Finding riches in rags: A Hyderabad startup is digitising kabadiwallas. Coca-Cola et al. swear by it

Finding riches in rags: A Hyderabad startup is digitising kabadiwallas. Coca-Cola et al. swear by it
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Aerial view Waste Management with cityscape background at dusk for Environment Reservation.

Synopsis

In India, waste management is a USD100 billion industry largely informal, and cash driven. Recykal, a B2B tech startup, is trying to disrupt waste management through a digital marketplace for the sale and purchase of trash. Recykal is helping Coca-Cola, Marico, Nykaa and others become plastic-neutral. It has prominent investors like Morgan Stanley and Singapore-based Circulate Capital, Pidilite among others.

“Kantabai boli Bumbai mein sabse jyada paisa kachre mein hai” (Mumbai riches are in the garbage). Remember Ganesh Gaitonde, a mafia don played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, in Sacred Games? In reel life, Gaitonde understood what scraps can get him. And in real life, a Hyderabad-based B2B tech startup has made it its business model. With the power of tech, Recykal is changing India’s waste-management business, which is largely informal, cash-driven and
( Originally published on Oct 03, 2023 )

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