From temple flowers to plastic waste, these Indian innovations are transforming everyday trash into valuable products, creating jobs and a greener future.
Phool.co, founded in 2015 by Ankit Agarwal and Shivani Srivastava, converts temple‑flower waste into incense sticks, compost & plant‑based leather.
They collect temple flowers, dry and powder them, blend natural binders, and craft incense or ferment the petals to create compost and plant-based, feather.
Founded in 2020 by Nandan Bhat, EcoKaari transforms single-use plastic waste into handwoven, eco-friendly fabric and products — giving discarded plastic a second life while supporting rural artisans.
EcoKaari collects, cleans, and dries plastic wrappers, cuts them into strips, then spins and hand-weaves them on a charkha with no chemicals or machines, turning waste into durable fabric.
Without by Ashaya, founded in 2020 in Pune, turns “unrecyclable” plastic like chip packets into valuable materials, creating dignified jobs for waste-pickers and driving a circular economy.
Using patented tech, Without by Ashaya de-metalises multi-layer plastic, separates polymers, and turns this waste into high-quality materials, including sunglasses made from MLP.
econscious was founded in 2020 by Sonal Shukla & Vaibhav Verma. It transforms post‑consumer plastic into eco‑boards and furniture, turning waste plastic into functional home & public‑space products.
Econscious collects, cleans, and sorts plastic, turns it into flakes, then compresses them into strong eco-boards used to craft benches, planters, furniture, and more.
Carbon & Whale, founded in 2022 by Siddharth A K, Alvin George and Sooraj Varma in Kochi, turns coastal and city plastic waste into durable furniture and modular public products.
They collect beach and urban plastic waste, sort and shred it, then melt it into sturdy modular tiles that are assembled into benches, stools, and other functional pieces.