A day in life of a “Kabadiwala”
I am Manoj, a scrap dealer. I have been doing this business for over 18 years with my brother and two friends. Our day starts at 8 am and ends by evening. This place is in a mess right now? We are sorting out the scrap so that it can be packed and send for recycling. We have segregated plastics, cardboards and metals so far. We accept anything that people dispose of. Our business is focused mainly on the collection of plastic- old buckets, milk packets, bottles, and metals. We get a wide range of plastic here, not simply the disposable one. However, in the last 20 days, no new supplies have come since the Government’s decision on the ban of single-use plastic. We have been isolating the old heaps of trash only.
After sorting wastes, we take it to Mundka, Madanpur Khadar and sometimes to Muzaffarnagar. Mundka in west Delhi is a home to around 400 units that segregate and recycle plastic scraps that is why it is also called a sprawling emporium of plastic detritus. There the manual segregation of different plastics is done. It is cut down and the result received is fine chopped up plastic, which is further transported to factories to make final products.
I am surprised by the quantity of scrap we collect. People just throw away stuff without even using it. We Indians never throw a single penny but when it comes plastic we throw it as if its none of our business. There hasn’t been much change in people’s habits related to waste disposal. Twenty years ago, they were still throwing stuff — now though there is a glut of plastic. Our business goes up during the time of festivals and marriage season as there is bulk wastes. All this fetches us good money.
Although the business is doing well for now but after some time when the ban on plastic is implemented fully, it can be a loss for us, therefore I want to try my hand on something else. I have worked hard to come this far and hopefully, will do well in the future.