BENGALURU: Hemanth Kumar and Prabhu Kalesh, graduates of Seshadripuram College, have created an online forum to help people dispose of recyclable waste. Scrapbuzz.com connects scrap dealers and households.
“Garbage woes have spoiled the name of the Garden City. We want to help people recycle waste in a structured manner,” Hemanth said.
Since the launch of the website two months ago, they have reached out to more than 20 apartments in North Bengaluru, including the ISRO quarters, Prestige Monte Carlo, Janapriya Nivas, Janapriya Greenwood and Mahaveer Rich.
How does it work?
A team of 10 people set up stalls at apartment complexes and handed out brochures listing the items — like paper, books, juice cartons and e-waste — that can be recycled.
“One of them later accompanies scrap dealers to individual houses to collect the recyclable waste,” said Hemanth.
The start-up has already collaborated with two companies — HK Enterprises in Maruthi Nagar and Sri Vinayaka Old Paper Mart in Murgeshpalya — where the recycling will be done.
So far, the company has only focused on apartment complexes. But individuals who wish to give away recyclable waste can directly go to the website and choose a dealer based on the kind of waste, be it industrial, household or e-waste.
“You can type in your area and access a list of scrap dealers and their contact numbers,” said Hemanth. People can also sell used items by posting an advertisement for free.
During their college days, Hemanth and Prabhu wanted to make a positive contribution to society. “As staunch Modi supporters, we decided to take inspiration from the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to clean up the garbage mounds in Bengaluru,” said Prabhu.
Work started in October last year, when they bought the domain space. As part of their initial research, they went to the landfill in Bommanahalli and found that 60 per cent of the waste was recyclable. “We found plastic, electronic parts and other hazardous materials that can be reused,” said Hemanth
They set up their first stall at Janapriya Greenwood and received 700 to 800 kg of paper and 15 kg of e-waste.