'Digital Kabadiwala' by 3 Brothers Recycled 10 Lakh Kg Waste & Built Rs 2 Cr Biz Without Funding

There was a time when every neighbourhood had its kabadiwala — a familiar figure who’d cycle past your gate, calling out for newspapers, bottles, and scrap. You’d hand over a pile of old magazines, and in return, get a few coins and a little extra space in your cupboard. The exchange was simple, the relationship built on routine.

Fast forward to today, and the kabadiwala has gone digital.

In Pune, a quiet revolution is brewing around this everyday act of waste disposal. What used to be a sporadic, informal trade is being streamlined into a tech-enabled, app-driven process — one that’s not only more efficient but also significantly more sustainable. At the heart of this shift is a local initiative that started with a question and a handful of savings.

The seed of an idea

Jayesh Pakhale wasn’t a recycling expert or a startup veteran when the idea for his waste management platform first struck. He was a college student with a software background and a persistent frustration: Why was so much recyclable material still ending up in landfills when people were willing to part with it?

During his final year of graduation, Jayesh began experimenting with small-scale scrap collection using his own pocket money. What started as a side project slowly grew wings. “I’d collect scrap materials from friends and neighbours, weigh them properly, and make sure they went to the right place. It didn’t feel like a business then but more like solving a very obvious problem,” he recalls.

The more he explored, the more apparent the gaps became. The scrap collection industry, largely informal and unorganised, lacked transparency, convenience, and scale. Jayesh imagined a system where waste disposal could be as easy as ordering a cab or groceries, one where users wouldn’t need to call a middleman, bargain for rates, or wonder what happened to their waste afterward.

So in 2019, with no external investment and only personal savings, he launched what would become Scrapdeal - an online platform for doorstep waste collection that combines traditional recycling with a digital twist.

With a click, users can now schedule pickups for everything from old laptops and e-waste to cardboard boxes and worn-out clothes. What once required bargaining and waiting now takes minutes.

Building something from scratch - literally

Unlike many startups flush with venture capital, Scrapdeal was built brick by brick. Jayesh brought his brothers, Ganesh Pakhale (Co-founder & COO) and Vaibhav Pakhale (Co-founder & CFO), on board. By early 2019, they had launched a basic version of the Scrapdeal app. The goal was simple: connect homes and offices to verified recyclers, using tech as the bridge.

Jayesh and his brothers invested their savings, refused external funding, and reinvested every rupee earned.

Their first warehouse was modest, just large enough to sort basic categories of waste. The team juggled roles: Ganesh handled operations, Vaibhav took on finances, and Jayesh focused on tech and strategy. Early traction came from societies and small businesses, many of whom were thrilled to finally have a structured waste pickup system.

“From day one, we wanted to be self-reliant,” says Jayesh. “That meant growing slowly, but steadily.”

The team has signed MoUs with multiple verified recyclers, ensuring all waste is responsibly processed. Customers also get paid based on the weight of the materials collected — a model that builds trust and promotes long-term use.

“All the material that we collect, like Plastic, Paper, E-waste, and Metal, gets recycled later on,” co-founder Ganesh Pakhale adds.

How it works: As simple as ordering food

The Scrapdeal app, now downloaded over 1.5 lakh times, mirrors the interface of food delivery apps - except instead of biryani, you’re scheduling a pickup for your stack of cardboard boxes or tangled old chargers.

The team made sure to keep the UI (User Interface) as simple as possible so that people can have a seamless experience when it comes to disposing of waste materials. 

“We have ensured that selling your scrap/junk material is as easy as ordering food from Swiggy or Zomato. You just have to download the Scrapdeal app, then select all the scrap items that you want to dispose of,” Jayesh points out. 

Steps to follow

• Select the date as per your convenience and raise a request. 
• On the selected date, the collector will arrive at your doorstep with an electronic machine. They will transparently weigh all your material in front of you.
• Evaluate it in our app, and you will receive your payment on the spot. 
• All these processes are 100% paperless & digital.

It’s paperless, transparent, and most importantly, fair. “Accuracy is everything in this business,” says Vaibhav. “Even a few grams matter to a customer. We’ve invested in high-quality weighing machines to ensure complete trust.”

What happens after the pickup?

“Plastic waste is sorted by type (PET, HDPE, LDPE & PVC, etc.) then the sorted plastic is shredded and washed. Shredded plastic is melted and formed into pellets for manufacturing new products,” he explains.

