers a connected marketplace for recyclables discovery, management, and movement. Unlike traditional channels, its differentiators are sustainable, efficient, cost-effective and real-time trading of recyclables.

Unearthing the Layers Waste Management was not always on Deepak’s mind who was working in the IT industry. Motivation struck him when he saw young kids rummaging on the top of a garbage pile in Hyderabad instead of being in school. Realizing that paying their fee would send them school, he started an NGO to support kids education. The NGO started collecting Schools supplies as donations and any household waste that could be sold so that the money would go to the kids’

education. A year into this model and issues started unfolding before them.

The scalability of the model was coming to question in a Non-profit context along with the challenges in the Waste Management sector.

Interactions with rag pickers and the team’s research opened their eyes to the scale of the problem on a national and global scale. Deepak adds, “This pushed us to think harder to do something that will impact at an ecosystem level rather than operating as a small-scale NGO impacting a few lives. Then we established a Private limited for-profit company in Hyderabad and got into trading waste to understand the larger ecosystem and the inter connectivity and dependencies.”

Modus Operandi Scraptap wants to be the platform that enables fast and efficient waste discovery and movement. It connects

August 2019|

‘‘

We are creating consumercentric recyclables discovery platforms which work on D2BC Model – Declare, Discover, Bid, and Collect.

‘‘

Deepak Maurya Founder & CEO Waste generators and Waste recyclers efficiently and wants to stick to its core competence which is technology.

It is aiming to be a technology enabler to the existing ecosystem but not get into treating waste itself. We are creating consumer-centric recyclables discovery platforms which are interoperable, scalable and can be offered as Cloud-based SaaS to Waste Management Firms It works on D2BC Model – Declare, Discover, Bid, and Collect model.

combining its strength in technology to meet an unmet need in the sector.

The informal Waste Management sector through its ingenuity enables processing of anywhere between 2/3rd to 3/4th of the recyclable waste.

What Scraptap wants to do is bring in the power of technology to better enable the existing ecosystem. Its ultimate aim is to be an enabler for the existing ecosystem to be more cost-efficient, transparent and equitable.

Its way of working puts it in a unique position where it is thinking at an ecosystem level impact through technology that will enable all players of the Waste management sector.

What truly separates it from the rest is its belief that its passion (to make a change to the environment and bottom of pyramid (BOP) workers – after seeing numerous landfills and countless interactions with rag pickers) – will see it through. It is

The Roadblocks

August 2019|

Working closely with the components of the industry, Deepak feels that there are challenges abound across the Post Consumer Waste Management Life cycle including: Segregation to Collection to Aggregation to Hauling to Recycling Ÿ Lack of avenues to declare waste Ÿ

leading to undiscovered waste Lack of adequate pickup points, pricing transparency Ÿ Lack of recycling plants – installed recycling capacity in India is close to 20% of what’s needed. And even they are sitting idle anywhere between 30 to 40% of the time due to challenges in the downstream collection. Ÿ Lack of Funding Ÿ

From a government standpoint – while Waste Management has gathered pace through Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2016, a lot more needs to be done to accelerate the progress. The government needs to provide a lot more incentives to the private sector to partner with LGU’s across the WM value chain. Waste management is an asset-heavy sector. It needs trucks, transfer stations, land, material recovery facilities, advanced recycling technologies and recycling 27

plants. All this takes money. Unless there is a thrust towards funding / subsidizing/ incentivising private sector, it is going to be a slow journey. The Government’s Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan is benefiting the sector with the general population warming up to the idea of cleanliness and that we need to act to keep our surroundings clean. The difference, however, comes in where Government is focussing vs where the industry’s focus is.

Industry Enablers – Technology and Young Turks According to Deepak, “Technology can be a huge enabler in the sector. I think the new generation of those in the sector are trying to think differently and are applying modern ways of dealing with waste. Also, a lot of techies are looking at the sector to make a change.” IoT sensors in garbage bins, image recognition for 28

segregation, software for managing trucks, routing, recycling plants could all be examples of the application of technology in the sector. But the true power is unleashed when all these come together.

He also feels that the newer generations are more environmentally conscious and are very aware of their surroundings. They are looking to make a meaningful impact on people, cultures and the environment. To such young entrepreneurs, he says, “I urge those interested to immerse themselves in the sector first to understand it and then decide if they want to come into the sector.This is a sector that needs a deep-rooted change in behavioural pattern/mindsets that have crystalized over generations at a grass-root level.

