As India embraces sustainability and a circular economy, innovative approaches to managing floral waste are making significant strides. The “Green Temples” initiative, which focuses on implementing composting pits in temples and involving temple trusts and self-help groups (SHGs) in recycling efforts, is creating substantial employment opportunities while promoting environmental preservation.
Outreach programs are educating priests and devotees about the harmful effects of dumping floral waste in rivers, encouraging the use of digital offerings or biodegradable materials instead of traditional flowers. This concept is being integrated into policies to transform temples into eco-friendly spaces, with the National Horticulture Board tracking and managing floral waste in green spaces like parks.
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Success stories across India highlight the effectiveness of these initiatives.
At Mahakaleshwar Temple
Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple, which sees 75,000 to 100,000 daily visitors, produces 5-6 tonne of waste daily. Specialized vehicles collect this waste, which is processed at a 3-tonne-per-day plant. Sixteen women from the Shiv Arpan SHG convert the waste into eco-friendly products. The Ujjain Smart City 2022 report notes that 2,200 tonne of floral waste have been treated to date, resulting in the production of over 30 million incense sticks.
At Siddhivinayak Temple
Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple, with 40,000 to 50,000 daily visitors, generates 120 to 200 kilograms of floral waste daily. The designer house ‘Adiv Pure Nature’ turns the temple’s discarded blooms into natural dyes for textiles. The collected waste, amounting to 1,000 to 1,500 kilograms weekly, is transformed into fabric yardage, garments, scarves, table linens, and tote bags by a team of artisans.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s agarbatti plant
Tirupati Municipal Corporation handles over 6 tonnes of floral waste daily from temples, which is upcycled into valuable products.
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The recycling efforts, managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Agarbatti plant, employ 150 women from SHGs. The products are packaged with recycled paper and plantable paper embedded with Tulsi seeds, ensuring a zero-carbon footprint.
Kanpur’s ‘Phool’
Kanpur-based Phool tackles the massive temple-waste problem by collecting 21 tonnes of floral waste weekly from cities like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Kanpur, and Badrinath. The waste is upcycled into incense sticks, cones, havan cups, and a leather alternative called ‘Fleather.’ Women employed by Phool enjoy a safe working environment, fixed salaries, and benefits such as provident fund, transportation, and healthcare.
Hyderabad’s HolyWaste
Hyderabad-based startup HolyWaste collects floral waste from 40 temples and markets to create eco-friendly products like fertilizers, incense sticks, scented cones, and soaps. Founded in 2018, HolyWaste prevents 1,000 kilograms of waste per week from clogging water bodies or rotting in landfills. In Delhi-NCR, Poonam Sehrawat’s startup Aaruhi collects floral waste from over 15 temples, recycling 1,000 kilograms of waste monthly. Sehrawat has trained over 3,000 women to create products from floral waste, earning her startup over Rs 2 lakh monthly.
These initiatives, supported by the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, demonstrate India’s commitment to a sustainable future by effectively managing floral waste, reducing carbon footprints, and fostering economic empowerment for women.
