Waste to Wealth: How circular economy on the rise in India

Amid rising pressure on businesses to optimise resources and reduce waste, Hyderabad-based start-up Elima is emerging as a key player in the circular economy space. The company operates a unified recommerce and recycling platform that extends product lifecycles and streamlines waste management through technology-driven solutions.

In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Co-Founder and CEO Abhishek Agashe said,“future manufacturing will rely largely on over-the-ground material reserves rather than conventional mining, requiring long-term investment in infrastructure to recover value from diverse waste streams.

For this it requires companies and start-ups who are ready to play the long game and build physical and digital infrastructure and technologies to collect, store, transport and refine these raw materials through various waste streams such as electronics, plastics packaging, batteries, paper and paper products and base metals.”

What inspired Elima’s vision to build a circular economy ecosystem in India?

Elima was founded on a simple but powerful belief: the resources needed to build the future already exist above the ground. As India’s cities expanded, so did the volume of waste, especially electronic waste, highlighting the environmental and economic cost of repeatedly extracting virgin raw materials.

Elima saw an opportunity to challenge this linear model. Instead of materials being discarded after use, the goal was to recover, reuse, and reintroduce them into the economy. While the journey began with e-waste, the larger ambition was always to build a scalable ecosystem where circularity is practical, commercially viable, and aligned with India’s industrial growth.

At its core, Elima’s vision is to make products intrinsically sustainable by design — where circularity is embedded into how value is created and preserved, not treated as an afterthought.

As a Hyderabad-headquartered company, how does Elima contribute to Telangana’s circular economy?

Telangana is both Elima’s operational base and a strategic growth partner. The company operates two facilities in Ranga Reddy district across 8.5 acres, with a current processing capacity of 17,820 tonnes per annum, expanding toward 73,920 TPA.

Elima supports local manufacturing by recovering ferrous and non-ferrous materials such as iron, copper, aluminium, and plastics that are reintroduced into supply chains. This reduces dependence on virgin resources while strengthening Telangana’s industrial ecosystem.

Equally important is formalization. By operating technology-enabled facilities, Elima ensures higher recovery yields, consistent quality, and regulatory compliance — shifting material flows from fragmented informal systems to structured industrial processes.

The facilities also generate skilled and semi-skilled jobs across operations, quality control, logistics, and refurbishment, while creating pathways for informal workers to

transition into safer, structured employment.

Andhra Pradesh aims to generate Rs4,000 crore to Rs5,000 crore from the circular economy by 2030. How do you view this?

The target signals a shift in how circularity is perceived — from compliance activity to structured industrial value chain. Achieving this scale depends on integrating circular initiatives with manufacturing, logistics, and enterprise demand. Revenue at this level will be driven by large-scale recovery of metals and plastics, refurbishment and resale of usable assets, and secondary manufacturing that converts recovered materials into industrial inputs.

Circularity becomes economically viable when recovered outputs meet manufacturing-grade quality and are reliably absorbed by downstream industries. Key enablers include zoned industrial land, efficient logistics, long-term financing, predictable enterprise material flows, and experienced operators capable of running compliant, high-efficiency facilities.

Even beyond state borders, such policy frameworks strengthen India’s broader circular ecosystem by building scale, standardization, and investor confidence.

From a business standpoint, where are the biggest circular economy opportunities today?

Two major opportunities stand out: electronics refurbishment and material recovery. Shorter device replacement cycles and price sensitivity have created a strong market for high-quality refurbished electronics. This extends product lifespans, generates commercial value, and reduces pressure on raw material extraction.

Refurbishment is now emerging as a mainstream market ratherthan an informal side segment.Material recovery is the second growth engine. As electronic and industrial scrap volumes rise, the ability to extract metals and plastics at consistent quality standards becomes economically significant.

These recovered materials are increasingly accepted in domestic manufacturing, reinforcing circular supply chains. Together, these segments show that circular models can drive revenue while strengthening resource efficiency and industrial resilience.

Can you share insights into Elima’s recycling and ITAD infrastructure?

Elima’s infrastructure is designed for manufacturing-scale operations with strong process control and recovery quality. Its Telangana facilities handle complex electronics and appliance waste streams using standardized industrial processes.