And that is going to take time.

Innovative thinking is needed to come up with new business models to make it attractive for capital to flow and

investors to get interested.”

The Future that Scraptap Envisions We think we are on the cusp of a huge change. And we must change. We don’t have a lot of options but to protect our planet. I think everyone is slowly aligning on that fact. This is the “what”. Now the “how” part is being worked out in the market within the policy framework set by our government. We feel very positive about the continuity and thrust in the sector.We feel the informal/fragmented sector will start to formalize slowly and bigger players will emerge. We are creating world largest cloud-based inventory of waste/recyclables through our marketplace. By 2020 we will start offering our custom waste management technology solutions as SaaS (Software as a Service) to organizations across the globe.

August 2019|

Changing Times

WASTE

MANAGEMENT A Key towards Sustainable Development

I

ndia is taking a step forward to curb pollution and promote sustainability with an approach towards a clean and green environment. Plastic ban, recycling, spreading awareness among the masses, and, renewable energy generations are some things that have put India at the forefront of the world map.

Sweden has proved itself a global champion in recycling.

Currently, it recycles 99 percent of total household waste and aims to become a zero-waste society. It is diďŹƒcult for the populous country such as India but not unachievable if every person takes the responsibility to make their nation eco-friendly.

Smart Waste Collection Management The waste management industry has started developing and implementing solutions. Providing waste bins with sensors, database management, logistics platforms the industry is shifting to cleaner modern life. Waste management systems keep homes and communities free from unwanted clutter. The waste management industry has started developing and implementing IoT solutions to these problems, a technological phenomenon slowly and steadily doing wonders for India’s waste woes.

Cities have progressively begun to get on board with the incorporation of smart waste management solutions in the public sphere. A technology that makes use of sensors to detect how full is the trash bin is prevalent in many cities. The measured data 30

August 2019|

August 2019|

31

is then transferred to the cloud management system to further process and analyse. The interpretation of data helps adequate planning of trash collection and precisely tracks the routes.

Turning Waste Into Energy The growing amount of waste gradually choking the country has become one of the biggest concerns. But the beginning of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan saw waste being thoughtfully taken and various government departments spreading awareness about the segregation. Setting up more waste management plants is also an agenda of the mission. One of the biggest innovations coming to the waste management industry is the ability to convert waste into energy. New machinery, known as ‘digesters’ can process the waste and the biogas that is produced is turned into energy which can be used on the site. This technology can also be used in food waste, animal waste, agricultural leftovers and, more. Creating energy from food waste that contains a large amount of methane gas and thermal conversion can convert waste into specialty products such as chemicals, fertilizers, oils are some new technologies.

“Trash” of the food industry to a “treasure” Tonnes of food goes off to waste globally. A unique and financially sustainable solution is value-added processing that involves the conversion of food waste into a product that can be reused. It might sound wearied to you but according to the National Resources Defense Council survey, 68% of what’s being trashed in homes is still edible and easy to digest. The good news is that industries are finding unique and innovative uses of food waste such as bio-plastics from food waste. The industries aim to drive food waste into new, healthy and, value-added products. Companies are making protein bars from spent grains from beer brewing, food scraps to protein chips, pulp to grain-free granola, etc. This modernization will feed people, generate opportunities for employment and, reduce the environmental impact of wasted resources.

Innovation And Technology Technology is changing waste management methodologies. Owing to ongoing labor shortages, workflow improvements have the potential to improve profitability with technologies like driverless trucks. It is set to transform the industry. Smart technologies may soon aid the industries by reducing needless pickups, keep up with stringent contamination requirements, cost-cutting and easy recycling. Technology is taking over everything but if you cannot adjust to the innovations, then this world is not fit for you. So let’s lay the groundwork and embrace the initiative that may probably lead to a healthy and clean future.

- Rajkunwar Bhosale 32

August 2019|

1

MOST PROMISING

Waste

Management SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA

TOWASO Solutions to Make the World, A Better Place

A

s human being and thinking individuals, we come across a wide range of issues in our daily life. Some problems are personal while some on the social level. Every one of us is inherently programmed to react to such problems in one way or the other. While some choose to ignore or live with it, some take it upon themselves to solve them. The problem of waste management today is critical both at an individual level as well as social, national and global level. And the solution lies at all these multiple levels, starting with individual or household management and ending at the global platform.

