Log on to e-kabadis
Why haggle with the neighbourhood raddiwala when
you can sell your household scrap online
The neigbourhood raddi business is changing. The
monthly haggle for the `right rate' and the bickering over the `rigged'
weighing scale may soon be a thing of the past. From small startups to large
corporates, many entrepreneurs are finding cash in trash and investing in this
unorganized sector. Venture capital funds and high-net-worth investors too are
showing interest in backing waste ventures.
For Chennai-based Joseph Jegan, it was a pile of
junk in the house that prompted an online search for scrap collectors. Unable
to find one, the 33-year-old MCA grad started a site himself. After conducting
a study, Jegan launched Kuppathotti, `trash bin' in Tamil, in the winter of
2011.
Cut to Bhopal. IT engineer Anurag Asati has a
similar story . He sensed a new business opportunity when his family asked him
to locate a kabadiwala to sell accumulated junk. The 23-year-old, along with
his professor Kavindra Raghuwanshi, set up `TheKabadiwala.com' in February
2013.
India's big-box format store, Big Bazaar, too
has jumped into the fray with the chain offering great deals on junk ranging
from newspapers, plastics, utensils and clothes.
“It is a huge opportunity ,“ says Nikunj
Jaisalmeria, 27, of Mumbai-based usedlesspaper.com, who traded his banker's
suit and tie to be a junk entrepreneur. Jaisalmeria started the website this
January along with Akshay Surana with an investment of Rs10 lakh.
Customers can either register online or book a
pick-up to sell old wares. Representatives of the companies then come to the
doorstep, weigh the scrap on digital scales and pay on the spot. The start-ups
offer rates at par with the unorganized players.
Raddiexpress.com, Delhi's first professional
waste paper pick-up service, established in 2014, puts up the day's rate on the
website. “Our representatives weigh the material on digital scale and provide
receipt of the same at the spot,“ says Ajay Sharma of Raddiexpress.com, which
has 7,000 registered customers and receives about 70 calls a day. Some of the
companies have also tied up with direct and big paper users like schools,
colleges, airports, malls and hotels.While there are others that collect all
kinds of dry waste, like milk pouches and wrappers, which local raddiwalas
usually refuse to take.
“I had never thought of getting a good bargain
for my raddi. But usedlesspaper.com offers a Rs 50 coupon on every kilo of
newspapers sold. These coupons can then be used to buy grocery from the portal
itself,“ says a homemaker who has been using the site for the last three
months.
The green entrepreneurs follow different
business models. Some have their own infrastructure, some play aggregators and
others have a mix of both. Kuppathotti.com has its own collection executives
and drivers who pick up junk. “We collect all the scrap and segregate it at our
godown before giving it to recyclers,“ says Jegan of the Chennaibased portal,
which currently has 13 employees and 20,000 registered customers.
TheKabadiwala.com engages ground-level kabadiwalas as it “wants to uplift their
status“. “We provide them with uniforms, electronic scales, and train them,“
says Raghuwanshi of the Bhopal-based junk pick-up service. Usedlesspaper.com
has tied up with 10 raddiwalas in Mumbai and plans to take the strength to 100
in the next month.
Tons of waste generated in the country coupled
with massive campaigns like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan has also attracted
investors to the waste business. “End of life of products is an opportunity for
investment since that too needs to be dealt with effectively,“ says Kumar
Shiralagi, managing director, Kalaari Capital, an active investor in the
internet space. Industry body Assocham has predicted that value out of waste is
expected to touch $1.5 billion by 2017 in India from the current level of below
$1 billion. The country produces about 15 million tons of waste paper every
year, of which only 26% gets recycled.The remaining paper ends up in landfills.
On the other hand, Germany recycles 80% of its waste paper and Sweden, 69%.
TheKabadiwala.com, usedlesspaper.com and
Kuppathotti.com are looking to raise private capital as they chalk out
expansion plans. Jegan, who started Kuppathotti with an investment of Rs 15
lakh, recently began operations in Pune. Raghuwanshi of TheKabadiwala.com also
wants to scale up the business to other cities and is looking for investors.
Local raddiwalas say they are unaffected by
e-businesses. Ramesh Gupta, a local raddiwala in Sion, Mumbai, says he hasn't
even heard of the idea. The 54-yearold has been in this trade for 20 years and
claims a loyal set of customers. “My business has only increased over the
years. We provide everything possible, including pick-up,“ says Gupta.
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Vipashana VK & Reeba Zachariah
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TOI8MAY15
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