As India’s population grew during the 1990s, with many people commuting to cities for livelihood, nationwide waste management was jeopardised. Waste is dumped in and around almost every city.
That’s when the law that prompted the Indian government to adopt statewide rules governing effective waste management and establishing waste processing and disposal facilities came to light, and plastic waste management joined the loop.
The increased concern about plastic waste management has resulted in the creation of plastic waste sellers and buyers who became an integral part of the circular economy, which leads to the country’s sustainability. However, even now, many individuals are unaware that there are sellers of plastic waste who process and sell plastic waste to recyclers. Many of these sellers are in the informal sector and face numerous challenges.
Let’s know the seller’s role in plastic waste management, including how he handles waste and his professional challenges.
How do sellers handle the plastic waste?
In India, the informal sector, which includes waste pickers, scrap dealers, aggregators, and recyclers, play a key role in the circular economy chain. Waste pickers collect the waste from each household, segregate it, and sell it to scrap dealers or aggregators at their collection facilities.
The scrap dealer or trader separates the waste into different categories based on the material of the plastic; the plastics are cleaned and then sorted, processed, and shredded before being sold to recyclers; the sorting and shredding process is dependent on the size of the collection point and the machinery they handle. Plastics are baled and sold to recyclers at a few collection points.
What are the professional challenges sellers of plastic waste face?
1. Procurement:
A major problem for sellers is obtaining material at market pricing, having the material available when needed, and having the precise type of material available.
2. Operations:
It is critical to maintain the collection centers’ equipment, such as cleaning and oiling it regularly. Sellers frequently experience manpower issues since most of them do not show up for several days owing to poor working conditions at collecting centers. It isn’t easy to have space to load bulk quantities of materials if the collection centers are located in the cities.
3. Selling:
It is difficult for sellers to locate recyclers at the price they wish to sell; many recyclers wait for the market price to fall before purchasing material.
4. Finance:
After sellers sell their materials, only when the recyclers receive the recyclables will they pay the money for the recyclables. Until then, sellers face problems buying materials because they do not have the capital to invest, it is a waste of time for the seller, and his business is at a loss; we call it the “Small capital cycle.”
5. Logistics support:
While most sellers are eager to offer recyclable materials to recyclers, they lack logistical help. They must rent trucks daily, which is not always available and causes delays in deliveries, and recyclers lose faith in the seller.
Also read: The rising problem of plastic waste in India
If India recycles 60% of plastic waste in a year, why are recycling rates low compared to the amount of waste it produces?
- Waste pickers, known as kabadiwalahs, do not use adequate safety precautions when handling hazardous waste, endangering their health.
- Workers in plastic waste collection facilities must work longer hours to fulfill their daily targets and are not compensated for their effort, so they don’t come regularly for work.
- Sellers of plastic waste do not follow standard government rules and guidelines for waste segregation, which they may find difficult to sort, and most of the waste is diverted to landfills.
- Without the proper knowledge, collection facilities mix non-recyclable materials with recyclables, where everything is routed to landfills.
- The collection facilities do not keep track of how much plastic waste they collect and sell to recyclers. This is a disadvantage for the collecting center’s capacity analysis.
Apart from the problems associated with informal waste disposal, sellers of plastic waste face other challenges.
How Recykal Marketplace becomes the solution for all the problems faced by sellers of plastic waste?
- First, sellers of plastic waste need to register with Recykal Marketplace. The seller can then make listings for the materials they want to sell.
- Buyers can now view the listings, select the material they want, and Recykal Marketplace will quote the price based on the market pricing. If the recycler wants to buy, he can select the material, and both the seller and the recycler can bargain to arrive at one price.
- Sellers no longer have to look for recyclers; if one recycler does not want to buy your material, you have numerous others willing to buy.
- When the recycler is ready to buy your material, a Recykal team is sent to your location to conduct a material check. Once the material check is completed, trucks are loaded with recyclables.
- Another significant challenge for sellers is logistic support. Recykal Marketplace allows for doorstep collection and delivery, with the seller and buyer tracking the vehicle.
- The small capital cycle is no longer an issue in Recykal Marketplace, where sellers receive payment before the material check is completed for the first three transactions.
To know more about Recykal Marketplace, contact us at marketing@recykal.com
