What is the problem the social business is solving?

Urban areas in India generate 0.14 million tons of dry and wet waste on a daily basis, of which only 29% is adequately recycled. The informal sector dominated by waste pickers is responsible for this recycling effort although this number can be substantially high with right interventions. Despite their prominently positive role, the lives of waste pickers are plagued by low income, low social standing and irregularincomes, as well as unfair pricing through the unregulated waste collection sector dominated by informal players.

How does the social business solve this problem?

Waste Ventures India helps solve both the problems by –

• Establishing a formalized market for currently worthless waste streams leading to additionallow-value waste types collected, paid for and averted from landfills e.g. Tetrapak and Laminate Waste
• Providing up to 25% additional income to 1,200+ waste pickers and improving long-term living standards
• Standardization of prices and transparent collection process with upfront payments for waste pickers

How does the social business generate revenue?

Waste Ventures purchases and segregates dry and wet waste from third party waste pickers, corporates and apartment complexes, and processes this waste to sell to recyclers. Revenues are generated from the margins earned betweenthe purchase of unprocessed waste to the sale of processed waste to recyclers.