Towards A Sustainable Future

Rahul nainani, Co-Founder and Chief Executive, launched ReCircle seven years ago as a resource recovery enterprise working towards a sustainable future. “We do this by preventing resources from entering landfills and oceans. Rather, we direct them back into the economy for recycling, reusing or repurposing,” he says. How did it all start? “We launched ReCircle because we were at the right place at the right time,” says Nainani, recalling the beginnings. “It started off as a casual conversation with a school friend at a business competition. Today, it has flourished into an environmentally conscious business,” he adds.

Plastic Neutral: Nainani was previously pursuing a career in finance when the transition to waste management happened abruptly. “What comes to us as waste is actually a resource for us as we are looking to divert waste away from landfills and oceans and back into the economy,” he quips.

ReCircle achieves its goals by partnering with the informal sector, right from the source to the final processing of the material. The final product is sold as plastic credits to big businesses that produce these plastic wastes. This way ReCircle helps businesses go plastic neutral.

Essential Services: While a lot of businesses were shut during the lockdown, it did not pose a serious threat to ReCircle as waste management came under ‘essential services’ hence allowing the company to continue its operations even during the pandemic-induced lockdown. “We realised that if waste is not collected, it is going to lead to another pandemic,” says Nainani.

Digitising The Business: He recalls speaking to his team at the ground level. “When we spoke to our team we got a unanimous answer that we should continue working. However, despite coming under the essential services category, they did face some issues,” he adds. Accessing all locations on ground was one of the challenges. However, the company had been in the business for long enough to have forged partnerships across the country. Communication applications including WhatsApp also came in handy in order to keep the business operations going, says Nainani. 

“We used the pandemic situation to digitise our business which would otherwise have taken a lot more time,” he points out as an example of staying productive despite the challenges.

Sustainability: Nainani says ReCircle also recognises the importance of waste management not just from the environment angle but human angle as well. “Waste is not just an environmental issue but a wellbeing issue as well. People have started moving towards organic foods and healthy living. Sustainability has become a gambit of the entire wellbeing aspect. Similarly, people are going to start picking brands that are sustainable as against those that are not sustainable,” he says.

With consumer consciousness increasing, sustainability is not leaving the top spot anytime soon. Given the scenario, waste management is an upward sector to be in.

Nainani is a testimony to the importance of having a noble idea behind a business model and the potential it holds to become successful in the immediate and long term future. He truly stands tall behind the company motto: “We Recover, Recycle, Rethink”