by Priyadarshini Thirumurthy

What comes to your mind when I say Garbage?
Stink. Litter. Stockpile. Bangalore!

Yes!! Earlier, I thought the same when I was asked that question! I too cringed when I thought of the waste-pickers and was ashamed to consider them the dregs of the human society I was part of.
That being said, if you had heard of I Got Garage, your line of thought would be different.

Garbage is serious business. It needs to be segregated, collected, recycled, processed and treated appropriately, and not just be wished away and walked past. Streamlining and bringing a process into the system of waste management is what I Got Garbage believes to be the first step in dealing with our country’s garbage problem! And this is where Information technology serves as the backbone. IT enables us to build networks, track, and bring efficiency into the management of waste and the people working with it.

I Got Garbage has helped create a structured workforce out of the hundreds of waste pickers. This helps formalize the first mile waste collection as a process. Moreover, it has facilitated a better life for them by doubling their earnings, since they now have access to clean dry waste that can be recycled more effectively.

I want to draw your attention to the part of waste management that all of us are a part of – waste segregation. Managing decentralized waste has immense possibilities with dry waste recycling, wet waste treatment, biomass fuel, thermo-chemical processes etc. And to achieve the same, I Got Garbage aims to position waste workers at the source of supply chain instead of its end.

Now, if anyone asks you what comes to your mind when one says garbage, you say –
Technology. Waste-picker empowerment. Sustainability.
That’s how I Got Garbage is powering the garbage revolution.