Circular economy innovations for environmental and social impact

By Aishwarya KS, Manager – Climate & Sustainability; Rushali Shivprasad – Portfolio Manager, Social Alpha

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Each day, India generates over 160,000 tonnes of solid waste, with 50% treated, while the remaining is either landfilled or unaccounted for. As the country develops, this issue is only set to worsen, highlighting the need for innovative waste management solutions. By leveraging the knowledge and skills of waste pickers along with technological advancements, there can be better material recovery and redesigned products. These products can be designed for a longer life, repairability, and ultimately, recyclability, ensuring that the sector moves from a linear model of take-make-dispose to a circular one. This approach not only benefits the environment but also provides an avenue to ensure livelihood support to the waste pickers, making them recognised agents of change in India's journey towards circularity and sustainability.

Focusing on inclusive circularity

With a strong alignment with H&M Foundation’s vision of enabling waste pickers to become key players in a global circular system, Social Alpha joined Phase 1 of the Saamuhika Shakti initiative in 2020.  As part of Saamuhika Shakti, Social Alpha supports start-ups that are creating breakthrough innovations for the circular economy while empowering waste picker families to lead secure and dignified lives. Through these partnerships, a program has been developed that enables start-ups to pilot their solutions on the ground and expand their impact through inclusivity - in collaboration with Saamuhika Shakti partners, the program enables waste pickers to sustainably transition to alternate livelihoods with opportunities for upward mobility.

How is this achieved? The program achieves this by selecting impactful start-ups through a multi-step evaluation process. The winning cohort is provided with market validation opportunities through on-ground pilots, technology and business advisory support, mentorship with experts, market access support and access to seed capital. In parallel, individuals from waste picker families are provided with stable employment opportunities through long-term engagement with these start-ups. They receive on-the-job training and skill-building, a safe and supportive work environment, flexible working hours, and opportunities for career advancement within the start-ups’ operations.

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Cohorts

In December 2020, Social Alpha launched Techtonic: Innovations in Waste Management – a nationwide call for applications to identify entrepreneurs and innovators who can create stable income opportunities for the informal waste pickers. Techtonic and the subsequent Accelerators are driving the uptake of scalable innovations and technologies to accelerate waste management in Bengaluru and other Indian cities, and to build income stability for the informal waste pickers. The start-ups were selected based on their ability to:

1. Create systemic change in waste management, a sector whose problems often get drowned in the noise of a vast multitude of challenges that India grapples with.
2. Provide greater agency to waste pickers to lead secure and dignified lives, through formal employment, skill development and provision of safe and conducive working environments.

So far, two cohorts have been onboarded. These include:

Cohort 1

• Loopworm: Transforms waste into insect-derived protein for animal feed.
• Phool: Transforms waste upcycling with their proprietary ‘flowercycling®’ technology, converting flower waste into charcoal-free incense and Fleather, a sustainable leather alternative.
• Swachha Ecosolutions: Recycles plastic waste into raw materials to create Swachha Repolymix
• Muddle Art: Recycles pre-consumer textile waste into raw material for further use

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Read more about the journey of realising value from waste, here: Waste as wealth: A year of learnings from Techtonic

Cohort 2

• Ashaya: Upcycles difficult-to-recycle plastics, such as post-consumer multi-layered plastic packaging, into high-quality products using advanced technology and deep scientific methods
• Bare Necessities: Creates premium, personal care, lifestyle and homecare products from ethically sourced and sustainable raw materials
• Ecosattva: Partners with communities and government bodies to establish solid waste management systems, emphasising resource utilisation, environmental sustainability and dignity of labour
• Padcare Labs: Provides an automated menstrual hygiene management system that breaks down disposed sanitary pads into cellulose and plastic that can be upcycled into new products
• Reti Ecotech: Converts end-of-life textiles into panels for use in furniture, brick cladding and acoustic insulators

Impact

The results achieved by cohorts 1 and 2 are illustrated below, with more details available in the report Revolutionising Empowerment: Transforming Waste Pickers’ Lives Through Innovations.

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Working with informal waste pickers

Through the accelerator, 9 start-ups across two cohorts successfully implemented pilots in Bengaluru and other cities in India. They collectively hired 41 informal waste pickers, including 30 women waste pickers,  and trained and upskilled them on the job. The weighted average increase in income for the waste pickers under the program has been 121%.

For instance,  Shashikala had weathered numerous  challenges before she became associated with Reti Ecotech. The  opportunity to secure formal employment emerged as a lifeline, a  significant relief from the irregularities  in employment she dealt with earlier.

Many of these enterprises were either founded by women entrepreneurs or integrated women throughout their value chains - as employees, contract workers, and target consumers. All nine start-ups embedded robust gender-inclusive practices at the core of their missions.

For the women waste pickers employed by these start-ups, these practices included the establishment of a safe and supportive work environment, with designated restrooms for both women and men, transportation facilities to ensure safe commutes, and flexible work hours that enabled women to balance their professional duties with domestic responsibilities. Additionally, Social Alpha encouraged founders to challenge stereotypes and address unconscious gender biases in their employment practices, particularly when engaging informal waste pickers.

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Contributing to climate outcomes

Whilst the aim of Saamuhika Shakti is to support the waste picker community, the interventions and programs introduced have a definitive impact on environmental and climate outcomes. Innovations in circular economy practices - ranging from material recovery to product redesign and beyond - are key to transforming waste into resources, thereby reducing the environmental  footprint. Such innovations, rooted in understanding and solving the needs of people and the planet, are crucial for paving the way towards a sustainable and resilient waste management ecosystem in India.

The 9 start-ups have collectively diverted 39,39,695 kgs of  waste from landfills and avoided 24,10,526 kgs of CO₂e emissions.

In August 2024, the winners of the third cohort of Techtonic: Innovations for a Circular Economy were announced. These nine remarkable start-ups are building breakthrough innovations to drive us towards a more sustainable future while empowering waste pickers to lead dignified and empowered lives. More about them here.

Social Alpha’s work within Saamuhika Shakti is pivotal in fostering a circular economy while enhancing the livelihoods of waste picker families. Through innovative support for start-ups and commitment to creating dignified, stable employment opportunities, Social Alpha is contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future for all involved.

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