Our Aim Is To Create An Organised Transparent Effective System For Waste Management In India: Nimit Aggarwal, EcoEx

After completing his education from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, Nimit Aggarwal (Founder and Managing Director of EcoEx) joined his family business as a director at BLS Ecotech Limited, where he has overseen the production of high-quality recycled polyester fiber from PET plastic for over 12 years. During this time, he gained experience in the recycling space, material recovery facilities (MRFs), waste-to-energy units, and integrated waste management units globally, which helped him identify the gaps in India’s waste management industry. In 2017, he decided to address these challenges by becoming an aggregator, and in 2018, he launched EcoEx. In an interview with ResponsibleUs, he discussed the EPR framework, ethical waste management, and the role of recycling in the process, among other topics.

Read interview Excerpts:

How did you identify the gap in India's waste management infrastructure, and what motivated you to create EcoEx and the EA Exchange platform to address this challenge, particularly in bridging the divide between the organized and unorganized sectors?

I have visited numerous units in the recycling space, material recovery facilities (MRFs), waste-to-energy units, and integrated waste management units in Europe and the Middle East as director of BLS Ecotech. During these visits, I noticed a gap in India’s waste management infrastructure.

After completing my studies, I wanted to leverage the resources and privileges I had to contribute to the environment, giving back in a meaningful way. However, as an entrepreneur, I also needed to create a profitable venture.

I realised that India lacked infrastructure that could cater to waste management in an efficient, ethical, and traceable manner, and there was no organised system to handle waste effectively. While recyclable waste drives economic value and is collected extensively, non-recyclable waste is often ignored because it has no economic value. This gap presented a significant challenge and an opportunity to create a solution.

With EcoEx, which empowers the recycling industry, our aim is to bridge the gap between the organised and unorganised sectors. Our focus is on bringing the best technical know-how and global best practices in the environmental sector to India. We adapt these practices to suit India’s demographics, geography, and the types of waste we generate, while also connecting investors with recyclers.

With this vision, we built EcoExchange, a technology platform. Today, we have almost 500 customers, including major corporations such as Adani, Tata, Marico, Godrej, Hindalco, and others. These companies are essentially engaging in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). We currently hold a significant market share in India’s plastic EPR industry, with nearly 30 per cent of the non-recyclable waste market share this year—a significant achievement for us.

How does the EPR framework ensure that brand owners are responsible for the ethical management of waste, and what role do they play in the recycling process?
Let’s first understand EPR or Extended Producer Responsibility. It was first coined by Dr. Thomas Lindhqvist and was implemented in India in 2018 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. EPR applies to various sectors, including plastic, electronic waste, batteries, tires, and rubber. The government has also released draft guidelines for additional sectors such as textile waste, paper waste, and steel waste.

The broader framework of EPR aims to organize the waste management market and bring all stakeholders under the GST framework. This aligns with our mission to create an organized, transparent, and effective system for waste management in India. By aligning with the government’s vision, we are contributing to the establishment of a sustainable and inclusive recycling ecosystem.

EPR spans across various sectors, and we aim to lead the charge in bridging the gap between recyclers and brand owners. Under EPR compliance, the responsibility for managing waste is placed on the economic value driver, i.e., the brand owner.

For example, consider Coca-Cola. If they distribute plastic bottles in any state in India, they are legally required to ensure those bottles are collected from the state and processed ethically. This could involve recycling or, in cases where recycling is not feasible, diverting the waste to energy units or cement kilns for ethical combustion.

Our role is to bridge this gap by supporting the unorganised sector, helping them register with government departments, and providing technical handholding. We also facilitate access to raw materials through our marketplace and help them sell their finished goods. For non-recyclable materials, such as chip packets from brands like Lay's, we ensure these are collected and sent to waste-to-energy units. This generates energy and produces certificates that we provide to the brand to meet their compliance obligations.

How does the complexity of the government’s EPR compliance structure, with its multiple waste categories and detailed tracking requirements, impact the management of plastics, and why is it essential to involve multiple stakeholders in the process?
Over time, we have built a robust channel for managing plastics. Plastics alone have multiple subcategories, and the government has structured EPR compliance in a way that may initially seem complex. However, with a deeper understanding, the system proves to be practical and effective.

The waste categories are divided into three main groups, which are further split into two subcategories each. These six categories are then divided across 30 states, and in certain cases, compliance even requires monthly tracking. This level of detail makes it impossible for a single entity or distributor to manage everything. Instead, multiple stakeholders, including collection centers and recyclers, are necessary to fulfill both recycling and end-of-life applications. We go beyond the legal requirements to ensure that internal auditors of large companies are satisfied with our processes.

