Short answer: an e-waste collection drive in a housing society works best as one morning, one team and one spot in the compound, with every flat weighed and paid separately. The secretary’s job is small: get the committee to agree a date, forward one notice, and tell the collector which flats have heavy items. Everything else, from weighing to payment to the certificate, should sit with the collector. Book by 4 November 2026 and you can hold the drive before Dhanteras.
- Why a society drive beats 40 separate kabadiwala visits
- The four steps, from committee approval to certificate
- What residents can bring, and what to keep out
- Handling old phones and laptops safely
- Drive-day setup in the compound
- Questions secretaries usually get from residents
Why run one drive for the whole building
In the last two weeks before Diwali, the same thing happens in every Mumbai society. One flat calls a raddiwala on Tuesday, another calls someone else on Thursday, a third leaves an old CRT TV near the lift for “someone” to take. The watchman is asked to let in five different people, nobody knows what anyone was paid, and the e-waste that nobody buys ends up in the dry waste bin.
A single society drive fixes most of this. Residents bring things down on one morning, everything is weighed in the open, every flat gets the same rates, and the society gets one record of what left the building.
It also matters for the e-waste. India generated an estimated 1.751 million tonnes of e-waste in 2023-24, according to figures given in the Rajya Sabha in December 2024, and only about 43% of it was processed.
Source: Down To Earth, “India’s e-waste surges by 73% in 5 years”, 17 December 2024, reporting data presented in the Rajya Sabha by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The same report quotes the Centre for Science and Environment on where the gap is:
“The recycling rate for e-waste remains low”Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager, Centre for Science and Environment, in Down To Earth, 17 December 2024
Most of the old chargers, phones and remote controls in a building never reach a recycler because there’s no easy moment to hand them over. A drive creates that moment.
E-waste collection drive in a housing society: the four steps
Here’s the whole process on one page.
Step 1: Get the committee to fix a date
You don’t need a general body meeting for this. A message in the committee group is usually enough: the drive is free for the society, residents are paid for what they give, and it takes one morning in the compound. Agree on three things:
- A date. A Saturday or Sunday morning gets the most flats. Weekends before Diwali fill up fast, so pick a first and second choice.
- A spot. A corner of the compound or the stilt parking area near the gate, with room for a table, a scale and a vehicle.
- A point person. Usually the secretary or a volunteer who can answer residents’ questions on the day.
Then send the collector your society name, area and number of flats. With us, that’s one WhatsApp message, and we confirm the date. If your building is small, ask whether a neighbouring society can join the same morning.
Step 2: Share the notice
A drive is only as good as its turnout. Put a poster on the notice board and forward a short message in the residents’ WhatsApp group the same day you book. For our housing society Diwali drive, we send the notice and poster when you book, with a QR code residents can use to pre-register what they’re clearing.
Pre-registration helps everyone. It tells the team roughly how much is coming, which flats have a fridge or washing machine that needs carrying down, and whether the drive should be split over two days.
Step 3: Let flats get ready
Give residents four or five days. Point them to three simple jobs:
- Sort into piles: raddi, metal and utensils, e-waste, and big appliances.
- Sign out of old devices: Google or Apple account, WhatsApp, UPI apps. More on this below.
- Flag heavy items on the pre-registration, so the team can collect them from the flat.
If anyone asks how raddi is priced, our guide to the raddi rate per kg in Mumbai explains why sorted, dry paper gets a better rate.
Step 4: Drive day: weigh, pay, certify
On the morning, the team sets up a table and a digital scale at the spot you chose. Each family brings their items down, watches them being weighed, and is paid in cash or UPI before going back up. Heavy items are collected from the flat. A mid-sized society is usually done in a morning, and larger ones can be split over two days. After the drive, the society gets a Green Diwali certificate with the total collected, for the notice board.
What residents can bring
Most of what comes out of a Mumbai loft at Diwali has value. This is what a society drive usually sees, and how each kind of item is handled:
| What residents bring | Examples | How it’s handled | Tip for residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raddi and cartons | Newspapers, old textbooks, festive-sale boxes | Weighed by type, paid by weight | Keep it dry; flatten boxes |
| Metal and utensils | Brass, copper, steel and aluminium bartan, old pressure cookers | Weighed metal by metal | Keep copper and brass in their own bag |
| Small e-waste | Phones, chargers, cables, remote controls, routers | Weighed or counted; storage wiped or destroyed | Sign out of accounts first |
| Computers | Laptops, desktops, monitors, printers, hard disks | Checked per piece; data wiped or destroyed | Bring chargers if you have them |
| Big appliances | Fridge, washing machine, TV, cooler, window AC | Collected from the flat, working or not | Flag it on the pre-registration |
| Batteries and wires | Inverter batteries, UPS, old wiring, extension boards | Weighed; sent to authorised recyclers | Don’t open or drain batteries |
What to keep out: wet waste, food packaging, broken glass, expired medicines and anything that belongs to the society itself (old society furniture or fittings need a committee decision first). The full list of 69 items we take is on the Diwali scrap pickup page.
Metal is where most of the money is. Residents can check that day’s copper, brass and aluminium rates on our live scrap rates page before the drive, so nobody is guessing.
