How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution
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0:01 - 0:02Shah Rukh Khan: Say no to plastic.
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0:02 - 0:05The one thing that
all environmental warriors teach us. -
0:06 - 0:07But we begin and end the day
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0:07 - 0:09with products that have been made
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0:09 - 0:12from this virtually
indestructible material. -
0:12 - 0:16The truth is that our consumption
and disposal of plastic has reached -
0:16 - 0:18such unsustainable proportions
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0:18 - 0:23that we need to address this
using every idea and resource at hand. -
0:23 - 0:27Please welcome someone who's helping
solve India's waste management issues, -
0:27 - 0:29Mani Vajipey,
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0:29 - 0:34recycler and cofounder/CEO
of Banyan Nation. -
0:34 - 0:40(Applause)
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0:41 - 0:44Mani Vajipey: If recycling
were an Olympic sport, -
0:44 - 0:47India would win the gold medal.
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0:47 - 0:50India has one of the highest rates
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0:50 - 0:53of plastic recycling and recovery
in the entire world. -
0:53 - 0:55Higher than the likes of Singapore,
-
0:56 - 0:59countries in North America
and even countries in Europe. -
0:59 - 1:04India recovers and recycles
over 60 percent of its plastic waste, -
1:04 - 1:07whereas a developed country,
like United States, -
1:07 - 1:09manages just about 10 percent.
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1:10 - 1:13This high rate of collection
is largely possible -
1:13 - 1:16thanks to the millions
of informal recyclers, -
1:16 - 1:20the kabadiwalas, the bhandiwallas
and the raddiwalas -
1:20 - 1:24that we find at every street corner
across every city in India. -
1:24 - 1:28And yet, in spite of such a ubiquitous,
-
1:28 - 1:32extensive and intricate
network of recyclers, -
1:32 - 1:36India's national scenery
is dominated by filth and squalor. -
1:36 - 1:40And the general perception
is that we don't recycle our plastics. -
1:40 - 1:42The other thing about plastics in India
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1:42 - 1:46is that any product
made from recycled plastic -
1:46 - 1:48is considered to be substandard
-
1:48 - 1:51and we expect it to be cheaper as well.
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1:51 - 1:55What we don't realize is
there are several types of plastics -
1:55 - 1:57in their virgin and pure form,
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1:57 - 1:59if recycled scientifically,
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1:59 - 2:02can be recycled several times over
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2:02 - 2:05without any compromise in quality.
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2:05 - 2:09If we can recover and reuse
our discarded plastic, -
2:09 - 2:12then we save a significant
amount of virgin plastic -
2:12 - 2:15that we would have otherwise
produced and consumed. -
2:15 - 2:16And this is very important,
-
2:16 - 2:19because virgin plastic
is made from fossil fuels -
2:19 - 2:22that are an exhaustible resource.
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2:22 - 2:25The more virgin plastic
we produce and consume, -
2:25 - 2:28the more plastic waste we have to manage.
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2:28 - 2:30Mismanagement of plastic waste
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2:30 - 2:34leads to the leakage of such materials
into our water bodies. -
2:34 - 2:37It's now common knowledge
that by the year 2050 -
2:37 - 2:42we'll have more plastics
in our oceans than fish. -
2:42 - 2:43About seven years ago,
-
2:43 - 2:46my friend and cofounder Raj and I,
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2:46 - 2:50we decided that we were going to focus
on solving this massive problem. -
2:50 - 2:51We went around the city of Hyderabad,
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2:51 - 2:53talking to local recyclers.
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2:53 - 2:55Very soon, we found out
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2:55 - 2:58that there were many recyclers
just in Hyderabad alone. -
2:58 - 2:59We soon realized
-
2:59 - 3:02that the plastic recycling
industry of today -
3:02 - 3:04is not very different
from the milk industry -
3:04 - 3:06of the '60s and '70s.
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3:06 - 3:10Milk in India is produced
by marginal milk farmers, -
3:10 - 3:12with two or three cows or buffalos,
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3:12 - 3:15who produce five to ten
liters of milk a day. -
3:15 - 3:18Instead of blindly aping
solutions from the West, -
3:18 - 3:21India championed
the milk cooperative model, -
3:21 - 3:25where thousands of such
small-scale recyclers -
3:25 - 3:27were brought together into groups.
