Mindtree launches cloud-based technology platform for waste pickers

Mindtree, a global technology services company, has launched ‘I Got Garbage’ (IGG), a cloud-based platform aimed to simplify waste management and transform every waste picker in Bangalore into an entrepreneur through a structured and governed waste management framework.
 
India’s garbage is mixed waste and the lack of segregation makes it difficult for efficient recycling. Fragmented communities of waste pickers manage waste by working in hazardous and inhuman conditions. Today, waste pickers go to the garbage heaps, segregate it and sell it to the waste collectors for recycling. The unhealthy working conditions led to waste pickers lead a life with an average life expectancy of 39 years with 1 in 3 infant mortality. To add to this, waste pickers do not have access to the mainstream supply chain of waste thereby reducing their daily income to less than a dollar.
 
IGG partners with social businesses to transform waste management into an organised sector and provide dignified living and working conditions for the waste pickers. It enables waste pickers to offer waste management services by organising themselves into franchises and participate in online marketplaces where waste generators (households, apartments, offices) can procure waste management services. It also engages urban communities in solving the solid waste issues, and facilitates access to social security schemes for the waste pickers.
 
I Got Garbage offers capabilities such as an ERP for waste pickers, social engagement platform for citizens, marketplace for waste management services, and a waste picker benefits tracker. The initiative is a result of collaboration between Mindtree, Hasiru Dala, Waste Wise Trust and seven other social businesses.
 
Nalini Shekar, Co-Founder, Hasiru Dala, a member-based organisation of waste pickers, said, “Mindtree is helping us build structure and processes into our model which enables us to scale and provide more dignified employment to waste pickers. Over the last six months, we have been using the platform and are seeing the positive impact of technology.”
 
Prashant Mehra, Chief Architect of Social Inclusion, Mindtree, said, “Our aim is to collectively dignify the livelihood of waste pickers by helping them setup micro-businesses and ensure less landfills for all. With the rollout of I Got Garbage, we are building a single window for Bangalore citizens to explore specific solutions to the issue of waste management.”