Driven by its ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’: Focus is on recycling floral waste from temples across India, The campaign embraces jobs and sustainability.

As per an official note from the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs; the story of India’s floral waste revolution is a powerful testament to the impact of collaboration. Across the country, cities, startups, and various self-help groups are joining forces to create a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Temple waste recycling, driven by Swachh Bharat, is turning flowers into jobs and sustainability.

The benefits are multifaceted waste is diverted from landfills and waterways, creating a healthier environment, while women in particular gain meaningful employment through these initiatives. At the same time, innovation thrives giving discarded flowers a new lease on life.

Source: Pexels

Why Go Green?

The ‘Flower waste recycling business’ is helping to promote sustainable waste management techniques, lower methane emissions, and lessen the negative environmental effects of organic waste in landfills and water bodies.

Such companies frequently create compost, biofuel, organic fertilizers, and more from floral debris. This can improve soil fertility and plant development too.

One can recycle flower-waste by taking it from huge events, and social and religious ceremonies. In addition, this can create various kinds of jobs in the manufacturing and recycling sectors.

Flower petals can be used to make textiles like handbags and loafers. These can also be chemically processed and molded into biodegradable thermocols that are cheaper and more durable than conventional ones.

Flower waste can be used to make incense sticks and as a source for extracting essential oils. Thus it is boosting circularity in the economy.

The Temples Promoting Eco Friendly Practices

As dawn breaks, In India’s bustling city of Ujjain thousands of devotees make their way to the Mahakaleshwar Temple, offering vibrant flowers in a display of devotion. These flowers later on are discarded into rivers or dumped in landfills. 

Source: Singkham

While many might think a single handful of flowers wouldn’t create much harm. But, India is a country of more than a billion people, so imagine the effect.

It resonates with the mission of the “Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata” (4S) campaign, launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Running from September 17 to October 2, 2024, the campaign aligns with the annual “Swachhata Hi Seva” tradition, building up to Swachh Bharat Diwas on the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

By focusing on recycling floral waste from temples across India, the campaign embraces sustainability, turning what was once discarded into valuable resources.

The Mahalakaleshwar Temple

With its 75,000 to 100,000 daily visitors, produces an astounding 5-6 tonnes of floral waste each day. To tackle this, the temple introduced the ‘Pushpanjali Econirmit’ vehicles, which collect and transport floral waste to a 3-n-per-day processing plant.

The waste is transformed into organic products like compost, briquettes, and biofuels.

Women from the Shiv Arpan Self-Help Group (SHG) have taken the lead, crafting over 30 million incense sticks and other eco-friendly items. Their efforts have not only helped reduce the temple’s environmental footprint but have also provided stable employment opportunities for many.

Siddhivinayak Temple

The Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai faces a similar challenge with its 40,000 to 100,000 daily devotees. Floral offerings here range from 120 to 200 kilograms per day, which prompted ‘Adiv Pure Nature,’ a sustainable design house, to collaborate with the temple.

The company collects the waste thrice weekly, transforming it into natural dyes for textiles like scarves, garments, and linens. Utilizing a range of materials, from marigolds to coconut husks, this initiative showcases how temple waste can fuel artistic and ecological ventures. 

Startups revolutionizing Temple Waste Recycling

Phool

Trailblazer in the temple waste recycling space, a Kanpur-based “Phool” collects approximately 21 tonnes of floral waste each week across major cities like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, and Badrinath.

The company turns this waste into incense products and has also developed an innovative leather alternative- ‘Fleather’ earning accolades such as PETA’s Best Innovation Award.

Phool’s operations not only combat waste but also offer secure livelihoods to women who receive benefits such as healthcare, transportation, and provident funds.

In Hyderabad, Holy Waste is revamping the floral waste cycle through ‘Florjuvination’. This process turns flowers into soaps, incense sticks, and fertilizers.

By collecting waste from 40 temples and market areas, the startup ensures that over 1,000 kilograms of floral waste per week doesn’t end up polluting water bodies or landfills.

Aaruhi

Closer to the capital, a Delhi-based startup, “Aaruhi“, processes over 1,000 kilograms of floral waste from 15 temples monthly. This venture has trained more than 3,000 women to create eco-friendly products, generating significant income and fostering community development.

As such, from one part of India to the other, the recycling of floral waste is not just an environmental necessity, but a testament to the power of collective effort. These projects are transforming temple waste into valuable resources, creating jobs, and fostering ecological balance.

As India continues its journey towards sustainability, campaigns like Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) are accelerating this mission.