‘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.
Advertisement Over 500 housing societies in Pune now schedule waste pickups through the app — no calls, no bargaining, no middlemen.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.
What began with no investment is now a citywide service built entirely from savings, trust, and word of mouth.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.
AdvertisementSo 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.
In 4 years, Scrapdeal has grown to a 4,000 sq. ft. warehouse, 30 staff, and a fleet of collectors operating across Pune.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........
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