This has been a great week
This has been a great week
Something that we've been working on for months has finally come to life
Shopping for better products is not easy.
By better, I mean products that are good for your health and the health of the planet.
How would you figure out if the product is really ‘eco friendly’ or ‘green’?
Can you rely on those small symbols engraved on the product packaging?
Would you trust a brand if they just say that they are non-toxic?
At Tera, we are doing all the leg work so that you can shop for better products without giving up the convenience of modern-day shopping.
Our tools would alert you how good (or bad) the product you are considering is for your health and for the health of the planet.
And would suggest to you some alternatives that you can look at.
And our first tool, which is a Chrome Browser Plugin, is ready to be handed over to a group of beta testers.
If you would like to become one, do sign up here
For this week, I have covered 3 startups that are helping people manage their waste in a better manner⬇️
What do we do now?… In June’17, China banned the import of 24 types of garbage, including different types of plastic and unsorted paper. The trickle-down effect was felt in small towns and rural areas across the US- one of the biggest exporters of garbage to the US. These small towns and rural areas did not know how to recycle their own waste. That led to the removal of certain drop-off locations for recyclable waste and some towns started redefining what can be considered ‘recyclable’. Consumers who wanted to recycle were left with no option but to discard all of their waste together.
Enter Recyclops…Utah-based startup Recyclops saw an opportunity there. Their goal is to bring recycling to small towns and rural areas. This ensures that more clean recyclables reach the recycling facility and do not end up in landfills or incinerators. And they are doing that by innovating the recycling pick-up process.
Users pay a monthly fee of ~$12 to get their plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard picked up.
Users can simply place all the recyclables at their curbside in a Recyclops bag.
A pickup truck comes and picks up the bags.
People and the planet…The company hires local independent pickup truck owners to pick up the garbage bags, creating an employment opportunity for them. They use a smart routing app that makes the process environment-friendly and effective. This also eliminates the need for large garbage trucks that have a big carbon footprint. Apart from the small towns and rural areas, Recyclops has started serving apartment complexes too.
Ticking time bomb…Urban India generates 62 million tonnes of waste (MSW) annually. And this is going to triple by 2030. A vast majority of it ends up in landfills and a very small amount is treated. Most of these landfills are illegal and the waste from them flows into the land and water bodies- impacting the food we eat and the water we drink. Recycling facilities across the country are scarce and neglected.
Buyback your waste…A cleantech startup in the country is not only helping with getting more waste recycled, but it’s also facilitating the purchase of recycled products. Through its app, Recycle.Green connects consumers, waste collection partners, product delivery partners, recyclers, zero waste product manufacturers, sellers, artisans, and manufacturing brands with each other.
Users can schedule doorstep pickup of their recyclable waste on the app.
The waste is recycled and made into new products- stationery, bags, kitchenware.
These new products are sold on the app and users can purchase them directly.
Save money and the planet…To pay for the recycled products, customers can use the PayByWaste feature- encashing the waste that they are selling to buy new products from the platform. Each product on the platform also has an Environment Saving Values (ESV™)- a concept patented by Recycle.Green. ESV is measured by taking into account factors like trees saved by upcycling the product. This helps buyers understand the positive environmental impact of their purchase.
I am bored… When a child’s play interest changes, their existing toys are replaced by new ones. And what happens to the existing ones? Well, they ultimately reach the landfills or oceans. Research studies show parents admitting to throwing away perfectly working toys because their child was no longer interested in that.
Freecycling toys…UK-based Young Planet is preventing these perfect toys from ending up in landfills or oceans and is helping them find new homes. Through the app, busy parents can pass on toys and children’s stuff to other parents. This helps families to reduce their waste and become more environmentally conscious. The platform is based on a sharing economy model- the new owners of the toys don’t pay anything to get the used toys or other items.
Parents can list or request a range of different children’s items- books, toys, baby equipment.
If more than one person wants the same item, the winner is decided by factors like who donated more and who needs it more.
In order to ask for an item, parents don’t have to list anything.
Look around you…The app asks for your postcode when you register so that they can find people around you. That makes the whole transaction easier and removes the hassle of packaging and shipping it (less burden on the environment too). In case the item has to be shipped, the person who wants the item pays for the postage.
🔍Ready for this week’s crossword?
You can solve it here
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📢 Shoutout to Paridhi who helped me write this edition.
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Thanks and see you next week😄