What challenges do waste management companies face in the sector, and how does the relatively low revenue and returns compared to the required investment deter startups from investing in recycling plants?
India’s consumption patterns are still evolving. For instance, while we consume 0.7 kg of plastic per person annually, the US consumes 36 kg per person. Similarly, electronic consumption per person in India is rising. We remain a growing, developing economy, and consumption will only increase over time.

The infrastructure for waste management is still underdeveloped, but it is improving due to EPR. Companies like Samsung, Asian Paints, and others are allocating significant budgets—sometimes as much as ₹200–300 crore annually—to meet EPR requirements. This influx of funding is driving the development of the necessary infrastructure.

They want to spend their budgets wisely, focusing on building infrastructure that not only helps them fulfill their stakeholders' long-term goals but also creates value. Once this infrastructure is established, it can generate resources for them at no additional cost. Companies are taking initiatives to invest in ethical partners who work with integrity, as this is one of the most sought-after qualities in the sector.

How do you see the transition from voluntary to mandatory ESG reporting impacting organizations, and what role will the EPR policy play in shaping this shift?
EPR policies can be considered a subset of ESG compliance. ESG compliance encompasses a broader framework, covering everything from the purpose of doing business to sustainability goals. The government, through initiatives like the BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting) guidelines, aims to encourage companies to set targets for reducing environmental impact.

Some sectors, like cement and thermal power, are considered hard-to-abate and have no immediate alternatives. These sectors require capacity building to address larger audiences, even though they contribute to carbon emissions. The government is also taking steps to address these challenges. For example, the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), introduced in 2016, targeted specific industries without involving the public.

How does India’s voluntary approach to sustainability, particularly through EPR, contribute to its international credibility and address the long-term environmental challenges like legacy waste and waterlogging?
India, as a young nation, has no binding obligations under international agreements like the Paris Agreement. What we are doing is voluntary, driven by good will, and this enhances our international credibility.

EPR is just one compliance framework aimed at developing recycling infrastructure in the country. While it is necessary, ESG compliance represents a broader, long-term commitment to sustainability and responsible growth.

This effort will span a decade. If we don't implement EPR today, we won’t have a clean environment to live in within the next five years. Remember, five to ten years ago, before EPR was introduced, heavy rains often led to severe waterlogging because plastic waste and non-recyclables choked the drainage systems. That doesn’t happen as much now because non-recyclables are being collected and processed due to their economic value.

Legacy waste, such as the large landfill mountains in cities, is also decreasing. While cities still generate around 40,000 tons of waste daily and require more infrastructure, progress is evident. Legacy mining is being conducted to extract non-recyclable waste from old landfills, which is then sent to waste-to-energy units to generate EPR certificates.

How does your collaboration with global EPR practitioners and the establishment of an R&D center in Uttarakhand contribute to advancing sustainable waste management practices and educating the public on waste segregation?
We are planning to establish an R&D and experience center in Uttarakhand to showcase global best practices in waste management. We’ve collaborated with some of the largest EPR practitioners, such as the Landbell Group in Germany, and have worked extensively in countries like Zambia and Bhutan to implement EPR policies. For instance, in Bhutan, we collaborated with the Landbell Group and Black Forest Solutions to address waste issues in the mountains, where tourists often discarded trash.

Education is another critical aspect of addressing environmental challenges. Public awareness and knowledge are essential to driving change. Our foundation, E Foundation, is focused on this mission. We chose Uttarakhand for the experience center to highlight its natural beauty and the pressing need for sustainable practices in such regions.

Ultimately, the cost of these efforts is borne by consumers like you and me, as brands incorporate these expenses into their pricing. With the right policies and reforms, the waste management sector can overcome challenges and create a cleaner, more sustainable future.

For the past three years, we’ve been actively working in Haldwani, conducting weekly education drives in schools and colleges. Through these initiatives, we’ve created 'waste warriors' among children, teaching them the importance of collecting and segregating waste. So far, we’ve trained nearly 10,000 waste warriors in Haldwani and surrounding areas.

These efforts not only build credibility for us but also have a meaningful impact on the ground.

How does the E-auction module enhance market interactions and streamline the process for recyclers and collectors in the waste management industry?
We have built a robust technology platform using blockchain for transparency. The system provides QR codes to track materials and ensure a seamless circular economy process. Initially, the idea was for clients to interact directly with recyclers and collectors via the auction platform. Unfortunately, this hasn’t worked as planned because clients prefer to treat this as compliance rather than engage directly with recyclers.

Despite this, we have built a network of over 3,000 recyclers and collectors over the past five years. For example, last year, while handling EPR compliance for Tata, they presented us with a unique problem. They needed to manage pre-consumer waste from their factories, which wasn’t directly tied to EPR compliance. Ensuring that this material ended up in the right place was a challenge, but with our established network and systems, we were able to address it effectively.

