This Man Transformed College Fest Idea Into a Multi-Cr Biz That Diverted 15 Million Kgs of E-Waste From Landfills

This article has been sponsored by Hulladek Recycling.

At the Calcutta International School, the bell signals more than just the start of another day — it marks the beginning of a movement led by the school’s youngest environmentalists. Here, students step into the classroom with old gadgets in hand: discarded computer parts, laptops, obsolete mobile phones, and tangled earphones — all destined for the school’s dedicated e-waste bin.

On scheduled days, students eagerly gather e-waste, shepherding it to the central collection point under the watchful eyes of their chosen volunteers from class. “These volunteers oversee the collection process, ensuring all collected items are properly deposited in designated bins. They also encourage class-wide participation through creative poster campaigns and friendly competitions between classes,” says the school principal, Tina Servaia.

Speaking on the cultural shift at the school, she adds, “This initiative began three years ago, and we’ve noticed a ripple effect, where students not only engage at school but also influence their families and communities to adopt more environmentally responsible behaviours. With these efforts, our school has moved beyond mere newspaper and general waste management drives of the past,” she adds.

What began as a class project quickly gained momentum. In school assemblies and workshops, the ideology of environmental consciousness is further ingrained in students. “These platforms reinforce the importance of responsible consumption, especially considering students have unfettered access to smart boards, laptops, and Wi-Fi,” says the principal.

Integral to this initiative’s success is its collaboration with West Bengal-based Hulladek Recycling, led by its founder and managing director, Nandan Mall. In conversation with The Better India, they reveal how the company represents a paradigm shift in India’s approach to e-waste management.

Turning college fest idea into e-waste revolution

Nandan’s journey — from formulating the idea during his college days at St. Xavier’s to establishing a thriving e-waste management company — echoes the transformative influence of sustainability.

He shares, “Hulladek started as a business plan I presented during a college fest at St. Xavier’s. I proposed a model for collecting and recycling electronic waste — it won me the competition and an internship at E-Parisaraa, one of India’s oldest e-waste recyclers. That experience changed the course of my life.”

Nandan spent two years working with a waste management company in Bilbao, Spain, rotating through procurement, logistics, operations, and dismantling. That global exposure helped him build a solid foundation for Hulladek Recycling when he returned to India in 2014.

“Hulladek is a Hungarian word for ‘waste’ — a nod to the universal nature of the problem we’re trying to solve. I’ve always seen waste not as a burden, but as a resource. That mindset, alongside the growing urgency of climate action and sustainable industry, cemented my belief that waste management is the next big revolution in India,” adds Nandan.

What started as a belief soon turned into a movement. Hulladek Recycling stepped in to tackle a gap that’s often overlooked in India’s waste story — e-waste.

Every day, our old phones, broken chargers, defunct laptops, and discarded appliances quietly pile up. While they may seem like junk, these electronics are actually a goldmine, quite literally. They contain valuable materials like copper, aluminum, silver, and even gold. But they also carry a hidden danger. Toxic substances like mercury, lead, and cadmium can leach into the soil and water, harming both people and the planet if not handled correctly.

And yet, while conversations around plastic and biodegradable waste are growing louder, e-waste barely makes a whisper. It's one of the most dangerous pollutants of our time, and still one of the least discussed.

That’s where Hulladek comes in — not just as a recycling company, but as a changemaker. With a mission to spread awareness, build responsible collection systems, and recover resources without harming health or the environment, Hulladek is working to turn a crisis into an opportunity. They’re showing that what we throw away could actually be the foundation of a cleaner, more sustainable tomorrow.

From bins to businesses: revolutionising e-waste recycling

Hulladek Recycling works on two fronts — directly with everyday households, and in partnership with large businesses.

Their B2C (Business-to-Consumer) model brings e-waste awareness right to people’s doorsteps. Through regular, door-to-door collection drives, they’re helping families understand what e-waste really is, why it matters, and how to dispose of it responsibly.

On the other hand, their B2B (Business-to-Business) arm supports big names like Godrej, Coca-Cola, Mondelez International, and Tata Steel. Hulladek handles these companies’ e-waste, making sure that everything, from data destruction to compliance with government norms, is done thoroughly and transparently.

This work has become even more urgent with the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, now in place. These rules require all manufacturers of electronic products to take responsibility for what happens to their products after use — a principle known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

In simple terms, companies must ensure their e-waste is being collected, recycled, and disposed of safely, not just tossed aside. The law also sets clear targets: by 2023-24 and 2024-25, 60% of e-waste generated must be recycled. That figure rises to 70% in the following two years and hits 80% from 2027-28 onwards.

Hulladek’s work makes it possible for both individuals and industries to meet these goals, not just on paper, but in real life.

Explaining their operation model, Shreya Khandelia, the Executive Vice President, Recycler Relations of Hulladek Recycling, shares, “After the initial collection of e-waste from our dedicated centres, the materials are segregated and sent to authorised recyclers. Recycling involves dismantling, treating hazardous components, and segregating materials into categories like glass, metal, and plastic for reuse or upcycling.”

