Raddi means waste paper. The Rekhta dictionary defines the raddiwala as a buyer of old and useless newspapers and magazines. The kabadiwala buys scrap of other kinds from homes.
The People’s Archive of Rural India followed one such buyer. “From the houses he visits, Das buys paper, including newspapers, at Rs. 8 per kilo,” it reported, “and sells it for Rs. 9-9.50 per kilo at the scrap shops.”