The Daily Dump is a growing recycling business started by Poonam Bir Kasturi in Bangalore, India in 2006. In just four years, the Daily Dump has helped enable over 4,500 customers in Bangalore to compost household waste in terra cotta pots that are sold by the Daily Dump. For most of these customers it was probably their first foray into large-scale recycling, as 25-30 kilograms of organic waste each month reduces to 3 kilograms of compost, which can then be used as fertilizer. Poonam and her staff of about 10 call this method “agri-composting” which is a specifically urban solution. The company’s focus has now expanded to include city schools as customers, adding a critical educational aspect to the business.
The Daily Dump is a unique endeavor for several reasons. The company offers a woman-owned business model for other entrepreneurs interested in improving the environment and using ethical commercial practices. In addition, the Daily Dump has helped launch other “clones” who use the same or very similar pot design and composting methods. There are no patents, no royalties, no copyrights, trademarks, or intellectual property lawsuits, and the company does not profit off of the clones. Moreover, Kasturi and her team actively assist the fast followers by sharing technical specifications and advice at no cost. At this time there are 15 clones in India, one of which was established in Bangalore itself, and others in Chile, Brazil, and Florida.
Foreign Policy Digest is pleased to have conducted an interview with Ms. Kasturi on August 3rd 2010 as a follow-up to the interview with Marco Steinberg of the Helsinki Design Lab, which completed an extensive academic study of the Daily Dump. We would like to thank PR Collaborative for facilitating this interview, excerpted below.
Foreign Policy Digest, through the gracious assistance of PR Collaborative, was granted an interview with Marco Steinberg, Director of Strategic Design at the Helsinki Design Lab. During our June 15 phone interview, Mr. Steinberg helped explain how strategic design is shaping how our governments deliver services in a leaner, more efficient way.
Richard Stratford is Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Safety, and Security in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State. He has had a long career in public service, working on nuclear policy and diplomacy. On June 14, Stratford was recognized with the 2010 Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award jointly presented by the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) for his outstanding contributions to nuclear energy both in the United States and abroad. 
