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Students for sustainability… Thryft founders Eddie Lim, Chow Jia Yu and Tan Ye Kai

Posted on December 15, 2021December 16, 2021 by dishanth

What started as a weekend passion project between friends, Thryft is now established as Singapore’s first sustainable online bookstore.

Thryft is an online site that allows people to trade in second-hand books in exchange for credits that can be spent on the platform. A group of students, Eddie Lim, Choy Jia Yu and Tan Ye Kai conceived the idea while studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The founders hope that by encouraging people to resell books and buy pre-loved ones, it will minimise waste. Old books gain a new lease of life while avid readers can create space for exciting new reads. Thryft has resold over 12,000 second-hand books since it began operating two years ago.

The platform uses algorithms to determine the trade-in value based on the current first-hand retail price, popularity and market saturation. Thryft’s community commitment operates on a 10, 50, and 100 per cent model. Ten per cent of their profits go to non-profit organisations on a quarterly basis to support tackling urgent environmental and social issues. Fifty per cent of their profits are donated to various social organisations. Non-profit organisations are able to list their books on the platform at no cost and take back 100 per cent of the profits from what they manage to sell.

Eco-Business sat down with the three bookworms to learn more about Thryft, their personal experiences in running a business, and the advice they would give to other budding entrepreneurs looking to make a name in the sustainability sphere.

Eddie: To add on to that, I don’t think many people know that we’re still students. Customers can be very demanding because they expect a full-time team to be behind Thryft. Even still, we try to be closely aligned to professional standards.

With the surge of e-books in recent years, why did you choose to focus on physical books?

Ye Kai: If you look at the statistics in the past five years or so, after the initial surge of e-books in 2014-2016, we saw a steady decline and instead it was more ‘trendy’ to have print books. In the United Kingdom alone, 200 million physical books were sold last year. But, where do all the books end up? That was an important question we wanted to answer.

Eddie: There’s also an alarming statistic that every Singaporean household has an average of 52 books. With over 1.3 million households, that’s over 68 million books just lying around. So what can we do about all these resources? According to data, the trend is still increasing. These are key questions that we are trying to address.

What are your thoughts on the sustainability scene in Singapore?

Jia Yu: There’s a growing urgency where people are beginning to realise there is a need to reduce their plastic usage. People are also looking for more sustainable options when they shop. Especially in the past three years, there are more brands offering sustainable clothing or household items. There are more secondhand stores too. It’s encouraging to see this mindset gain popularity.

Do you think that the Asian/Singaporean stigma towards second-hand items is changing?

Eddie: Unfortunately, there aren’t many statistics or a lot of data in Singapore. However, the largest online second-hand fashion retailer in the United States, ThredUp, has said that it is outgrowing the traditional retail market by 11 times. There’s a general acceptance of second-hand items, particularly by millennials who are slowly reaching the stage where they have purchasing power. In that sense, the trend is likely to continue. Although there aren’t many robust reports available here, there are many sustainability-focused businesses popping up, so it definitely carries on in Singapore as well.

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs looking to start a sustainable organisation like Thryft?

Jia Yu: One piece of advice would be to think about systems. Everything is interlinked and for us, because we’re trying to facilitate the movement of second-hand goods, our focus is placed on building a system that works for people. For entrepreneurs looking to start their own company, they should explore how their ideas can link systems together too.

You have to see meaning in what you do too. Owning a business is often difficult, and it’s very easy to get lost in all the operational or logistic challenges. Our motivation is making a circular economy of books within Singapore and Southeast Asia, as well as opening up opportunities for people who don’t have access to second-hand books. It helps push us and keeps us focused on what we’re really doing here.

Ye Kai: My advice is to be aware that you’re in it for the long term. Building a business doesn’t take one or two years, it’s more of a 10 year or more journey. A lot of people our age start with weekend projects just to see where it goes, but it’s important to keep the end in mind. When it shifts from a passion project to an actual business, that is when things get hard.