The system categorized all types of waste—not just plastic—and ensured that the material was picked up ethically from each unit, processed through our collection network using the mobile app, and routed to recyclers or end-of-life applications. The entire value chain was tracked and managed through our technology.

The pilot was so successful that Tata expanded our scope from 10 units to 150 units, covering all their plants. Today, we manage this process exclusively for Tata, working with their OEMs to ensure compliance and efficiency. This achievement showcases how technology can be effectively integrated into the entire waste management value chain.

Our focus has always been on innovation and creating meaningful solutions rather than raising funds for the sake of it. The initial investment was substantial, but we’ve been profitable from day one. To ensure we built the right foundation, we engaged KPMG’s environmental team, a senior expert from IFCC India, to conduct a six-month due diligence study on global best practices in the environmental sector.

What key lessons did you learn from your initial attempts at building an EPR exchange platform, and how did those lessons shape the solutions you offer today?
Initially, we aimed to build an exchange for EPR like the PR and PNR exchanges in the UK. In hindsight, this approach was premature, as the law was still in its early stages of introduction in India. However, this learning experience helped us refine our approach and develop the robust solutions we offer today.

We initially built our platform with the National Commodity Exchange, investing heavily in the technology. However, the exchange model didn’t work out as expected—it was an excellent product, but the market didn’t need it at the time.

We experimented with various pilots to explore innovative uses of waste. For instance, we worked on integrating plastic waste into road construction as a replacement for bitumen. Additionally, we collaborated with Clearboard, a Hong Kong-based company, on river-cleaning drives using boats in the Ganga. These experiences taught us valuable lessons and helped us refine our approach.

This is why we also started our work in Avani, focusing on sustainable practices and community engagement. Despite challenges, we have remained bootstrapped, profitable, and are currently growing at 4-5x annually. We’ve established a strong market share in plastic waste management and are now gearing up to expand into electronic and battery waste management next year.

What steps can be taken to raise awareness and establish a standardized certification system for ESG reporting, given the current lack of clarity in the sector?
If we think about it from the perspective of the businesses obtaining environment certifications, their primary motivation is compliance. For them, it’s an additional cost, so they will only pursue it if a stakeholder—such as a client, investor, or regulator—demands it.

For instance, certifications like GRI or ISO standards are often mandatory for industries like textiles, especially when exporting to Europe. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), recently introduced by the EU, targets industries like steel and cement, requiring compliance with carbon emission norms. These measures ensure checks and balances on imported goods while also meeting internal requirements, such as limiting specific chemical contents in products.

In the textile industry, for example, GRI standards ensure that harmful chemicals are not present in exported materials. Compliance with such standards is essential for companies to meet international requirements and maintain their market access.

Certifications like GRI or ISO give companies the mandate that their products are safe for international markets. These certifications are primarily for stakeholders—if you don't have them, you may not be able to sell your products. On the other hand, certifications like BRSR and Green Credit are specific to India. If you want to operate in India, you must comply with these regulations, or you'll face penalties. It's similar to not filing income tax—if you don't comply, you’re at risk of being fined.

We are currently working with a company in India, on ESG reporting through a scientific-based analysis, which is quite rare in India. While the demand for this is not high yet, we’re taking the lead in offering these services, even though it’s a significant investment. Getting certifications like GRI or SBTi can cost a lot, but we believe it’s worth it in the long run because it gives credibility. Investors tend to value companies that take proactive steps like this, and it can lead to better interest rates and investment opportunities.

As for reporting and consulting, we’ve already worked with several Indian companies, but it's not something we want to do just for the sake of it. We prefer to work with third parties that can help us make the right connections and ensure that the work is done efficiently and effectively.

When it comes to BRSR, it’s relatively easy to source through consultants. However, we don’t want to engage in work that doesn’t excite us. If we were to do something like BRSR for ₹20,000, which 50 other companies are also doing, it doesn’t make sense for us. Instead, we focus on building technology modules that we can offer to our clients when needed.

How do you balance participating in projects outside your core business goals with your primary objective of becoming a market leader in EPR and expanding your network of recyclers and collectors?
Regarding collection efforts, we are involved in a project at the Jav Temple in Greater Noida, which is set to open on 3 February. We were asked to participate in this initiative, but it wasn’t necessarily aligned with our business goals. Our main objective is to become a market leader in EPR, integrate with as many recyclers and collectors as possible, and build our brand.

As for the upcoming budget, we don’t have any specific expectations as a company. We’re happy with the direction things are going. We’re growing, and we believe the environment is conducive to our success. We’re committed to paying for compliance, as it’s the final piece that falls into place after everything else. If the economy continues to grow, we will grow as well.