Product-specific dismantling lines for washing machines, air conditioners, and refrigeration equipment ensure predictable throughput. Standardized toolkits, preventive maintenance, and optimized material flow reduce downtime and minimize handling losses across metal and polymer streams.

A multi-skilled workforce and structured training programs improve productivity, while quality control is embedded through segregation by material category and contamination risk, supported by defined inspection checkpoints.

How is Elima’s ITAD offering different from traditional asset disposal models?

Traditional disposal models often prioritize removal over governance, leaving regulated enterprises with limited visibility. For BFSI, IT services, and global firms, this no longer meets risk or compliance expectations.Elima’s ITAD model emphasizes assurance and decision certainty.

In many regulated environments, reuse is restricted due to data security policies. Elima ensures secure processing that eliminates the possibility of data recovery, aligning with enterprise governance frameworks.At the same time, structured evaluation enables lifecycle-based decisions.

Assets are assessed for residual value, distinguishing those suitable for refurbishment from those that must be securely decommissioned. This replaces informal judgment with a controlled, auditable process, helping enterprises move from transactional disposal to governed lifecycle management.

How are AI and digital systems enabling scale with compliance?

As volumes grow, digital systems bring structure and discipline to operations. Elima uses integrated data capture across the lifecycle of materials to track movement, recovery outcomes, and performance.

AI-assisted assessment helps determine appropriate processing pathways with greater consistency. Digital traceability creates verifiable records that support audits and ESG reporting without reliance on manual documentation.

Data platforms also enable continuous performance monitoring and process optimization, ensuring that operational growth is matched with transparency, accountability, and compliance.

How does Elima view urban mining as a strategic opportunity?

Demand for rare and critical materials is rising across EVs, renewables, electronics, and defence, while global supply chains remain concentrated and vulnerable. Urban mining offers a way to recover these materials from end-of-life products already within the economy.

For India, this could reduce import dependence and strengthen supply-chain resilience. For Telangana, it aligns with ambitions in electronics and advanced manufacturing, where access to recovered materials can become a competitive advantage.

Elima sees urban mining as part of the next phase of circular evolution, requiring research, technology development, and policy support to enable safe, scalable recovery of high-value materials.

What are enterprises seeking beyond basic EPR compliance?

ESG has moved to the boardroom, and disclosures now carry financial-level scrutiny. Enterprises are shifting from “check-the-box” compliance to measurable circular outcomes that stand up to governance and stakeholder review.

There is strong demand for traceable, auditable data that provides confidence in reporting. The focus is less on volume targets and more on credibility, documentation, and lifecycle visibility.

Elima increasingly works as a circular economy partner, helping enterprises interpret regulations, understand material flows, and align circular initiatives with ESG goals while maintaining governance discipline.

How do you see the circular economy evolving over the next 3–5 years?

Circularity in India is moving from a sustainability narrative to a core industrial and business priority. Resource constraints, supply-chain risk, and stronger ESG scrutiny will push enterprises to reduce reliance on virgin materials and adopt circular models that improve efficiency and resilience.

Models that demonstrate consistency, transparency, and economic viability will become mainstream. Elima’s role is to build formal, manufacturing-grade systems that manage materials with discipline and traceability, embedding circularity into industrial operations rather than treating it as a standalone initiative.

Nationally, this supports India’s manufacturing ambitions. Regionally, especially in Telangana, it strengthens local capabilities, industrial growth, and job creation.

How is Elima partnering to scale responsibly?

Circular infrastructure is capital-intensive and requires long-term alignment. Elima grows through collaboration rather than rapid footprint expansion. With governments, the focus is policy alignment and enabling frameworks. With enterprises, it is governance, traceability, and predictable material flows.

With financial institutions, it is responsible capital deployment into durable, sustainability-linked assets. These partnerships ensure expansion is aligned with policy direction, enterprise demand, and financial resilience.

How can formalization of informal recycling create both social and business value?

India’s informal recycling sector plays a vital role but often lacks safety, structure, and traceability. As circular activity scales, formalization becomes essential.

Elima integrates informal workers into structured facilities with defined roles, safety standards, and skill development.

This provides stable employment while improving operational efficiency. From a business perspective, formalization enables consistent segregation, documentation, and monitoring, strengthening recovery quality and enterprise confidence in reported outcomes.

The goal is integration, not displacement — combining inclusive employment with greater efficiency, accountability, and long-term sustainability.