Making wealth of waste

Poonam Kasturi, the Bangalore based entrepreneurr, started Daily Dump in 2006. Known as the ‘compostwali,’ she has managed to create wealth out of waste – literally.

Poonam Kasturi is an industrial designer by profession. However she’s known more today for the business she has created through ingenuous waste management. Responsible for keeping 3,400 kilos of waste out of landfills every day, she’s the woman behind the unique design of the terracotta compost pots known as the Kambha, as well as a new phenomenon – the rotating drums.

These eco-friendly pots help prepare and keep organic waste long enough for it to become a value-added product. Her project, Daily Dump is involved in the design, manufacture, distribution and servicing of products related to home composting. This product-service system is on an open source platform and already has 10 ‘clones’ including one in Chile. And all these products are designed keeping in mind the urban dilemma of increased apartment dwellers and restricted spaces in mind.

According to Poonam, the waste generated in every kitchen is 50-70% organic. However, urban India has still not found an effective way to dispose of this waste, which can actually be churned back into the system by converting it into useful organic manure. “Keeping this waste off the streets will be the biggest challenge that civic authorities will face across every city. If we can convert this into compost, it can reduce the mess on the streets by 60%, and that’s a big impact.” She answers a few questions on the product, and more so, on her vision.

You’re a lady on a mission to make the urban Indian conscious of waste management and recycling through your unique initiative. How do you put all this in perspective four years down the line?

We’ve come a long way and the Kambha has helped so many households take care of their waste in an eco-friendly manner. I came up with the terracotta waste composting pots four years ago, and it all started by asking questions, searching and wanting a simple and doable solution to the problem that stares you in the face – waste disposal. I started Daily Dump not because of the money, but because it was a good thing to do. I funded the compost pot project with my own savings in 2006. Our turnover has gone up over the years. In the very first year we had a turnover of two lakhs and this year it stands at 20 lakhs – but the profit is marginal at only 10%. And though it doesn’t make me rich monetarily, it does make me wealthy knowing that I’m creating this wealth out of recycling waste and making others do it too. I still believe we have a long way to go and if someone famous and influential – like an Amitabh Bachchan or Rajni Kant – endorses composting, it will have a bigger impact. Maybe then one would be able to take this project to the national level and solve the problem of waste disposal to a great extent.

How many people are using the Daily Dump composter?
Our products have a great demand. Besides 4,500 customers in Bangaluru the composter has found its way across 700 homes in cities like Goa, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Pune, and Coimbatore. We also have clones in Chile (South America) and Jumeirah- Dubai (Middle East). There are also serious inquiries from U.K., Australia, Denmark, and Ireland.

How does the compost pot work at one’s home?
Daily Dump products are easy to use. Our range of products ensures that each customer can find a product best suited to their needs. The ideal product for a family of three to five people to manage medium volumes of everyday kitchen/organic waste is the Kambha. This is a modular 3-tier terracotta composter which works very simply. The top-most unit is filled with kitchen waste till it is 3/4th full. This takes anywhere between 4-10 days depending on diet and cooking. This part is then swapped with the middle unit till that too is 3/4th full. By this time contents of the first unit would have reduced in volume and this is transferred to the third unit. The first and third units go back to the top where they can be filled with waste again. The second part shifts back to the middle and the cycle starts to repeat itself. The units need to be stirred at least once every three to five days. Maintenance involves using a natural Neem spray to mask any odour and the addition of an organic culture to accelerate the decomposition process.

We advise customers to use the Kambha in conjunction with a Leave-It Pot. This acts as a store for semi-composted material to mature into compost; thereby releasing space in the Kambha for everyday use. Daily Dump also offers service support and information on know how and segregation of home waste.

How effective is the Kambha in terms of waste management and what does it cost?
The Kambha is very effective if used properly. Today we’re responsible for keeping 3,400 kgs of waste from landfills, daily. You can imagine the kind of volumes one can keep out of landfills once composting grows. Hopefully it will grow and become a national phenomenon. Each compost pot costs about Rs. 800 which isn’t much. We also buy back compost in case the household waste produced is more than average and of good quality. Our condition is that you should have produced it in our composters and it should meet our quality checks.

So what’s next on the horizon for the ‘compostwali’ and the compost pot? Are there any new products in the pipeline? Besides the compost pot, we have recently introduced a new product for recycling waste. The latest invention is the rotating drum. This can recycle the community’s waste at one go. All it takes is a firm swing to get the community composter started. This new product makes it possible for several households to compost together. It was launched a month ago, and I’ve already sold one and received orders for 10 more. I’m getting these composters made in Hyderabad, as I couldn’t find the same quality for a fair price in Bengaluru. The composter is made out of plastic, and though this may not be good for the environment, it’s still the lesser of the two evils. Basically the process is as follows: separate the organic waste, mix it with dry leaves, stir it regularly and keep it for 90 days. The end product is compost, a natural nutrient rich material.

How do you plan to create more awareness about your products?
We believe that our best advocates are our customers and our clones. We’re keen to expand the clone network to reach out to every possible place. So if anyone is interested to start a clone or want more information about our products, you can get in touch with us at dailydumpcompost@gmail.com

Courtesy: Greenlife Magazine