Let’s meet 2 young Chartered Accountants from the city who are happily into CA profession since last 4 years, but they also wanted to contribute to the society and environment at large. India witnessed a record shortage in Water level this year. Chennai became the first major Indian city to face an acute water shortage, Bangalore soon followed it.
Nagpur has also witnessed its first-ever water supply cut in many years. These young CA’s didn’t want Nagpur to become another Chennai or Bangalore as far as water shortage is concerned. So keeping in view and aligning to the Jal Shakti Abhyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they decided to start a Social start-up.
Everyone keeps talking about water shortage, however only few act on it.‘Have you ever imagined how much water do you consume when washing a car? A normal water wash for a car generally takes 2 buckets of 20 litres each, i.e. 40 litres of water on an average and normal water wash for a bus takes around 300-500 litres of water’, says co-founder Aman, a car aficionado who launched the company after an eye-opening experience that pushed him to investigate the existing process behind urban vehicle washing. ‘Even though it may seem like you’re conserving water by doing the job yourself, the truth is, you’re likely wasting significantly more’, he adds.
Boys were determined to find a way to get the vehicles cleaned in a better way and at the same time saving the water being wasted traditionally. Calling in all the possible options, after 3 month-long experiment they officially launched Wash My Ride– A social start-up which has organised vehicle wash procedure in such a way that use just 1% of water traditionally used to wash the vehicle and at the same time giving formal employment at large and thus focussing on water saving. They came up with a service and unique concept of waterless wash.
They clean the entire car in just a glass of water (250ml of water) and buses are cleaned in just 5 litres of water. This saves 99% of the water that is being currently used for daily washing. ‘It not only saves the water but keeps your vehicle body in a good condition’, claims co-founder Nimesh.
Although regular vehicle cleaning may sound like a luxury, in Nagpur it tends to be a necessity. Urban pollution and a generally dusty climate dictate the lifespan of pretty much anything that sets out on its roads. ‘It started out as solving a problem for ourselves’, they said.
They see expansion into their next market within the year. They want to take on Government Buses and Metro washing. As they feel the government will promote this cause, just consider bus statistics of Nagpur Municipal Corporation, there are around 600 odd buses which are being washed on a regular basis wasting around 300 thousand litres of water per day i.e. approx. 110 Million litres of water in a year.
Going by their innovation, the entire washing can be managed in just 1 Million litres of water, saving around 109 Million litres of water annually. This is just a scenario of Nagpur city buses. Now, just consider 18,515 Maharashtra State Buses (MSRTC) and the quantum of water is being wasted on them, to get even a larger picture consider the total number of public buses that are being operated in India. The water being wasted in washing them is unimaginable and alarming.
As global temperatures and droughts continue to increase water is becoming an even more precious and vital resource. Everyday activities, such as washing our cars, now present us with ethical dilemmas as we consider their impact on our environment and natural resources. Few people realize that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the un-friendliest environmental chores we can do around the house. This water is loaded with a brew of gasoline, oil, and residues from exhaust fumes as well as the harsh detergents being used for the washing itself. It eventually goes into rivers and streams where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks havoc on other ecosystems.
Eco-friendly small businesses deliver more than profits. But beyond the feel-good impact that comes with making the world a better place, environmentally conscious businesses cater to a rapidly growing market. Hopefully, these eco-friendly small business ideas excite us about the possibilities; not only for profit but the pleasure of running a business that helps people lead greener lives. It combines what we do with what we believe in. A value-led company is attractive to consumers, why not create one?
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