ReCircle

The Challenge

Millions of Indians go to work every day as waste pickers combing through landfills in search of scraps and recyclables. Known as Safai Saathis, they play an important role in India’s waste management system, yet their employment status is informal, their work is dangerous, their pay grade is low, their reputation is stigmatized, and their output is ultimately insufficient: Despite generating more plastic waste than most economies in the world, India has to import plastic waste from other countries to feed its domestic recycling industry due to mismanagement and inadequate waste retrieval.

The Innovation

ReCircle replaces India’s shadow supply chain for plastic waste with an ethical, efficient, and fully traceable system. Rather than marginalize Safai Saathis, it onboards them into a nationwide network to ensure they get paid fairly, treated with dignity, and trained to collect the right types of material in the right quantity. It uses apps and state-of-the-art technology to trace waste as it moves through the supply chain, ensuring higher levels of recovery, and allows global brands to purchase plastic credits to offset their plastic footprints. ReCircle uses the money from the credits to incentivize the recyclers, collection facilities, and Safai Saathis.