Change Matters
Ongoing
Life extension of products through repair and reuse
Location
Bangalore
Supported By
VMware Software India Pvt Ltd
Focus Areas
Special Waste Streams - e-waste and bulky waste; Awareness & Behavioural change, Repair and Reuse
Duration
November 2021 to Ongoing
Coverage
Pan Bengaluru
Achievement
Reached out to 47,611 people; Collected 16MT of e-waste and 65MT of bulky waste in 2.5 years. Beneficiaries served till date is 15610 and number of repair campaigns conducted is 50
State
Karnataka
Key stakeholders
Community, Social Entrepreneurs and Urban Local Body
Background:
In most of the cities, there is a system for doorstep collection of municipal solid waste. However, there are items like e-waste, old furniture, mattresses, clothes, toys, books which are not handed over to the municipal waste collector. These can be repaired/refurbished/reused by another citizen. Moreover, this waste requires proper disposal mechanisms since e-waste has hazardous components and bulky waste takes up huge space in landfills and can affect local ecology.Life extension is a very important component of Circular Economy and through the Change Matters initiative, we demonstrate how this can be done in urban areas.
Objectives:
As part of this initiative, we facilitate doorstep collection of e-waste and other waste streams, and divert the collected items to entrepreneurs who can repair and refurbish them and to NGOs who distribute them for reuse. This helps in reduction of waste going into the landfill as well as increasing the income of entrepreneurs.We also conduct repair campaigns in RWAs, Event Spaces and schools to promote a culture of repair and reuse. Additionally, this project works on identifying local shop owners who repair such as tailors, cobblers, mobile repair, utensils and promote it so that citizens can extend the life of their existing goods instead of throwing it and replacing it.
A helpline number +91 8510091213 has been setup to answer queries and facilitate collection in Bangalore.
Project website - https://www.saahas.org/change-matters