-
3:27 - 3:31With scale came innovations
and investments. -
3:31 - 3:34India was transformed
from a milk-deficit nation -
3:34 - 3:38to the world's leading
exporter and producer of milk. -
3:38 - 3:43It dawned upon us
that India had in the past -
3:43 - 3:46solved much larger problems,
like milk deficiency. -
3:46 - 3:49We only need to look back to our past
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3:49 - 3:50to find inspiration in solving
-
3:50 - 3:54what is perhaps the most
fundamental issue of our times, -
3:54 - 3:56that is plastic pollution.
-
3:56 - 3:58But before we could do this,
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3:58 - 4:01or before brands
could use recycled plastic, -
4:01 - 4:03we had to solve two things.
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4:03 - 4:04Quality and scale.
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4:04 - 4:09For us, to make a shampoo bottle
from discarded plastics, -
4:09 - 4:14we had to collect tens of thousands
of tons of discarded plastics. -
4:14 - 4:15For that, we needed data.
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4:16 - 4:19Raj and I built a simple
data intelligence platform -
4:19 - 4:22that allowed us to map all the recyclers,
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4:22 - 4:26giving us a bird's eye view
of every recycler in Hyderabad. -
4:26 - 4:27The results were astounding.
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4:27 - 4:31There were 2,000 kabadiwalas
just in Hyderabad alone. -
4:31 - 4:33That means, for every square kilometer,
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4:34 - 4:37there were four kabadiwalas
or informal recyclers. -
4:37 - 4:41No developed country or city
in the entire world -
4:41 - 4:44has the luxury of such a brilliant
collection system. -
4:44 - 4:47(Applause)
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4:47 - 4:48Once we had the data,
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4:48 - 4:50the rest was fairly straightforward.
-
4:50 - 4:53We started trading
with the informal recyclers, -
4:53 - 4:56we started training them
to segregate the materials -
4:56 - 4:59based on our quality specifications.
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4:59 - 5:01In the past five years,
-
5:01 - 5:03we've developed several clusters
across South India, -
5:03 - 5:07comprising of thousands
of such informal recyclers, -
5:07 - 5:10who interact with us
both directly and digitally. -
5:10 - 5:12In parallel, we began working
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5:12 - 5:15on the problem of quality
and purity of material. -
5:15 - 5:16So in the past five years,
-
5:16 - 5:19we developed a proprietary
cleaning technology -
5:19 - 5:22that allows us to eliminate
all contaminants. -
5:22 - 5:25Today, Banyan's recycled granules
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5:25 - 5:28have undergone stringent quality testing
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5:28 - 5:33and have been certified by top
global FMCG and automotive companies. -
5:33 - 5:35In the next few months,
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5:35 - 5:38tens of thousands of discarded plastics
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5:38 - 5:41collected through informal
recycler networks -
5:41 - 5:44will be converted
into high-quality granules -
5:44 - 5:47and sent away to brands
and large companies -
5:47 - 5:51to make bottles for engine-oil packaging,
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5:51 - 5:54for shampoo bottles and for lotions.
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5:54 - 5:55In the next three years,
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5:55 - 5:59we expect that over 500 million
such bottles will be made -
5:59 - 6:01from our recycled plastics.
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6:01 - 6:05(Applause)
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6:05 - 6:07But this is just the beginning.
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6:07 - 6:08In the next five years,
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6:08 - 6:10we aspire to build an India
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6:10 - 6:13where 100 percent of discarded plastics
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6:13 - 6:17are recycled and
repurposed scientifically -- -
6:17 - 6:20where plastic waste
no longer threatens our water bodies, -
6:20 - 6:24and the very survival
of our terrestrial and marine life. -
6:24 - 6:27So the next time you go to a store
and pick up a shampoo bottle, -
6:27 - 6:32see if that bottle uses safe
and sustainable recycled plastic. -
6:32 - 6:34That's not only just
going to help the Earth -
6:34 - 6:37but also reward the street corner recycler
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6:37 - 6:38for his all-important work.
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6:38 - 6:41Now that will compel brands
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6:41 - 6:43to use more and more recycled plastic
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6:43 - 6:46for their mainstream products
and applications. -
6:46 - 6:51Our tradition and our culture
has a lot of ancient wisdom. -
6:51 - 6:54Let's not destroy the only planet we have.
