Abhishek Gupta didn’t always imagine himself in the waste management industry. His story began in 2014 when he was an undergraduate student at IIIT Jabalpur, participating in the Indian Government’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission. The mission aimed to clean up the streets and waste systems across India, and it was there that Abhishek first noticed how serious the waste problem was.
“To be honest, I had no plans to work in waste management,” said Abhishek. The turning point came two years later when Abhishek saw something that stuck with him—a man urinating at IIT Delhi’s wall, even though there was a nearby public toilet. “It bothered me because there was a clean toilet right there. I thought, maybe he didn’t know it was there, or maybe it was unhygienic,” he recalled. This sparked an idea: what if technology could help solve this problem?
Abhishek reached out to his friend Abhinav, and together they developed an app to help people locate public toilets and waste bins. “We wanted to do something simple, something that would make everyday life easier and cleaner,” said Abhishek. But what started as a small project quickly turned into a mission to change waste management across India.
Building the Solution
In 2018, Abhishek and Abhinav officially founded WeVois Labs, a waste management company dedicated to cleaning cities and creating sustainable solutions. They began their operations in Sikar, Rajasthan, as the headquarters.
The solution has seen some positive feedback. For instance, in Sikar, the waste collection was disorganised and incomplete. “When we started, only about 50 to 60 per cent of the waste was being collected,” said Abhishek.
Through persistent efforts, including training sanitation workers and deploying their technology, the duo raised the city’s waste collection rate to 100 per cent. “We saw the change happening right before our eyes. People started to segregate their waste, and it was a huge breakthrough for us,” said Abhishek.
Job Creation
Today, WeVois Labs employs 1,200 sanitation workers and serves over three million people. It has operations across 15 cities. “We want to be in 30 cities by the end of the year, and 300 cities in three years,” said Abhishek.
Countering Challenges with Solutions
One of the biggest challenges WeVois Labs faced was working with sanitation workers, many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds with little or no formal education. “These workers are the backbone of our operations. But they have their own challenges—most of them want to be paid daily, and they have limited skills,” said Abhishek.
By understanding their needs and providing them with the tools to do their jobs better, WeVois Labs has not only improved waste collection but also changed the lives of its employees. “Many of our workers have seen their incomes rise by 50 to 60 per cent and they are now able to provide better lives for their families,” said Abhishek. “Some are even building their own homes for the first time.”
In addition to financial improvements, WeVois Labs is focused on upskilling its workers. “We’re teaching them new skills that go beyond just collecting trash. They’re learning how to manage waste, understand recycling, and even use technology,” Abhishek explains. The company aims to give sanitation workers dignity and a path to a better future, while making the cities they work in cleaner and healthier.
Moreover, working with different municipal authorities, each with its own rules and expectations, posed an obstacle. “Every city has a different waste management model. Scaling our operations to fit different municipalities is one of our biggest challenges,” said Abhishek. However, by tailoring its core waste management system to fit local requirements, WeVOIS Labs has successfully navigated these challenges.
Another significant obstacle is the public’s lack of awareness regarding the importance of waste segregation. “People in India are still not fully aware of the problems improper waste management can cause,” Abhishek laments. But he remains hopeful. ”We are continuously trying every day. Awareness programmes are key, and we are already seeing changes in behaviour,” he added.
Harnessing Technology
At the heart of WeVois Labs’ success is its innovative use of technology. Abhishek and his team have developed a platform that functions much like the ride-hailing apps used by millions worldwide. Each sanitation worker has a smartphone with a GPS-based app that guides them to every household and waste bin they need to visit. “This way, we make sure no household is missed,” Abhishek explains.
The data collected by these apps is also shared with municipal authorities, allowing them to monitor progress and ensure accountability. “The authorities can track everything in real time—how many homes have been visited, how much waste has been collected, and where there are gaps,” said Abhishek.
