Clearing city’s trash, one click at a time

Kuppathotti.com, the online portal has attracted customers from all over the city to register to their website and have everything from plastic packaging and paper to metal and e-waste collected at their doorstep – and paid for. Started by software engineers and husband-wife duo Joseph Jegan and Sujatha, the initiative is now the subject of a research paper by Taiwanese college students. 

“It was a really great experience to meet them. We presented the workings of our organisation over the last few years, our modus operandi and future plans, and they were duly impressed,” says Sujatha, adding that now plans are on to release a mobile app that facilitates immediate pick-up of trash at a moment’s notice – similar to food delivery services. 

“As of now, people can log in to the website or call us and leave details of their address and trash to be collected (minimum of 2 kg). We give them a call back in a day or two, and schedule a visit according to our vehicle’s pick-up schedule. Though we became popular initially only by word-of-mouth, now we have several loyal customers coming back for years. We pay by weight for different materials,” she explains. 

Sujatha also says that they have established a wide network of recyclers over the years, who come to their collection point after segregation of the trash is done by the Kuppathotti team. A self-sustained organisation that is looking to make a difference to the environment, the service attracts a lot of youngsters who order from the likes of food delivery apps and have plenty of plastic bags lying around, as well as discarded phones, laptops, etc. 

“But surprisingly, we also have plenty of elderly clients who aren’t able to leave their houses to discard of trash. They are happy as our team meet them right at their doorstep to collect it. Currently, we are a team of 10 members apart from my husband and I, and hope to expand once the app launches,” Sujatha concludes.