While most Chennaiites buy the daily paper, almost religiously everyday, the effort it takes to bundle them up and then transport the dusty lot to a waste paper mart, is a bit much. In India, only about 20 per cent of waste paper is being recovered annually. And the reason is staring right in front of you, everywhere you turn. From oily soiled bhajji paper wraps on the beach to packing material while say, shifting house — low recovery is on acount of alternate uses of paper. As a result of no proper segregation (recycle bins), waste paper becomes contaminated and unusable.But there’s a new superhero on the block, and no, this one doesn’t have any special powers. And he has been around for generations. If you haven’t guessed his name already, it’s probably because, you simply haven’t been paying attention. People know him simply as the ‘Paperman’. For Mathew Jose, a recent graduate of Madras Christian College, paying homage to this profession which he claims a majority do not respect enough, was the goal. So much so, that he named his company after the Paperman and has initiated quite a few recycle drives with the support of MB Nirmal (Exnora) to get more people involved. He says, “In February this year, we had a recycle week that brought over two lakh students from 100 schools together who managed to collect 10 tonnes of paper for recycling.” With the cost of a one kg of paper, now up to `10, almost double of what it cost a year ago, that much paper would be equivalent of close to `1 lakh. Don’t believe it? Then, do the math.In a quest to find out more about his subject, 23-year-old Mathew decided to start a pilot project and talked to 50 ‘papermen’ in various parts of the city. He discovered one on almost every street in areas such as Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam, Kilpauk, Arumbakkam and Choolaimedu. Then he asked them basic questions about their livelihood, duration of their work in the profession and most importantly, their contact details. The idea developed, was to create an online database of ‘papermen’, not just in Chennai but across the country with the help of anybody who logs on to the paperman website, which started early June this year. In short, a structured ‘recycle helpline’ for the masses. Mathew explains, “Once a volunteer collects basic details about a paperman in his or her area, a picture of the person can be uploaded and one can create a paperman profile, similar to the ones you see or facebook or orkut. The next step is to route the location of this paperman’s store through google maps.”Of course, the success of this pipe dream is completely dependent of the level of participation of people all over the country, ranging from school and college go-ers to NGOs and corporate professionals. To boost the process and ensure no snags in the web system, Paperman has recently tied up with IIT Karagpur’s social aid wing, Aarambh. On a recycling front, Mathew proudly says, “So far, we have had a tremendous response from schools, from all the classes. In fact, in one school, we got the highest collection of paper from the tiny tots in Class 1!”So perhaps, you should consider putting together those old piles of newspaper and outdated magazines, and give our superhero a call. As Captain Planet would say, “The Power is yours.”(For more info, you can log on to www.paperman.in or call 9962699831)
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