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6:54 - 6:56The only home we have.
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6:56 - 6:57Thank you.
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6:57 - 7:03(Applause)
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7:03 - 7:04SRK: Thank you, Mani.
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7:04 - 7:09When I was young, I used to --
(sings in Hindi). -
7:09 - 7:12How little do we know sometimes
that we are, as a nation, -
7:12 - 7:15the biggest recycler
of plastics and waste, -
7:15 - 7:16if not just plastic,
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7:16 - 7:18and we didn't know this
about our own country. -
7:18 - 7:20MV: May I say something really cool?
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7:20 - 7:23Cities like New York and Paris today
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7:23 - 7:25are looking to put out
reverse vending machines -
7:25 - 7:28so that people can go
and put trash in that -
7:28 - 7:30and then they can get some cash.
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7:30 - 7:32For the past several decades,
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7:32 - 7:34the entire country and the kabadiwalas,
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7:34 - 7:36and the bhandiwallas,
we have been doing that. -
7:36 - 7:39I'm very positive
that in three to five years, -
7:39 - 7:42you'll wake up, you know
that the plastic is being recycled, -
7:42 - 7:44you're going to pick up a packaging,
-
7:44 - 7:46you know that the package
actually has a mark -
7:46 - 7:48that uses recycled plastics,
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7:48 - 7:50so I'm super optimistic about this.
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7:50 - 7:52Even as an entrepreneur.
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7:52 - 7:55(Applause)
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7:55 - 7:57SRK: When I see a youngster
do what he has done and achieved, -
7:57 - 8:00I want that part to also be
a source of encouragement -
8:00 - 8:02for people to take over.
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8:02 - 8:04So tell me, are you making a lot of money?
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8:04 - 8:07MV: What's so brilliant
about plastic recycling now is -
8:07 - 8:09it's an idea whose time has come.
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8:09 - 8:11And we're very fortunate to have signed
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8:11 - 8:14a really big, multimillion-dollar contract
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8:14 - 8:16with some of the top FMCG companies.
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8:16 - 8:19So we are at the inflection
point in India. -
8:19 - 8:20And --
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8:20 - 8:22SRK: Tell us the money,
money, money, Mani. -
8:22 - 8:23MV: (Laughs)
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8:23 - 8:25SRK: Give the figure,
it will encourage people, -
8:25 - 8:28it's not for greed,
it's not for any of the reasons ... -
8:28 - 8:29Say to them.
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8:29 - 8:31They are making good money, yeah.
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8:31 - 8:32(Applause)
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8:32 - 8:34MV: For us, to build
these systems in place, -
8:34 - 8:39we need investors
who will back us to develop -- -
8:39 - 8:42(Laughter)
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8:42 - 8:47(Applause)
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8:47 - 8:49SRK: You have to be like Mani
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8:49 - 8:51that I'm asking, "How much you're making?"
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8:51 - 8:52he's already making it off me.
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8:52 - 8:55But I may look stupid, but I'm not.
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8:55 - 8:57I totally and completely believe
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8:57 - 9:00in the concept of recycling plastic,
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9:00 - 9:03and I'm going to help Mani
with my first investment -
9:03 - 9:07that all the plastic bottles
that we have at shootings, -
9:07 - 9:09in every shooting of mine,
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9:09 - 9:12I'm going to send it
to his company to recycle, -
9:12 - 9:13starting from these four.
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9:13 - 9:15Thank you very much, Mani.
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9:15 - 9:17(Applause)
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9:17 - 9:19MV: Thank you so much.
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9:19 - 9:21SRK: Big round of applause for Mani.
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9:21 - 9:23(Applause)
- Title:
- How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution
- Speaker:
- Mani Vajipey
- Description:
-
India has one of the world's highest rates of plastic recycling, thanks largely to an extensive network of informal recyclers known as "kabadiwalas." Entrepreneur Mani Vajipey discusses his work to organize their massive efforts into a collection system that could put India on the path to ending plastic pollution -- and show the rest of the world how to do it, too.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 09:36
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution | ||
Brian Greene accepted English subtitles for How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution |