A Facebook post on a floral waste recycling venture in North India turned Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia into entrepreneurs. This idea developed into a force that led them to research on the prevalence of such operations in the South. They soon realised that nothing was really happening and that Hyderabad needed to get one unit of its own.
It is estimated that some 800 million tonnes of flowers, including roses and yellow marigolds, are offered across the temples, mosques, and gurudwaras in the country. To convert the same waste flowers into wealth, two friends, sensitive towards the environment, came together and founded ‘HolyWaste’, a company which recycles the floral discards into compost, incense sticks, and soaps.
“At present, we are engaged with four temples in the city, a few flower vendors in the vicinity of these temples, and a few vendors in flower markets like Gudimalkapur and Bowenpally. Efforts are in progress to sell the idea to more places of worship,” says Maya Vivek. The sustainable company employs unemployed rural and disadvantaged women. “There is indirect involvement of more women in raw and packaging material supplies. We plan to engage with institutions for the specially-abled to produce its packages. Such packages will be made using recycled paper,” adds Maya.
True to their ethos, their products are devoid of any chemical additives that are harmful and not necessary for the utility and efficacy of the product. They are child-safe, eco-friendly and natural.
They have a facility in Gundlapochampally near Kompally, where they procure tonnes of waste flowers from temples. “We approach places of worship and seek their permission in assessing their waste output and disposal methods. We then convince them to hand over their daily floral discards to us. Our collection team visits these places on scheduled days of the week and gets the waste to our unit,” explains Maya. “If the institution has a problem with keeping the waste aside, we provide them with drums to segregate the floral waste and keep it until we collect from them,” she adds. To take up the awareness campaign, they plan to partner with schools, governing boards of religious institutions, the GHMC, and various government agencies. “We are present on Facebook and Instagram as HolyWaste,” said Maya.
