Interview with Martin Trolf, CEO wastebox Germany
Why was wastebox started? What was the initial situation?
The project was initiated in 2015 by two employees of Saubermacher AG, one of the leading waste management companies in Austria. The initiators, who originally came from the software industry, observed that particularly in construction site waste disposal, digital structures were thoroughly expandable at that time. First, a small group of experts were assembled to give the project a form. This gave rise to the idea of the platform technology. After the first pilot project, the company was soon spun off as an independent company, “pink robin GmbH”, with the sole project wastebox. The team of young software developers and sales people deliberately decided not to link too closely with the classic waste industry. The ties to the parent company gave them the necessary kick start to consolidate the new business model. Wastebox rapidly became a market-leading construction site disposal company in Austria.
What is your vision as a company?
To optimise and digitalise the disposal processes of construction and recycling companies in order to help our customers and make an important contribution to our environment.
Who are the customers? What do they need and how do you help?
With 30%, construction waste is the largest waste fraction in Europe. Moreover, the waste industry is an extremely fragmented market, with thousands of construction companies and disposal companies, which is both uncoordinated and non-transparent. This is why we have deliberately chosen this sector. While in Austria our customer group consists mainly of construction site managers, responsible persons in charge of disposal and dispatchers, in Germany we mainly work with large dealers and retail chains. The main requirement of all customers is to minimise efforts. When a large construction company has a large number of conversions per year, they are grateful if they don’t have to communicate with hundreds of dispatchers, but can handle everything through one central contact person. In other words, the organisation of waste should be as simple, clean and certified as possible.
With our digital platform, with which we can network customers and suppliers quickly and easily, we want to remedy this situation. The platform also offers all the advantages of a modern online service, for example communication in real time, complete transparency and key figures at the touch of a button. In addition, we have integrated a B2C online shop for end customers in the classic way. For example, if you want to clear out your cellar, you can order a container from our shop and have it delivered to your home. However, the real focus is on customers in the construction industry, who often prefer a more personal approach. For this reason we also have the classic sales department. We present the digital products to our customers personally or offer training for employees.
What makes your offer different from others in your field? Which role does digitalisation play?
Although waste management is an important issue with strict legal regulations, in practice it is often the last priority. This is compounded by legal and regulatory frameworks that complicate the whole process. What digitisation clearly enhances here is transparency and reduced effort. Basically, our offer consists of a combination of several digital services. From waste reports, which can be called up in real time and used for reportings to governmental bodies, to cost overviews per construction site or the online shops, many gadgets are included. The app is self-explanatory and works automatically, which means an enormous time saving for our customers.
And how do environment and society benefit?
The cooperation with regional partners and intelligent logistics enable us to plan the route of the trucks very flexibly. Concretely, this means that in bigger cities our system enables us to separate setting up and picking up containers , for example a container does not have to be picked up again by the same disposal company. We were able to prove that 20-30% of the route and the associated carbon emissions can be saved. In addition, since 1 January, 2020, the unavoidable climate-damaging factor of truck transports has been compensated for through an afforestation project in North Gondar (Ethiopia) in order to reduce the carbon footprint of these journeys. As a result, our transport is CO2 neutral. In the future we definitely want to start more projects of this kind.
(Video in German)
What has helped to keep the offer successfully on the market?
First of all, a platform is a business model with the purpose of enabling interaction. Network effects boost this business model. The fact that we were able to draw on an already well-developed network of Saubermacher AG was like a “spinning wheel” that gave the whole project a kick start. You can of course also start out as a classic small start-up, then you just need more patience.
When it comes to internationalisation, it also helps us to identify national players in waste management in the respective market who want to collaborate with us. It simply requires the “local know-how” and knowledge of regulatory, legal boundaries to establish a business in a new market in the long term. In Germany and France, the waste industry is huge, while at the same time we have already been able to establish good networks there. However, fragmented markets can be found all over Europe and consequently there is a need for such solutions. Whether the local disposal industry is ready is another question.
What are you particularly proud of as a young company?
We are particularly proud of our team, which has existed from the beginning and developed the system. We all pull together and are constantly developing the product further. Besides, we are proud of the fact that we have been able to achieve such a great success in Austria, which ultimately led to the initiative for the launch in France and Germany.
If you were a politician with high decision-making powers for one day, what would you change first and why?
I think that there is still a lack of incentive systems for industry to really reduce waste and to step into circular economy models. Take an example: instead of transporting our containers with for example, bricks to a disposal site, our system could direct it to a brick manufacturer recycling and reusing the material. In addition, the construction company which orders this container for its site receives in return a subsidy or does not have to pay the full disposal price. This would be an innovative approach toward closing the cycle. However, from an economic perspective, such visions are often not feasible. Then it should be considered whether it is generally not possible or whether one attempts to start this system with the help of subsidies or support programmes. Without federal support it is difficult to make a difference in this area.
What is your key message in a half sentence?
Wastebox is innovative because it transforms waste disposal logistics in the construction site sector.
