Indian waste management solution focused on transparency and recycled waste.

Rapid urbanisation in India has spiralled the nation into a critical waste management challenge and by 2048, India is estimated to become the largest global waste contributor. But Rahul Nainani and Gurashish Sahni, founders of resource recovery enterprise ReCircle (previously RaddiConnect) set out on a mission to ensure this would not be India's future. To date, ReCircle has created a nationwide impact network of waste management centres in India and has connected resource partners, government bodies and thousands of people to reduce waste, revive lives and restore nature's balance. ReCircle has partnered with the likes of the UNDP, HUL and Dabur to help them dispose of their recyclables responsibly. In total, 9,000 tonnes of waste has been prevented from entering the ocean through ReCircle. Read on to learn more about the founding team and the company!

Describe your startup in two sentences

ReCircle (formerly known as RaddiConnect) is a resource recovery enterprise that is driven by data to enable transparency and accountability in the resource value chain to promote sustainable production and consumption of resources. We work with consumers, government & brands to divert waste away from landfills and oceans, back into the economy to be recycled, reused or repurposed.

What gave you the inspiration?

Rahul: In January of 2016 there was a massive fire at the Deonar dumping ground, there was an image which was taken by NASA from space to show how large the fire was. This fire went on for a few weeks. After the fire subsided we went down to the neighbourhood to understand the reason for the fire. While interacting with an NGO called Apnalaya (which works with people in the neighbourhood surrounding the dumping ground) we found out that the average life expectancy of people living around the dumping ground was just 37 years! This just gave me a reality check to understand how deep the problem was, not just from an environmental point of view, but also from a social aspect. If this is happening in the heart of Mumbai city, how long do we have until it affects the rest of us?

Gurashish: First were the recycling numbers in India which showed we imported waste from other countries to be recycled in our country. Waste was already a big everyday problem for us here in India, only 27% of paper waste gets recycled and the remaining 73% is thrown away.

The second is my family. We are a family of entrepreneurs and having grown up hearing conversations about the ups and downs faced in any enterprise I always wanted to be in the shoes myself and see what’s it like being a firefighter every day.

How did you meet?

We met through common friends and were in the same college together pursuing different courses. We then participated together at a Google Startup weekend where we brainstormed the idea of waste management over a weekend. After creating a business model canvas, we ended up coming first and our idea was validated. Post that we spent nearly 9 months on researching the market & ideating on the business model before we finally launched.

What has been your greatest success to date? And your greatest challenge?

Rahul: Our greatest success to date has been to recover more than 10,000 tons of waste while providing livelihood to over a 1000 informal sector workers. While we have done this we have created a sustainable model and scaled our service to 21 cities in India.

The greatest challenge was to partner with the informal waste collection network since these people are largely uneducated and feel that any company would exploit them as compared to providing any benefits for them. We overcame this challenge by initially partnering with younger people in the sector that were exposed to seeing digitization helping other informal workers in other industries and then using their reference to get more people on board.

Gurashish: In India, waste management is a conventionally unattractive business given the highly unorganised and politicised nature of the sector. Popular advice was always to not enter this market. Despite this, not only were we able to establish a sustainable profit-making entity but we were also able to create an inclusive ecosystem that works with all stakeholders, such as Urban Local Bodies, Waste collectors, Waste aggregators, brand owners and recyclers.

In September 2019 I met with a life-changing road accident that left me bedridden for over a year and a half. It was a roller coaster of emotions from not knowing whether I would ever be able to stand on my own two feet again to motivating myself daily to stand up, learn how to walk and be back to my 100%. It has not only been one of my biggest challenges to date but also my steepest learning curve.

What kind of impact is your business having and how do you measure it?

Waste diverted from landfill and oceans is a core impact of our organization. The impact is measured by the tonnage that is recovered by our team and sent for environmentally safe disposal and recycling. Over the last 5 years we have recovered more than 10,000 tons (equivalent to the weight of 55 Boeing 747).
Livelihood for the informal sector is measured by the number of people directly or indirectly associated with our business. We have reached out to over 1000 informal sector workers.

How has Covid affected your business?

COVID has actually been good for us, on one side we have doubled our revenue in the year of covid while having expanded our presence in India. On the other side, we have also been able to increase our impact towards the informal sector by ensuring they have a source of income by selling their waste to ReCircle. No one else in the market was purchasing their waste at this time.

The Pandemic has also given time for people to reflect on their habits and give climate change a real thought. We were able to use the time during lockdown to introspect and rethink our business and the opportunities available. We rebranded our business and came up with a new program of Plastic Neutrality to help conscious small and medium-sized businesses to go plastic neutral.

What we are most proud about is that we could support all our staff during this tough time and didn’t lay off anyone.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Rahul: A Landscape & Wildlife Photographer

Gurashish: An Entrepreneur

If you weren’t doing this, what would be your plan B?

Rahul: Exploring business opportunity in the space of sustainable fashion or sustainable building materials.

Gurashish: I would be looking for the next business opportunity in agriculture tech or agriculture marketing which I feel has great potential for business and impact, given that 40%+ of our population relies on agriculture and the sector is on the brink of disruption.

Who is your role model/ greatest influence? And why?

Rahul: My greatest influence has been Bill Gates, the way that he is able to analyse complex global problems and work towards sustainable solutions is what inspires me.

Gurashish: My role model is my grandad. He came to India from Pakistan during the partition when he was 16 leaving everything he owned and possessed except his determination. He spent the next 64 years building not only a comfortable life for himself but for many others he met in his journey.