Delving a bit more into the structure of waste collection and how the waste gets recycled, the founders had some interesting methods to share about the process used by recyclers.

• Paper waste is mixed with water and chemicals at a paper mill to create pulp. New sheets get manufactured from the pulp.
• E-waste is separated into different types like copper, aluminium, circuit boards, plastic and many more. Segregated parts get recycled at their respective industries.
• Different metals are sold to their respective foundries, which will melt them down and manufacture new ones.

“We also collect old clothes, which get reused by workers and labourers, and our customers have been with us since 2021,” Jayesh shares. 

A business built without loans, fuelled by purpose

What makes Scrapdeal stand out in India’s crowded sustainability space is its bootstrapped model. The team hasn’t taken any loans from banks or external investors. The operations, including a 4,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Pune, are run entirely from internal revenue.

“From day one, we wanted to stay self-reliant,” says Jayesh. “This gave us full control over how we grow and who we serve. Initially, when I was in the last year of graduation, I started collecting the scrap with pocket money, then as the business grew, we started earning money from it and reinvested it in the business. We have never burned any cash to sustain this business, and from day one, we have been profitable at it,” he adds.

“Our goal is to build a business that can save our Earth from becoming a dumping ground and which will be financially stable as well.”

Currently, Scrapdeal directly employs 30 people and supports the livelihood of over 200 others indirectly, including waste collectors, transporters, and tech vendors.

“On a daily basis our rate card gets updated on our application as per market rates. For example, today we offer Rs 11 per kg of rupees for an old newspaper, which is competitive with local scrap dealers as well. In this business, accurate weight is far more important than higher rates. We always use well-calibrated electronic weighing scales and assure money for every gram to the customer,” the founders explain.

Tech, trust, and trackability

The app is built with the end-user in mind. Customers can:

• Schedule pickups
• Track waste weights
• Get digital receipts and payments
• View history of transactions

Behind the scenes, Scrapdeal uses data analytics and optimised routing to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. It’s a rare blend of environmental consciousness and operational efficiency.

“We want to become the Swiggy of recycling,” says Ganesh. “People should be able to dispose of waste as easily as ordering dinner.”

The company has an aim to set up micro-warehouses in Mumbai, and plans to expand operations soon to Nashik and Bengaluru. Their ambitions aren’t limited to just growing bigger—they want to grow better. Features like AI-based waste sorting, carbon footprint trackers, and formal tie-ups with municipal bodies are in the pipeline.

“We want to create a nationwide, decentralised system for recycling,” says Jayesh. “One that’s accessible, ethical, and completely transparent.”

Stories from the community

Scrapdeal’s impact goes beyond just numbers. Its user reviews tell a story of growing environmental consciousness among everyday citizens.

“Have been their customer for many years now. They collect scrap from our society regularly. I had placed a request to collect my 4-wheeler tyres, and they came the very next day and gave the promised weighted price,” Naveen Gupta, a Scrapdeal customer, shares with TBI.

“In the true sense, a service to society. People should support them. This will help them to achieve the Swachh Bharat Mission,” said Rajesh Shekhawat. The team also conducts awareness sessions in schools and societies, encouraging citizens to embrace sustainable habits.

“You don’t need to search for a kabadiwala or recycling centre anymore. Just open the app and help the planet,” Jayesh says. Today, we are having collaborations with more than 500 residential societies and 100+ corporations, where we regularly arrange recyclable waste collection drives and do doorstep collection as well. Some of them are Sun Universe Society, Yuthika Apartment, Ved Vihar Apartment, Sonigara Kesar Society, and many more.”

“More than 1 lakh people have already connected with us through our activities and applications with almost 80-90% of our customer retention rate,” he claims proudly.

Why it matters

India generates over 62 million tonnes of waste annually, and a large portion of it is never recycled. Platforms like Scrapdeal offer a glimpse into how this can change — not through massive government overhauls, but through citizen-led, tech-enabled solutions that bridge the gap between everyday consumers and India’s recycling infrastructure—one that could serve as a blueprint for other cities grappling with waste management challenges.

In a world overflowing with problems, this initiative reminds us that the most powerful solutions often begin at home — or in this case, with an app and a little bit of heart.

Edited by Vidya Gowri Venkatesh; All images courtesy Jayesh Pakhale