What does 2022 look like for Thryft?

Eddie: We started having monthly book fairs this year, but because of the pandemic it had to be switched from physical to virtual. Now that things have settled down, we are excited about hosting fairs again next year.

We also recently received the SG Eco Fund grant to run a sustainability fair. The idea is to host it a convention centre where like-minded vendors can set up booths and customers can bring items from their homes to trade them in. It’s a fun way for people who are quite new to sustainability to dip their toes in and try it out.

How did the idea for Thryft come about?

Eddie: I previously worked at a big data and Artificial Intelligence-related startup and I would get at least two cups of coffee every day. Three months into the job, I realised I had amassed over 100 cups. Just the thought of all those cups struck something in me; that an individual can make such a significant impact on the environment. That was when I started getting concerned about sustainability issues.

Our school has a small Facebook group where students can list and sell second-hand textbooks within the community. It got me thinking about what made this idea work compared to my own personal experience on public platforms (like Carousell) which are branded as marketplaces for buyers and sellers. The difference lies in the fact that all us students stay in the same student accommodation which offers great convenience. This allows us to move lower value goods easily and efficiently.

Trying to replicate this on large online marketplaces introduces inconveniences such as location and price negotiation. So, I began brainstorming ways to change the process of moving our pre-loved books quicker. By using data, we have created an algorithm that helps us arrive at a fair value for these second-hand books. This idea started out as a weekend project with friends, where we tested the first version of the algorithm to see how well we predicted prices. It continued from there.

Jia Yu: I started a thrift shop with a few friends when I started college in 2019 and we operated on a point system, whereby people could trade-in clothing for points depending on the quality of the donated item. One of the disadvantages I observed was that it was logistically and operationally challenging. For example, it is difficult to determine the actual value of the clothing, so even if someone traded in a high-end luxury item, it would be priced the same as a cheaper garment. When Eddie came to me with his algorithm, we realised we could help each other out.

What are some challenges you have faced growing this company?

Ye Kai: Aside from the obvious technical aspects that we had to learn, I would say our biggest challenge was just juggling work, school, and personal life. We are all still full-time students, and we started Thryft in Year 2. Trying to build a successful business forced us to learn how to better prioritise our responsibilities.

Source Eco Business

Green hydrogen: How half the water flushing a toilet could power your home for days

Posted on November 9, 2021 by dishanth

Emission-free hydrogen could, one day, entirely replace fossil fuels – and a start up in Germany believes it has the key ingredient to make it accessible to all.

Born in a climate-change affected South Pacific Island, Vaitea Cowan believes deeply in green hydrogen technology. She co-founded Enapter more than three years ago.

“I wanted to replace all the diesel generators in New Caledonia and all the remote areas that didn’t need to rely on dirty diesel, ” she says.

“But then realising the potential for green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels, I wanted to be part of this change.”

Green solutions will only be adopted if they are the most economically attractive. And that’s our mission at an after to make green hydrogen cost-competitive with fossil fuels.

Vaitea Cowan, Co-founder, Enapter

With headquarters in Germany, the company has deployed its ion exchange membrane electrolysers in over 100 projects across 33 countries. The technology turns renewable electricity into emission-free hydrogen gas.

Developed more quickly and cheaply than once thought possible, the AEM electrolyser already fuels cars and planes, powers industry and heats homes.

Enapter’s hydrogen generators have recently won Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in the ‘Fix Our Climate’ category.

What is green hydrogen?

Much of the planet’s hydrogen is locked up in water. So-called ‘green’ hydrogen is an emission-free way of extracting it. This extraction relies on renewable energy, which is used to power electrolysis. Electrolysis is the chemical process needed to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the water.

Extracting hydrogen this way has been facing criticism, because of its low efficiency and high cost. Enapter says, however, that their AEM Electrolyser solves these problems and provides a quick and easy way to produce green energy, even at home.

