Sahni (22) said the idea was to ensure that people can donate for their favourite cause without feeling the pinch and, at the same time, socially uplift the raddiwallas — neglected, yet the most important part of the recycling industry.
Ever thought of letting go of the meagre Rs250 that you make every month by selling old newspapers and usable household waste and donating them for your favourite cause instead? A new initiative called RaddiConnect.com started by two city-based youths will show you the way. Founded just three days ago by Gurashish Sahni and Rahul Nainani, RaddiConnect.com is where you can donate your raddi by booking an appointment. Trained raddiwallas will come over to collect the paper waste from a place and time convenient to you.
Sahni (22) said the idea was to ensure that people can donate for their favourite cause without feeling the pinch and, at the same time, socially uplift the raddiwallas — neglected, yet the most important part of the recycling industry. "An average family makes about Rs250 a month by selling off old papers and other household waste, foregoing which would barely make a difference to them as the money would be worth just a cup of coffee. The rates often vary because of the faulty weighing scales used by the existing raddiwallas. With RaddiConnect.com, trained raddiwallas will collect the waste from homes using electronic weighing machines and the money worth the raddi will be donated to any of the NGOs affiliated with us," Sahni said. As an assurance, a donation receipt from the NGO will also reach the customer, specifying the amount received by them. "So people will not have to shell out money from their wallets to donate for a cause they connect to. Raddiwallas, too, get to keep the full profit when they sell that waste to the wholesaler who, in turn, sells it to the paper mills. The process will also attempt to eliminate the numerous middlemen involved, so that maximum benefits reach the informal sector of raddiwallas," he added.
RaddiConnect.com is operating with 15 trained raddiwalas at present and caters to areas between Khar, Bandra and Santa Cruz as well as corporates throughout the city. The services will soon be extended to other parts of the city, the founders told dna.
Nainani (22) said the humungous wastage of paper in the country prompted them to come out with a creative way to ensure less waste and more recycling. "How many of us even dispose the movie tickets and the ATM slips properly so that they can be recycled? In the next few months, we wish to set up bins for this purpose at ATMs, movie theatres and coffee shops to minimise paper wastage as part of the initiative," he said. And Nainani is right. Data obtained from the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association reveals that India is currently recovering only 27% of the 11.15 million tons of paper manufactured in the country annually, while 8.14 million tons gets wasted. On the other hand, Germany and Sweden recover 80% and 69% of the paper manufactured by them, respectively. "With the paper industry growing at the rate of 7.8%, it is high time we recover and recycle as much paper as possible. That's what led us to create RaddiConnect.com," Nainani explained.
The two informed that making profit is not part of their agenda right now. "Once the initiative is successful, the profit bit would come in only when we become part of the paper recycling chain ourselves," Sahni said, adding that the initiative received over 100 inquiries and 18 pick-up orders on Saturday itself.
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