Behind every successful recycling system is a network of people doing the everyday work. In our From Beach to Big Bags (FBBB) project, we are proud to collaborate with local scrap shops in Chennai, India. The local people who form the backbone of land-based plastic collection and recycling.
The first link in the recycling value chain
Scrap shops, locally known as Kabadiwallas, are small, independent businesses found across Indian cities. They purchase plastic waste and other recyclable materials from waste collectors and households, sort it, and sell it onwards into the recycling system. For many materials, these shops represent the very first commercial step in transforming waste into a resource.
One of these businesses is Siva Sakthi Waste Paper Mart, run by Ponsudalairajanan, who has worked in the trade for 14 years. Operating on his own, he buys, sorts, and resells recyclable materials, ensuring that plastic waste is diverted away from nature and back into the value chain.
“People think it’s [just] a waste shop, but it’s not. Every business is important. There are many businesses above and below mine. If my business stops, many problems will arise. All businesses are interconnected. Everyone should respect all trades equally.”
His words highlight a reality often overlooked: recycling is not a single process, but a chain of interconnected livelihoods, where disruption at one point affects the entire system.
Responsibility starts upstream
From his position in the value chain, Ponsudalairajanan also sees clearly where responsibility must lie to improve recycling outcomes:
“It all depends on the manufacturers. They must produce correctly. The government should prioritize materials that decompose easily or can be recycled.”
This perspective reinforces a key message of the FBBB project: effective recycling requires action not only at the collection level, but across design, production, and policy.
Scrap shops in the FBBB project
As part of the FBBB project, we work with five scrap shops like Siva Sakthi Waste Paper Mart. Supported by our local partner, Kabadiwalla Connect, the project provides targeted health and safety upgrades to improve working conditions and support their essential role. In return, these shops play a crucial part in tracing plastic from community-level collection all the way to new big bag production with our partner Gleco.
This traceability demonstrates how socially inclusive models can be scaled for industrial use, combining local livelihoods with high-quality recycled materials for global value chains.
You can meet Ponsudalairajanan and hear his perspective in the interview below.
The FBBB project is implemented in collaboration with Kabadiwalla Connect, Gleco Packaging & Medical, and supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Danida Green Business Partnerships.
