What we do

Partner with us

Transparency

Resources

INDIA

Clean Goa

Nestled along the sun-kissed shores of India’s west coast, Goa is a mesmerizing blend of golden beaches, vibrant culture, and rich history.

OUR IMPACT

Pristine Ecosystems

Household Collection

INDIA

Clean Goa

Nestled along the sun-kissed shores of India’s west coast, Goa is a mesmerizing blend of golden beaches, vibrant culture, and rich history.

OUR IMPACT

Household Collection

Pristine Ecosystems

Female Empowerment

Household Collection

The story

Goa's beaches, once sparkling jewels along India’s coastline, are now under threat. Stroll along the sandy shores, and it’s hard to ignore the plastic bottles, straws, and bags scattered across the landscape, spoiling the natural beauty that makes Goa so special.

This isn’t just about a few pieces of trash — plastic pollution in Goa has become a serious issue, affecting everything from marine life to local livelihoods.

The key reason behind this mess? A lack of proper waste management, since there is no regular waste collection set up by the government.

Before we started working in Goa, locals had no other option but to dump their trash in nature or burn it in the open environment.

That’s exactly why we made it our mission to turn this around.

The project

Since 2021, we’ve been funding the collection of non-recyclable waste from communities in Goa by partnering with local operator vRecycle.

The team at vRecycle has been working in Goa for five years now, implementing a reliable waste collection system for households and shops, and ensuring that no waste collected goes to landfill.

However, since non-recyclable waste has no monetary value to collectors (since it can’t be recycled and used again), these materials were often left littered in communities.

That’s where we come in.

We focus on funding the collection of non-recyclable waste, keeping the community in Goa clean. The primary way we do this is through household collection — stopping plastic pollution at the source.

Let's make a difference in Goa

Your brand can support our impact and help to expand our operations in India.

Take Action Today

Let's chat

Our impact

Clean Nature

By collecting waste at peoples’ homes, we’re preventing plastic pollution from ever reaching the environment. When we started this program, we initially funded the collection of 10 tons of waste per month — we’ve now doubled this to 20 tons per month.

Clean Communities

This project ensures that the community has access to a reliable and efficient waste management service, keeping the streets clean.

On top of this, our partner hub vRecycle hosts various community awareness sessions with local schools, where students can learn about the impacts of plastic pollution and even visit the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to understand waste sorting, recycling, and organic waste composting.

Clean Jobs

As well as keeping the community clean, our Clean Goa project is providing safe, dignified jobs for locals. Out of the total 42 employees working on the ground, 60% are women. The vision was to provide equal opportunities for men and women in all roles of waste management.

To make sure work is comfortable, everyone has access to upskilling opportunities — whether that’s learning more about digital literacy, having English classes, or getting trained on various machinery in the MRF. All employees also receive access to healthcare.

Clean Oceans

Over 100 kilometers of Goa’s coastline is framed by the Arabian Sea, and by collecting waste from the community, we’re preventing it from polluting the waterways and damaging precious ecosystems.

The collection process

Our Clean Goa project focuses on household collection, meaning the teams on the ground collect peoples’ trash across various villages in south Goa.

Similar to a system you might recognize in various European countries or states in the US, the collection team drives through the village on a particular date of a month. The residents then keep their dry waste segregated, outside their house gates, ready for collection.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how we carry out collection effectively.

STEP 1

Collect waste from families

Instead of focusing our efforts on waste in the open environment, we stop plastic pollution at the source by collecting waste from homes in Goa.

STEP 2

Register the amount of waste

We make sure to log how much waste is collected through the trucks coming into the MRF.

STEP 3

Sort the waste

The collection team then sorts the bags of trash, inputs the data into our app, and marks the bags of waste as ‘ready to be delivered’.

STEP 4

Transport the waste

Once the collection is done, all waste is taken to the Material Recovery Facility to be processed.

Collection operator: vRecycle

This project wouldn’t be possible without our incredible collection partner, vRecycle.

vRecycle is a small waste management service company that collects waste from roughly 20,000 homes in Goa.

While most of the company’s work involves providing doorstep waste pickup, treatment, and disposal services, it also works with other waste pickers and scrap dealers to improve waste management practices.

The organization is led by a passionate founder, Clinton Vaz, who believes in working towards a better and cleaner Goa. That’s why vRecycle also goes one step further, by educating communities on pollution, and providing consultancy and design projects for NGOs, institutions, and schools.