Eco eMarket: churning a fresh impact out of recycling e-waste

With an intent of creating something that will have a social impact, the founders of Eco eMarket have initiated the situation of an organised marketplace for e-waste.

Discarding about 18.5 lakh tonnes of e-waste every year, India is said to be the fifth largest producer of electronic waste, according to a joint study by Assocham and KPMG.

When Meenakshi Chidambaram, and Pejavar S Rao hit upon the idea of creating an organised marketplace for e-waste, their first move was to discuss the relevance of the same with the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).

“When we took our proposal to NCDEX, they immediately saw the relevance in the idea. This was followed by the signing of an agreement. With NCDEX on board, we have a solid setup in place, as it is a time-tested trading platform,” says Chidambaram.

 Having registered the company in May this year, it is gearing up its first trade — a multi-location trade across Chennai, Hyderabad and Gurugram — in November.
The company has onboarded several government-approved recyclers and dismantlers along with corporates, who are the major generators of e-waste.

“There are about 153 Central Pollution Control Board-approved recyclers in the country. Karnataka, one of the leading states on this front, hosts over 50 of them. The state is also a leader in terms of generating e-waste,” she says, adding that about 95% of the e-waste gets traded in an unorganised manner, where Bengaluru and Moradabad host well-established markets for the same.

Currently self-funded, the company plans to raise its first round in the first quarter of 2017. “With the fresh round of funding, we wish to expand into textiles, plastics and paper trading,” she says, adding, “Our ultimate aim is to bridge the gap between the generators of e-waste and recyclers, who otherwise do not have access to each other.”

In a seller’s market, the company follows a transaction fee-based revenue model, and seeks to transform the waste management scenario in the country.