Old phones and laptops: the part residents worry about
The first question at most drives is “what happens to my data?” It’s a fair question. An old phone in a drawer still has photos, chats and banking apps on it. Tell residents to do two things before the drive: back up anything they want, and sign out of their Google or Apple account and WhatsApp. If a device doesn’t switch on, they can still bring it.
At our drives, devices with storage are wiped or physically destroyed and recorded on each family’s certificate. If residents want to sell a working phone or laptop separately, our page on selling old phones and laptops explains how those are checked and priced.
This also helps with the rules. India’s E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 are built around getting e-waste to registered producers, refurbishers and recyclers, and bulk consumers must hand theirs only to registered players (overview by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, April 2023). For a society, the simplest way to stay on the right side of that is one collector who sends material through authorised recyclers and gives you a certificate.
This Better India video shows how a group of Mumbai citizens kept 12,866 kg of e-waste out of the garbage:
Video: The Better India, “Mumbai Citizens Efforts Saved 12,866 kg of E-waste, a Trip to the Garbage Unit”.
Drive-day setup: a short checklist for the secretary
- Tell the watchman the date, the time and the vehicle that’s coming.
- Keep the spot clear the evening before: no parked two-wheelers in the way.
- Post a reminder in the WhatsApp group the night before and at 9 am.
- Have the list of heavy items ready, with flat numbers, so the team can go up in order.
- Stay out of the money. Each family is paid directly. The society office shouldn’t hold cash or anyone’s scrap.
- Collect the certificate and put it on the notice board. It’s the easiest way to get more flats next year.
Separate kabadiwalas vs one society drive
| Each flat calls its own kabadiwala | One society drive | |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination | Many visits, many people at the gate | One date, one team |
| Weighing | Inside the flat, often a hand scale | Digital scale in the compound, in front of the family |
| Rates | Different for every flat | Same rates for every flat |
| E-waste | Often refused, or ends up in the bin | Taken, with storage wiped or destroyed |
| Heavy items | Bargained separately | Collected from the flat |
| Record | None | Certificate for the society |
This Better India episode shows an apartment society’s model for segregation and recycling that other buildings can copy, and a Diwali drive is a good first step towards it:
Video: The Better India, “The Waste Management Model Every Indian Apartment Society Can Copy | Solved in India”.
Timing it before Diwali
Dhanteras is on Friday, 6 November 2026 and Lakshmi Puja on Sunday, 8 November. That leaves one clear weekend, 31 October and 1 November, for most societies. To get a drive in before Dhanteras, book by 4 November.
If your society misses the window, a drive after Diwali works just as well, and it catches the TVs, phones and appliances replaced in the festive sales. Flats that can’t wait can book a home pickup on their own; our Diwali cleaning guide covers what to sell, recycle or throw room by room, and the old appliances page covers fridges, ACs and washing machines.
Customers who’ve used the service tend to mention the same thing:
“Doorstep pick up of the e-waste and its disposal was easy and proper.”Komal, Google review of National Recycling
How to book a society drive with National Recycling
- WhatsApp us your society name, area, number of flats and a preferred date.
- We confirm the date and send the notice, poster and pre-registration QR code.
- On drive day we set up in the compound, weigh each flat’s items on a digital scale and pay each family in cash or UPI before we leave.
- After the drive the society gets a certificate with the total collected.
It’s free for the society, across Mumbai and Thane. Full details are on the society scrap drive page.
Book your society’s Diwali drive
Free for the society, across Mumbai and Thane. Better rates than your local kabadiwala, every flat weighed on a digital scale in front of them, cash or UPI before we leave, and a certificate for the society.
Book a drive on WhatsAppSee everything we pick upReplacing a fridge before Diwali? Our guide on how to sell an old fridge in Mumbai explains how working, not-cooling and scrap fridges are valued.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a charge for a housing society e-waste collection drive?
No. The drive is free for the society, and each family is paid for what they give.
How many flats does a society need for a drive?
Tell us your society size and we’ll plan around it. Smaller buildings can join with a neighbouring society on the same morning.
Does the secretary have to collect money or keep scrap?
No. Each family’s items are weighed in front of them and they are paid directly, in cash or UPI. The society doesn’t handle money or store anyone’s items.
What happens to phones and laptops given at the drive?
Devices with storage are wiped or destroyed and recorded on each family’s certificate. Residents should back up their data and sign out of their accounts first.
Can heavy appliances be collected from the flat?
Yes. Fridges, washing machines, ACs and other heavy items are collected from the flat. Flag them on the pre-registration so the team can plan.
When should we book a society drive before Diwali?
Book by 4 November 2026 for a drive before Dhanteras on 6 November. Lakshmi Puja is on 8 November, and weekend slots fill up first.
Sources
- Down To Earth: India’s e-waste surges by 73% in 5 years (17 December 2024)
- Mondaq / Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas: E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, an overview (April 2023)
- National Recycling: live scrap rates
- The Better India: Mumbai Citizens Efforts Saved 12,866 kg of E-waste (video)
- The Better India: The Waste Management Model Every Indian Apartment Society Can Copy (video)