“Each step is carefully monitored to ensure compliance with environmental standards, a practice that distinguishes us from informal kabadiwalas (scrap dealers), who are often confused with formal recyclers,” she adds.

Shreya says what makes Hulladek unique is not just its mission but its workforce, which is predominantly led by women. “With an average employee age of 27, we strive to be innovative in the waste management industry, and our gender diversity is unparalleled,” Shreya beams with pride.

Hulladek’s work is rooted in an apparent belief: change begins with awareness. Over the years, the organisation has built a formidable logistics network backed by intention and community engagement. With more than 60 collection centres spread across cities like Surat, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Delhi, and Agartala, Hulladek conducts over 500 awareness sessions each year—each one an attempt to shift mindsets and turn passive consumers into conscious participants in India’s e-waste journey.

In Eastern India, their presence is especially significant. In cities like Kolkata, Hulladek has installed nearly 500 e-waste bins, not just as collection points but as visible, everyday reminders that electronic waste is real and needs attention. These bins, placed in schools, offices, and public spaces, have become quiet markers of a larger mission: to make e-waste visible, understood, and acted upon.

But it hasn’t been a smooth path. The road to awareness, as Priyasha Singhania shares, has been long and layered. “Awareness about biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste was high, but e-waste was being overlooked,” adds the Executive Vice President, Branding and Communication. Her words reflect a national blind spot—a collective unawareness of the toxins hiding in our broken gadgets and discarded electronics.

Hulladek recognised early on that ignoring this problem wasn’t an option. The risks were too great, and the silence too loud. So they built something meaningful—systems that not only enable safe recycling but also recover valuable materials like gold, copper, and aluminium, returning them to the production cycle. In doing so, they’ve created a model that protects both human health and natural resources while also reshaping how India thinks about its waste.

Another deep-rooted challenge Hulladek Recycling continues to confront is the perception that equates recyclers with local scrap dealers. It’s a misconception that undermines the scale and seriousness of their work. “People often mistake us for just another scrap dealer, whereas we operate with government-approved systems and documentation,” says Priyasha. Changing this mindset hasn’t been easy, but Hulladek has met it head-on. They’ve worked relentlessly through persistent educational outreach and years of steady community engagement to rebuild trust and establish credibility.

Hulladek has joined hands with state pollution control boards in Punjab, Delhi, Andaman, Assam, Nagaland, and Gujarat to amplify this effort. These partnerships are not symbolic—they serve as the foundation for grassroots change. By training board members and sensitising citizens, the company is helping communities understand what’s at stake and equipping them with the tools to take meaningful action against unsafe e-waste practices.

Today, Hulladek manages e-waste collection for over 300 contract-based clients, including schools, colleges, and corporations, each one a step closer to a cleaner, safer system. Among them is GTPL KCPL, a major player managing a staggering 40 lakh cable TV boxes. Their director, Ankit Agarwal, acknowledges the impact of the partnership, further underlining Hulladek’s growing role in shaping responsible e-waste management in India.

“Initially, we struggled with the proper disposal of our cable boxes. Partnering with Hulladek was both a moral imperative and a practical step. While the local selling methods to kabadiwalas were questionable, we had no alternative until we partnered with Hulladek, which is committed to ethical and legal disposal,” he adds.

He continues, explaining the benefits of their e-waste partnership, “This decision was driven by a conviction to protect the ecosystem and uphold our corporate social responsibility. Apart from financial gain from selling scrap, we now have assurance that our e-waste is managed ethically. Recycling ensures that resources that would have ended up in landfills are reused. As companies become more aware, these efforts encourage a more sustainable business environment,” he adds.

The true power of waste lies in what we teach the next generation to do with it

Over the past decade, Hulladek Recycling has helped divert more than 25 million kilograms of waste away from landfills, polluted waterways, and unsafe dumping grounds. This includes an astonishing 15 million kilograms of e-waste—a mix of everyday items like remote controls, hair straighteners, and large-scale appliances such as transformers and ATMs. Behind every kilogram is a moment of choice: to discard thoughtlessly, or to recycle responsibly. Hulladek is working to ensure that more people choose the latter.

“When life gives you lemonade, we make lemons. That’s recycling,” says Nandan.

While the numbers reflect growth, the company’s more resounding success lies in its purpose. In the last financial year, Hulladek reported an annual turnover of ₹20 crore, with a profit margin of at least five percent. Yet for founder Nandan, impact is not just financial, it's transformational.

One such transformation took shape through a partnership with Calcutta International School. By directly engaging students, Hulladek helped bridge the gap between technology use and environmental responsibility. The results were powerful. Tina shares, “Our students have evolved beyond mere technology consumers; they are consumers with a conscience, a voice, and a responsibility.”

Because sometimes, real change begins not in boardrooms or factories but in classrooms, conversations, and the small decisions we make every day.

Edited by Leila Badyari