Nearly 20,000,000 kg waste collected in a year: How these Mumbai-based founders are tackling the city's waste problem

Amidst the myriad challenges confronting India today, the issue of waste generation stands out as a pressing concern. Recognising this, Akshay Surana and Nikunj Jaisalmeria of Mumbai took it upon themselves to make a difference. They founded ViaGreen with a simple vision of solving waste management and cleaning the city. Today, their efforts are not only transforming Mumbai into a cleaner place but also contributing to employment generation.

The two began their journey in 2015 after strategically planning their aim. While their vision was clear, their challenges had no end. At first, their business model failed, but charged with the thought of helping the country, Surana and Jaisalmeria restarted. While they have come a long way in recognising and solving the waste problem, they still have more to accomplish.

"We had no direction in life; we did not know where to go. However, in 2016, Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSW) rules were introduced, and we grabbed that opportunity. Every household in society had to segregate its waste, and people struggled because they had no idea about waste management. People have a mindset that waste is not our problem. So, we started management within housing societies and companies to help them. We started to segregate the waste," Surana told HT. (Also Read: Varanasi’s waste-to-charcoal plant nears full operation)

Even though educating people and segregating took time, the two have now started tracing how much waste is generated. Approximately 59,000 kg of waste is collected from people and then sent for recycling in a day. Surana also shared that they collected nearly two crores of garbage in a year, of which 1.5 crores was recycled.

Surana explained, "We have introduced a unique system. We provide bags with QR codes to scan and trace the waste. This allows us to track where and how much waste is generated and whether it is segregated. Taking it further, we can even determine the proportion of wet and dry waste generated from a flat or a society."

He further added, “We've coined the term ‘GreenTags’ for our QR code initiative. These GreenTags have the potential to address the challenge of obtaining segregated volumes for municipalities, enabling them to implement various waste management strategies effectively.”

With solving this problem in housing societies and companies, ViaGreen has also begun beach and mangroves cleanups, recycling old clothes and materials, and even providing job opportunities to ragpickers. (Also Read: Ludhiana: Dugri bridge static compactor lying defunct from three years)

Talking about how one can do their bit for the country's waste problem, Surana urged that "people need to ask themselves if they absolutely need something. The generation of plastic, paper and other things has increased in the last few years. If one can avoid ordering things from Swiggy, Zomato or Blinkit, it is a step towards making the city clean. One should also start donating extra things in their homes instead of throwing them away".