'Pick My Trash' is almost like an art project.
The dominant waste picking business runs by paying money to the waste generators by the waste pickers. But the business model by Pick My Trash turns it around. How can you ask for money for something you have consumed and extracted pleasure out of it, which is now a liability for you and the society in general? In fact, the waste generator should be the one who should be paying to the one who cleans it up. Pick My Trash is run by Safai Sena, an organisation of waste pickers in Delhi. And they are honest, they are not asking for any money as they will be making money by recycling it, they want it free. We felt it to be an art project as the whole narrative of business was also designed to expose an important point of waste economy.
We created the branding, that included the truck that would carry the waste, uniforms of the operators, and various other things. It was fun. We put the shocking thing about free transfer of waste upfront, to make the point clear.
The enterprise planned a few specialised services too. For instance, an after party clean up. Then corporate offices, with a plan to manage their composting free of cost and working with schools with an eye on creating new warriors from the students. And obviously the biggest gambit of working with RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations). The initiative is a business venture by waste pickers, with app and other paraphernalia. We also created a simple PowerPoint presentation to be used by them and volunteers. And a portion of the profit was earmarked for the welfare of waste pickers' families, specially education for the kids.
The three-faced do-it-yourself pen stand, which is actually a brochure for Pick My Trash
Did this business ever take off? We do not know, and that's why we take it as an art project.
