Ashaya

About Ashaya

Ashaya is a social enterprise founded by Anish Malpani in Pune, India, in 2021. After a career in finance in the US, Malpani was motivated to create a business with a social impact, leading to the creation of Ashaya. The company's name is a Sanskrit word meaning 'abode of the heart' or 'intention'.

Ashaya focuses on increasing the value of waste, particularly multi-layered plastic (MLP) packaging like chip packets, which are difficult to recycle and often end up in landfills. The company developed a proprietary, patent-pending technology that uses chemical and mechanical processes to recycle this complex waste into high-quality materials. This process separates the layers of MLP to extract materials like polyolefins and PET monomers, which are then compounded into durable recycled polymers.

The company's first consumer product, launched under the brand name 'Without', is a line of sunglasses made from recycled chip packets. Ashaya also produces other items like coasters and is developing B2B materials that are fully circular. The business model is centered on creating premium products to generate revenue, which allows the company to invest in its social mission. A key part of this mission is empowering and integrating waste-pickers into the formal economy. Ashaya partners with collectives like SWaCH Pune, purchasing MLP waste from them at fair prices and offering better working conditions, thereby improving their livelihoods.

Ashaya's long-term vision is to establish decentralized recycling centers across India to process various types of municipal solid waste and formalize the informal waste-picking sector. The company was recognized as an ISC3 Start-up of the Month in May 2023 and was inducted into the Marico Innovation Foundation's Scale-Up program in March 2024 to support its research, factory design, and growth.