Half of the water used to flush a toilet can power a home for days

Enapter says its electrolyser uses about 2.4 litres of water to generate enough hydrogen for a couple’s home for several days.

However, the exact number of days depends on the power storage capacity. This amount of water is equal to half of the water used for flushing a toilet once (5 litres), and eight times less than the water consumption of a dishwasher (20 litres).

The Earthshot Prize will help Enapter to start mass production.

“The production site, we started to build six weeks ago, will go into mass production at the beginning of 2023”, says Vaitea.

By 2050, Enapter’s hopes to produce 10% of the world’s hydrogen.

Source euronews.green

Bengaluru Startup is Making 10,000 Straws a Day, All From Fallen Coconut Leaves

Posted on October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by dishanth

To reduce the negative impact on the environment, many businesses and individuals have switched to sustainable products. One such important switch has been using alternatives to plastic straws. Many restaurants across the country are now serving beverages with straws made from materials like paper, bamboo, wheat stubble, and metal.

Evlogia Eco Care, a Bengaluru-based startup founded in 2018, is one such organization making eco-friendly straws named ‘Kokos Leafy Straws’, made using dried coconut leaves.

“While the midrib that holds the coconut leaves are used to make brooms, the leaves are discarded as agricultural waste at the farms. The straws are made using those discarded leaves after they undergo an intense cleaning process,” says Manigandan Kumarappan, the founder of the startup.

How is the straw made?

The dried coconut leaves are procured from four farms located in Tamil Nadu – Palani, Dindigul, Madurai, and Ottanchathiram.

Here, women are employed in farms run by NGO-supported Self Help Groups. Each farm has a varying number of women who collect these leaves, wash them under running water, and dry them under the sun for a few days.

“The leaves are then sent across to the production unit in Bengaluru which is also the head office. Here, it undergoes a pressure-heating process which is a deep clean method. Using a machine developed in-house, the leaves are washed in 120 degrees celsius steam which helps to make them soft and roll them easily into straws.”

At the production unit, Manigandan has currently employed 15 women from the local neighborhood in Kanakapura who roll the leaves into straws.

Women making the straws at the Bangalore production unit.

“With the help of three in-house employees, we made a rolling machine which is like a sewing machine that helps to roll the leaves into straws. The device is powered manually by applying pressure from the feet. This helps to roll the leaves by maintaining the desired diameter of 3 millimeters,” he says.

Finally, using a cutting machine the straws are cut into a standard size of 8.25 inches. But, Manigandan says, if a customer places a bulk order, the size can be adjusted according to their requirement. The straw can be made in a size ranging from 4 inches to 12 inches. Based on the size the price varies from Rs.1.5 to Rs 3.

From preparing the raw material to packaging the final product, the work is entirely done by women. Manigandan claims the product can be kept in hot beverages for half an hour and cold beverages for up to 6 hours.

The inspiration behind the product

The founder, Manigandan has previously worked with several Multinational Companies. In 2016, he decided to leave the corporate life and become an entrepreneur. On that note, he started Tenco – a company that sells half-trimmed coconuts over e-commerce platforms.

“The product was delivered to the customer along with a plastic straw. But, some customers gave us feedback about the same and requested that we switch to a sustainable alternative. This made us think about what we could do, and soon we stumbled upon the idea of using coconut leaves which are the least used product from the tree,” says Mani adding that the leaves are sturdy, and can even pierce through tetra packs without bending.

Nakul Mysore Jayaram, the owner of World of Coffee Cafe in Chikmagalur has been using the product since September 2019. He says this straw is more versatile compared to paper straws which he used earlier to serve beverages.

“The coconut leaf straw is sturdy and does not get soggy like paper straws. Earlier customers used to complain about the paper straws and would request to replace it repeatedly or ask for a plastic one. But with the coconut leaf one we have had no complaints from the customers,” says Nakul.

About the startup

The company was founded in 2018 along with his wife Radha Manigandan. The duo raised seed investments supported by Hindustan Petroleum. In January 2019, the production of straws began with one employee which has now grown to 15 employees.

