This episode of Kasa Shramika Parisara Rakshaka is all about Plastics For Change (PFC). Started a year ago to facilitate the shift from virgin plastic to recycled plastic, Plastics For Change has a platform to run a production line improvement project where the transfer from stakeholder to stakeholder is tracked through a mobile application. The organisation’s Development Coordinator Akash Shetti and Supply Chain Coordinator Harish Kumar explain the goals of the team and the changes they hope to inspire in the informal waste sector.

“The benefits are many – tracking price rates of plastic, consistent payments and the prevention of exploitation,” they state. “There are benefits for the industries, too – supply becomes consistent and of good quality.” In addition, the application has a rating system for each stakeholder. “The major idea is to give each waste-picker a sustainable livelihood.”

In this talk, Harish and Akash also identify the stakeholders and explain the benefits of this project to them. Part of Plastics For Change’s process is introducing these same stakeholders to city-based NGO Hasirudala (‘Green Force’) so that they can be provided access to government social schemes. Every stakeholder is also provided with a profit margin. The price of virgin plastic is almost double that of recycled plastic, so the price is fixed in such a way that even if there is a fluctuation, the stakeholders are not acutely affected. The mobile platform also allows users to apply for loans with the help of transaction details.

The PFC ideology is ‘promise less and work more’. And the team stands by it unfailingly.

Listen in for more…