Upcycling

From making miniature models with scrap metal as a child to creating stunning global art, Deval Verma champions creativity and sustainability with his upcycled masterpieces. See how he's turning waste into art that is gaining recognition worldwide.

From agriculture to IT and education, these organisations are tackling waste with innovation — turning coconut shells into battery materials, banana waste into eco-products, and plastic into furniture — while cutting costs and reducing environmental footprints.

In 2021, three college friends Jagat Kalyan, Satyam Kumar, and Nitish Verma launched Taruwar Agro to make banana fibre folder, yoga mats, baskets, paintings, coasters, and more. Following a zero-waste approach, they process all parts of trees – from leaves to stems and pulp – into useful products.

While working on rebuilding a run-down factory into a convention centre in Kochi, Koshy P Koshy came across discarded Mangalore tiles and steel frames. He decided to repurpose and upcycle them to build a sustainable office building, which he named Koshish.

Ghaziabad homemaker Ruchi Goel has employed her artistic prowess to nurture a beautiful home garden with over 1,000 ornamental plants and flowers, and upcycles regular household junk to create a lush paradise.

Designer Anshika Yadav quit her job to launch Let’s Save As, a sustainable fashion brand that upcycles waste fabric into chic clothing, bags and more, preventing this environmental hazard from entering landfills.

Kerala resident Leelamma Mathew upcycles used milk packets into decorative items and household objects like furniture, bags, purses, and more.

Utopia Farmstay in Nashik has all the ingredients of an eco-friendly home. Adwait and Uttara Kher share more on how they left their jobs to live a sustainable life.

Delhi-based Divya Sijwali and Parth Puri launched Tyron, a footwear brand made entirely of recycled tyres that they ship throughout India and the USA and South Africa

Solar panels are notoriously difficult to recycle and end up in landfills. This has a severe impact on your health and the environment. However, a team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru is exploring whether old discarded solar panels can be reused as building material.