Innovation

YIMBY is a startup in Goa that uses state-of-the-art technology to make bio-degradable and easy to recycle products. It provides you with efficient solutions to re-use, recycle, and compost waste.

To introduce sustainable waste management practice amongst the residential societies of Goa, YIMBY launches a decentralized approach to treat the wet waste at its source of generation. This special service called “YIMBY TREAT” would be as good as a monthly subscription. It consists of a society drum composting & operating model wherein a waste shredder, and other accessories would be mounted on a vehicle and treat the wet waste of residential societies. This has the following benefits:

- Minimalistic operational cost

- Shredder mounted on a vehicle with composting kits & spare motor

- Service capability of maximum 600 kg/day of wet waste per vehicle

- Minimum contract period of 3 years

Below are some of the innovative product ideas by YIMBY:

Bamboo toothbrush for Adults

Yimby’s Bamboo Toothbrush is perfect for a Zero Waste morning routine. It’s made of all-natural bamboo and thus compostable. The soft bristles ensure that you’re not compromising with your oral hygiene.

Bamboo Cutlery Set

Yimby’s Bamboo Cutlery Kit is a perfectly portable companion for the on-the-go Zero Waster. The set consists of a Spoon, Fork, Knife, Straw, Straw cleaner Made of All-Natural Bamboo and is completely biodegradable.

Seed Pen

Plantable pens. Once you’re done using the pen, you can give it new life by simply planting it in soil.

Birchwood Stirrer

Eco-friendly and compostable stirrers made of birchwood. Use as an alternative to single-use plastic cutlery.

Inspiration

Our world is constantly growing and moving towards a better future. In this continuous process of transformation, one should bear in mind the idea of sustainability. We all have come across this term at one point or another, but never did we pay heed to it the way we should have. We are carelessly using up scarce resources and throwing stuff as if it’s of no use. As a responsible inhabitant, the least one can do is to be eco-conscious, to generate as minimum waste as possible. But have you ever thought of doing anything in this direction? Many of you would say no, which is understandable given that the concept of eco-consciousness and sustainability is restricted to notebooks only. However, Gaurav Pokle, The Founder and CEO at YIMBY Goa, shares a somewhat unique thought process. He has taken it upon himself to build and make this world a much better place. His unique business idea can vouch for that. He considers the world he lives in as his home, which is the basic idea behind his inspiration. In the words of Gaurav Pokle, “I want to engage people in this idea of sustainability, people do understand the significance of this, but they do not know how to go about it.”

Gaurav and his team at YIMBY Goa are much concerned about the state of cleanliness. They have come up with unique solutions to minimize waste generation, manage waste, and recycle. When asked about his intent to do it, he said, “Everyone knows what’s right and what’s wrong. They know one should not litter, still, they do it... My objective is to raise consciousness.” Gaurav has been on multiple cleanliness drives, and when enquired about the same, he continued by saying, “I don’t go on these cleanliness drives for the sake of Instagram photos. By going on these drives and collecting people’s garbage, we at YIMBY intend to implicitly tell them that we are here because they did something wrong or because they didn’t do what they should have done in the first place. Cleanliness drives are like mopping the floor while the tap is on and you are not turning off the tap, which necessarily means that you would have to do this activity again and again. Right now in India, the tap is on. We are mopping the floor and, in a way, trying to tell people to turn the tap off.”

You are always faced with multiple choices in life. It’s up to you to go with the one which suits you the best. For Gaurav, the choice was: People over Profit or Profit over People? He went with the former. He believes the more people he manages to engage in his venture, the more profit he will make. ‘People, Profit, Planet’ is the triple bottom line in businesses to achieve this goal of sustainability. Gaurav, through his unique startup, is continuously working in this direction.

Overall impact

The overall impact of YIMBY is leaving less of your footprint on the planet Earth by recycling as much waste as possible. This approach taken by Gaurav Pokle, which is basically educating people about waste resource management and taking the initiative to reduce waste management, is going to help us in the long run.

The eco-friendly approach taken by YIMBY is also a step to let us realize that we are just a guest on this planet, and it's our duty to keep it clean and safe.

The impact of this system in the business has led to forming a clean city & society has also understood the importance of waste resource management. This business's long-term effects can be seen as a much cleaner world to live in and proper utilization of available resources. The impact of this business can be seen among the people in how they have responded to waste and how well they are handling it to recycle it.

Business benefit

“It is not waste management, but it is resource management. Just interchange the word waste with the resource as your waste is hardly 5 to 10 percent, [the] rest of everything is a resource. This means that your dry waste is fetching you recyclable value from the waste sold.” Mr. Gaurav Pokle talked about how social entrepreneurs take a social risk by virtue and convert it into social value and economic profit.

With the mission to be a one-stop waste management consumer center, Yimby delves into various waste management modes from storage bins, eco-friendly alternatives, recycling, home composting, community waste handling tools, domestic hazardous waste, and much more.

The goal of the company is to innovatively find solutions to the problem of waste. The business is equipped to manage waste from inception stage to disposal stage, including Waste Handling, Waste Storage, Everyday Waste Collection, Waste Segregation, Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Waste Treatment, Waste Monitoring, Waste regulations. One provider means you don't have to liaise with numerous suppliers to get your services set up, resulting in time-saving. Getting all your waste streams disposed of by one supplier will often come with discounted rates helping in cost reduction. All the recycling and waste statistics can be analyzed in one place, making things simple.

Social and environmental benefit

“LIVE GREEN & MAKE THE WORLD A GREEN AND HEALTHY PLACE”

Unlike other social causes, the prime objective of YIMBY is to educate the rural and urban dwellers on waste resource management and encourage them to live in a sustainable environment.

Right from zero waste lifestyle, home composting, waste, and home care products, YIMBY designs different products in such a way that it reduces people’s daily wastes and inculcates sustainable living. Various products are made from reusable and durable materials such as bagasse, bamboo, organic cotton, natural fibers.

The zero-waste lifestyle approach helps to build social equity and protect community health. Also, it enables us to become plastic-free, thus reducing overall climate impact.

Proper solid waste management provides an opportunity to reduce harmful impacts associated with waste and recover resources, social and environmental benefits, and lead our life to a sustainable future.

In the words of Gaurav Pokle,” The organizations nowadays are finding temporary solutions to reduce carbon footprint rather than making it more sustainable in the long run.” Also, he added that “In the world of consumerism, people are aware but not conscious enough about their actions on poor waste (resource) management. Thus, it is better if we understand and get that consciousness out of the people and inculcate the habit of sustainable living.”

Interview

Gaurav Pokle, CEO & Founder