5 Indian Startups Redefining How Waste is Managed in Cities

Much of the waste we produce ends up in landfills and oceans, threatening human and marine health. Here are five startups that are redefining how waste is managed in the country:

Nirmalaya: Once offered in religious institutions, flowers are disposed of by being thrown into rivers. The pesticides and chemical fertilisers used to grow these flowers pollute the water, making it highly toxic.

A CA dropout and lawyer by profession, Bharat Bansal of Delhi co-founded Nirmalaya to recycle floral waste into organic incense sticks, cones, and havan (consecrated fire ritual) cups. He works with over 300 temples in the city and recycles up to 500 tonnes of floral waste annually.

Thaely: Ashay Bhave started ‘Thaely’, an ethical shoe brand, to make shoes from a leather-like fabric he developed using plastic bags, bottles, and rubber.

The brand recycles 10 plastic bags and 15 plastic bottles to make one pair of shoes. The 24-year-old has upcycled over 1.7 lakh plastic carry bags and 1.5 lakh discarded plastic bottles so far.

Ashaya: With the startup, Anish Malpani is turning multi-layered plastic waste into trendy sunglasses. This type of plastic waste is notorious for being one of the most common but the least recycled.

Starting early this year in 2023, Ashaya got over 500 orders. They have recycled 265 kg of plastic to produce these sunglasses.

Jaggery Bags: Gurugram’s Gautam Malik runs a sustainable startup that converts discarded and old cargo belts and car seat belts into sophisticated, fashionable and eco-friendly bags.

So far, he has recycled more than 4,000 m of old and used car seat belts and over 900 m of cargo seat belts.

Karma Recycling: To find a better way to reduce e-waste, two friends, Aamir Jariwala and Akshat Ghiya, started Karma Recycling — a company that buys old mobile phones and sells repaired or refurbished ones at much cheaper rates.

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