Saurabh Kumar’s attachment with NGOs during his college and subsequent professional life made him realize that turning a blind eye to this problem was no solution at all.

Working in the environmental services industry, holding leadership roles in AIESEC and serving NGOs like Nepal Connection, Kartavya, Fast Forward India, Subh Drishti, Shadhan, the thought of settling down with a 9 to 5 job completely vanished and serving the society became the topmost priority in his life. Fuelled by his skill in Entrepreneurship Education, Event Management, Public Speaking, and 34

marketing and empowered by a Master’s Degree focused in Environmental Science and Engineering, he set out to complete the broken cycle of waste management.

Recognizing Solutions Towards Solution( TowaSo) Pvt Ltd was established by Saurabh with the thought of “Resources at the right place is a resource, but at the wrong place, it is a waste”. The idea sparked when he was sitting at a fruit shop where he a saw a cow munching of the fruit peels thrown out as a waste for the shop, but a resource for the cow.

TowaSo aims at providing end to end Waste management to the solid waste(garbage) generated in daily life.

Improvising on the existing solutions for waste management it has developed patentable technologies such as Home Composter, biogas storage balloon.

TowaSo is interested in waste management, waste to energy, resource management and pollution reduction practices.

Treating Waste To tackle the problem, TowaSo offers solutions around the following points: Ÿ Segregation & Collection – It

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

designs and improvises garbage segregation and collection with the help of IT and present trends, making it sustainable and providing a better working condition for sanitation workers.

Tracker App – Makes the collection service effective by giving tracking rights to the user, they can request garbage pickup, lodge complaints, and make payment as well.

The Recycler – It outsources the service currently, but is eyeing to start the service on its own by integrating the stakeholders through its technology and app Composter Tumbler – To compost wet waste it has a patentable setup that is more eco-friendly and less costly and provides everything required for composting including microbes.

Bio Gas - Patentable gas storage tank that maintains the pressure and is working to include IoT to it. It has a target to provide gas at 4 rupees a day to a family of four.

Bio Cleanser – Made from citrus fruit waste, this organic cleanser enhances the microbial population in the septic tank and the rate of degradation and keeps the floors germs free.

August 2019|

‘‘

TowaSo envisions ‘Utilize the resources before it gets wasted’ because everything which is not used is a waste

‘‘

Saurabh Kumar Founder & CEO

Challenges are Hidden Opportunities

integration of technology to offer solutions has helped it to help cities.

Being a startup, TowaSo had had its share of teething troubles like people behavior, broken system, reliability on human but it took them up as opportunity. Saurabh adds with a suggestion, “The biggest challenge right now is getting projects as Government floats tenders for Integrated Solid Waste Management valued in hundreds of crores which is nearly impossible for a startup like us to participate and execute. If the government promotes decentralized projects it will allow many startups to work for the society in the field of waste management.”

All Hands on the Deck

TowaSo has been managing quite well on its own with its systematic approach and lean methods to handle waste making it successful in handling every city it has worked in. Its expertise combined with the efficient use and August 2019|

TowaSo has been working since 2016 with Urban Local Bodies(ULB) for Swachh Bharat Mission, helping improve the cleanliness index of several cities. As projects for Integrated Solid Waste management are getting bigger, the Mission brings a lot of hope to the industry. Saurabh adds, “Working with the government has both pros and cons, the best benefit is one can create awareness with lesser effort. At present we are helping the ULB to collect garbage from more than 20000 households and with expenditure on awareness campaign we promote segregation at source.”

fulfilling these two criteria I’ll suggest not to go with the idea. Sustainable does not only mean financially you can not ignore the environment, but you also need to be sustainable economically and ecologically.”

Relentless Work Ahead!

For three years, TowaSo has been bringing change by following its inhouse 3S strategy – Service, Satisfaction and Strictness. It is now focusing on products- Organic Cleanser, Home Composter and Bio Gas for direct customer so that it does not completely rely on Government.

Few patents are under process and this will surely give the company a boost as it targets getting more investors onboard in the coming year.

He also shares his findings with the start-ups in the industry saying, “Make Something that is Scalable and Sustainable, if your solution is not 35