KOCHI: It was cold inside the Skur13 hall in Oslo, Norway, during the evening of October 10. A group of 35 entrepreneurs stood on a stage in pin-drop silence. They were from countries like the UK, USA, Kenya, Botswana and India. Among them was the Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Nivedha RM, the founder of ‘Trashbot’ machine that can segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. 

Nivedha was wearing a black coat and shiny black boots. The Norwegian Trade Minister Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Torbjørn Røe said, “And the winner is”… there was a pause and then he shouted, “TrashCon.” 

Nivedha felt as if she was struck by a bolt of lightning. Then, breaking out into a never-ending smile, she stepped forward and received a plaque and a large cardboard cheque from the minister. The plaque identified her as the winner of the 2019 Impact Maker Awards, a global competition for entrepreneurs who come up with unconventional solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. The prize money is a cool Rs 40 lakh. 

The Impact Maker Awards has been instituted by Norway-based group Xynteo and consists of major companies like Unilever, Mastercard, General Electric and the Tatas. These firms are looking for innovative solutions for the world’s problems. 
And through a vote of the 500 plus delegates in the hall, which consisted of people like the CEO of Ikea

Jesper Brodin and the co-founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales, they voted for TrashCon as having made the most impact. Nivedha had never expected to get the award. The earlier winners were mostly Europeans and Americans. “This was the first time an Indian was winning,” said Nivedha. When asked on stage what she would do with the money, Nivedha said, “Each of these digits will impact a thousand lives.

We can create an end-to-end waste management system which includes segregation and recycling. According to my calculations, we can prevent 300 tonnes of waste going to a landfill every month through Trashbot.” Incidentally, the recycled waste from Trashbot can be used to make biogas and plywood-type boards. So there is no waste whatsoever.

Xynteo has also extended support to Nivedha that they would help her scale up the production. “We are making 10 machines a month,” says Nivedha. “Now they will help us  make 100 machines and later there will be a global outreach.” 

A chemical engineer who graduated from the Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering, the 24-year-old says, “I have found my life’s purpose. I want to create a time where there is no trash anywhere in  the world.”