How One Indian Startup Is Tackling The Problem Of Floral Waste

India is home to the largest Hindu population in the world.  In a country which does not shy away from showing devotion, religion plays a very important role in the lives of people.  The Ganges river is venerated as a goddess and people living along its banks never fail to offer their prayers to her. The River is dotted with innumerable temples as well.  Almost every person visiting the temple or the Ganga, to perform any religious activity, offers flowers during the process. With the amount of flowers which just go into waste after a single use, it contributes heavily to pollution.  Phool, a Kanpur based startup founded by Ankit Agarwal, aims to address this problem and turn it into a sustainable business model.  

The problem

The flowers used in temples and mosques are often for just one time use and people do not have an idea about how to dispose them off since the flowers acquire a devotional aspect to them.  They cannot discard them in the trash as it seems like an affront to the deity, so they either leave them under trees or throw them in the River. This is where Phool comes in with a solution.

The solution

Phool solved this problem by collecting the floral waste, recycling it and converting it into incense sticks, incense cones and vermicompost.  They made the whole process sustainable and a zero emission activity. This is not all they do. Phool also identifies and empowers women manual scavengers by providing them with a job and access to a bank account, health insurance, toilets and clean drinking water.

The products

Floral petals are dried and used as raw materials for making incense sticks, soaps and vegan leather.  They also created compostable packaging made from tulsi, seeds and ink made from vegetable dyes. Customers can dispose off the packaging and it will grow into a sapling.  They can upload a picture of it by scanning a QR code on the packaging, which will let them avail a discount on their next purchase. 

Phool aims to provide jobs to 5,100 women and recycle 51 tonnes of floral waste daily by 2021.

Phool currently recycles 8.4 tonnes of floral waste from temples in Uttar Pradesh on a daily basis.  This is a startup which aims at making a meaningful impact while empowering the lives of their people.  While the world is slowly realizing the importance of sustainable development goals, this startup has already started practising them.