Keeping it green and clean

Wealth out of waste is no more a cliché in Coimbatore. It means business to companies and voluntary groups.

Not many will dare to quit a well-paying job in the U.S. to return home to make money by buying and selling waste. Karthik Manivasagam did.

Angered by the large-scale destruction to the environment, he started Green Bhoomi. Started formally a year ago, his company collects waste from houses, apartment complexes and small commercial and industrial establishments to sell them to recyclers.

In the past 12 months, Green Bhoomi has collected 150 tonnes of waste only to earn losses. This forced Mr. Karthik to take up a job again. “I’m back in Dubai to keep the Green Bhoomi going as the social entrepreneurship project requires an additional Rs. 15,000 a month to keep it alive,” he says.

The start-up collects 15 tonnes of waste a month at an average price of Rs. 10 a kg and sells it at Rs. 12 a kg.

Using electronic scales for accurate weighing, by visiting customers’ houses at the appointed time at their convenience and tying up with recyclers, the company goes about its business by operating from a warehouse in Gandhipuram.

Customer care executive P. Jeevanandham says that Green Bhoomi collects all kinds of paper, plastic and e-waste. It collects, stores and then, on a regular basis, sends the e-waste to the TNPCB-approved recycler in Chennai, though the margin is less than it would get if it were to sell the waste to unauthorised recyclers in Coimbatore.

“The unauthorised recyclers use acid to extract metals and that acid ends up in earth as a pollutant,” explains Mr. Karthik.

Depending on the type of paper or plastic, the company pays the seller-customers and the price of each item is on Green Bhoomi website,www.greenbhoomi.com.