In India, millions of tons of sacred floral waste are dumped into rivers annually. As these flowers rot, they deplete water oxygen levels and leach pesticide residues into the ecosystem. This social enterprise model intercepts the flowers before they reach the rivers, upcycling the nutrient-rich petals into premium organic compost and vermicompost. This circular approach cleans the waterways, restores soil health, and provides sustainable livelihoods for local marginalized communities.
The floral waste is collected daily and manually sorted to remove synthetic threads and plastics. The petals are then shredded and sprayed with a proprietary bio-inoculant (microbial culture). The biomass undergoes either windrow aerobic composting or vermicomposting (utilizing specific earthworm species to break down the organic matter). The resulting humus is dried, screened, and packaged as a high-nutrient organic bio-fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
In the traditional perfume industry, flower petals are discarded immediately after a single hydro-distillation. This innovative project upcycles these "exhausted" rose petals, alongside wood pulp residues from the timber industry, through secondary extraction. By utilizing the remaining, heavier aromatic compounds that are usually wasted, the project creates "circular fragrances" that have a drastically lower environmental footprint and a distinct profile that primary distillations cannot achieve.
Exhausted rose petals are collected from primary distilleries and subjected to a secondary Supercritical CO2 extraction. This high-pressure, solvent-free method safely captures the heavier, more tenacious molecular compounds left behind by steam. Meanwhile, wood pulp waste is processed through enzymatic hydrolysis to release trapped woody aromatic terpenes. The resulting extracts are fractionated and blended by master perfumers to create premium upcycled bases.
