‘Train, empower, fund local bodies for better waste management’
International Zero Waste Day, Sachin Sharma, founder and director of Gem Enviro Management, speaks with KumKum Dasgupta about what India must do to combat the mounting plastic challenge and how his company is helping top businesses offset their plastic footprint. GEM provides a complete value chain of sustainability services to clients, including collection, recycling, awareness, and recycled merchandise.
Tell us a little bit about GEM and clients.
GEM was established in 2013-14 with the objective of collecting plastic waste and sending it to the proper recycling chain. GEM serves over 125 major Indian companies, including industry leaders like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Bisleri, Mamaearth, Himalaya, and Herbalife, offering waste management and extended producer responsibility (EPR) solutions.
From the collection of plastic waste, we have moved into the post-consumer space — the waste discarded after usage.
We have a pan-Indian presence with a vast network of waste collectors and recyclers. To date, it has prevented over 1 Million MT/Year of recyclable plastic waste and over 100,000 MT of MLP (Multi Layered Plastic) waste from degrading the environment.
How does the waste recycling system work?
Waste is generated from factories, offices, malls and homes. Vendors pick it up and segregate it into different segments such as paper, plastic, and metals.
For example, plastic waste is sold to us. Paper and metal go to companies that deal with them. Once we receive plastic waste, we take it to our centre for sorting because