Earlier, the company was making 100 straws/ day, now, their capacity has increased to 10,000 in a day.

The founder Manigandan, co-founder Radha Manigandan, and the three engineers.

Manigandan says, “We had only a rolling machine to maintain the size of straws, but could not increase production capacity as the pressure-heating sterilization had to be done using a cooking grade pressure cooker. This could hold only a few leaves at a time, and the process took 50-60 minutes. Three months ago, we introduced the pressure-heating machine which was made in-house with the help of three engineers who are interns turned full-time employees. Though this machine takes the same time to sterilize the leaves, it can hold a larger capacity and help to produce 10,000 straws in one day.”

Currently, the straws are being distributed across Canada, UAE, Germany, USA, and a handful of restaurants in Bangalore. Apart from straws, the startup has also ventured into making air-tight food containers from Areca leaves.

If you wish to place an order for the straws, you can contact the startup through their website.

By ROSHINI MUTHUKUMAR

Source: The Better India

Singapore startup claims breakthrough in Lithium-ion battery recycling

Posted on August 10, 2020August 12, 2020 by dishanth

A Singapore-based startup claims to have found a solution to the world’s electronic waste problem—a new way to recycle the rechargeable batteries that power portable electronics and electric vehicles.

The company, called Green Li-ion, says its technology can recycle Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries much faster than conventional processes, using less energy and producing less waste. It is touted as the only technology in the world capable of fully recovering the precious metals in the cathode component of batteries.

Green Li-ion says its GLMC-1 system could be a game-changer for electronics manufacturers and the energy storage industry, which faces a looming waste crisis and increasing scrutiny from regulators.

Some two million metric tonnes of Li-ion battery waste is projected to be generated annually by 2030 as demand for portable gadgets and electric cars balloons.

The lifespan of Li-ion batteries is typically one to three years, and 95 per cent of portable power packs end up in landfill as flammable toxic waste that can contaminate soil and groundwater.

Though recyclable, Li-ion batteries are difficult and expensive to recycle, and the electronics industry has focused on extending battery life and charge capacity rather than recyclability.

Green Li-ion’s technology can recover precious metals two to three times faster than conventional recycling methods and produce recycled content that is freer of impurities.

Typically, electronics recyclers need to ship battery waste to Japan, the global hub for the battery industry, where the precious metals are separated and recovered. Green Li-ion’s technology uses a chemical process that does not separate out the metals, so the raw material can be re-used in a fraction of the time.

The chemical process used is a special form of co-precipitation, a method for refining chemicals.

The technology is also unique in that it can handle various types of Li-ion batteries, so no sorting is required.

The GLMC-1 system increases the efficiency of battery recycling by more than 200 per cent with a carbon footprint that is eight times lower than if the raw materials were mined, its developers say.

An individual machine can process two tonnes of spent batteries a day, costs in the region of US$2 million and takes around six months to install.

The technology was developed by Dr Reza Katal, who graduated from the National University of Singapore with a doctorate in environmental engineering in 2016, and co-founded Green Li-ion in February this year.

It is backed by NUS Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, who chairs the university’s Circular Economy Taskforce. He said the system is noteable for driving recycling efficiency and lowering the carbon footprint of recycling technologies.

Green Li-ion raised US$400,000 in pre-seed funding from investors including incubator Entrepreneur First, and says it is in talks with a number of e-recyclers in Singapore to get its machines up and running.

“We’re modest but ambitious,” Green Li-ion co-founder Leon Farrant told Eco-Business. “We want to have three machines deployed in 2021. And we want to sell 93 machines by 2025, which would cover all of the world’s major recycling locations globally.”

Farrant said that he hopes to have a machine operational in Singapore ahead of the introduction of a planned extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme next year, which makes electronics manufacturers responsible for the collection and recycling of their products after they’ve been used.

By Robin Hicks

Source: Eco-business