Sustainable Chemistry Changemakers: Without Scales a Recycling Solution for Hard-to-Recycle Plastic Packaging

From ISC3 Start-up of the Month to an International Pioneer in Circular Materials Made from Plastic and Textile Waste

For its contribution to Sustainable Chemistry, Without – then operating under the name Without by Ashaya – was recognised by the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) as Start-up of the Month in May 2023. Since then, the Indian company has evolved significantly and expanded its offering. Without has filed numerous patents and successfully scaled its technology for commercial application. The start-up has developed an innovative chemo-mechanical process to create high-quality materials and products from multi-layered plastic waste and textile waste. One example is chip packets, which for a long time were considered impossible to recycle efficiently and therefore destined for landfill. Without transforms these materials into valuable new resources. The company combines technological innovation for a more circular economy with social impact. Working with people in the informal waste sector, it creates formal employment opportunities and helps improve incomes, working conditions, and social inclusion in India.

The Driving Forces Behind Without

Founder Anish Malpani pursues a holistic sustainability approach across all of Without’s products and processes. The company’s goal is to ethically and technologically upgrade waste into scalable, environmentally friendly materials. At the same time, the start-up is committed to formalising and strengthening the informal waste sector in its home country. Thanks to the collaboration with Without, the incomes of the former waste pickers the company works with have multiplied. Three years after being recognised as ISC3 Start-up of the Month, we spoke with Anish Malpani about the company’s journey, the role of Sustainable Chemistry, and Without’s next steps.

Anish Malpani, what does Sustainable Chemistry mean to you?

Sustainable Chemistry is part of a broader mission for me: to reshape the economy so that it serves both people and the planet. Without has its roots in chemistry, but our ambition goes beyond that. We want to demonstrate that an ethical, dignity-centred business model can be both successful and scalable. Achieving a net-negative carbon footprint through the use of renewable electricity is one aspect. Another is physical traceability. Our process is water-based, uses no organic solvents, and operates at significantly lower temperatures (120 degrees Celsius) than conventional thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis, which typically requires temperatures of around 500 degrees. This enables us to create high-quality material streams without generating residual waste.The ISC3 Key Characteristics of Sustainable Chemistry perfectly reflect the way we work, particularly when it comes to life cycle thinking, energy efficiency, and inclusivity. Especially in the social dimension, the chemical industry as a whole still has a long way to go.

Where is Without today compared to when you were selected as Start-up of the Month?

At that time, we were a small laboratory team running a pilot project focused on sunglasses. Much of our work was still theoretical. Today, our team has grown to 50 employees. Our FOAK demonstration plant, 'The Cradle,' in Pune went live in October 2025 and is now producing at commercial scale. We have developed high-quality, versatile materials that enable brands around the world to create better, more ethical products.

How did you benefit from your collaboration with ISC3 and the support provided through the ISC3 Global Start-up Service?

The support we received, and especially being recognised as Start-up of the Month, gave us credibility at a time when we were still much smaller and not always taken seriously. Investors, partners, and the public began to see us as more than just another recycling start-up. The visibility we gained in Europe opened up new conversations at a time when our network consisted primarily of contacts in India. The focus on Sustainable Chemistry also helped shape our company’s positioning.

What have been the key milestones on your journey so far?

There are quite a few. With our Trash3D series, we launched the world’s first 3D-printed vase made from packets of chips. Another important milestone is our VerdiFLO, a high-quality recycled polyester yarn. We recover Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), a core building block of PET and polyester fibre, from contaminated mixed textile waste, then repolymerise it into fresh polyester and spin it into yarn that matches virgin on purity.We also developed the world’s first 100% recycled bottle made entirely from chips packets and shampoo sachets, which received both the Unilever TRANSFORM Grant and the L’Oréal Big Bang SAPMENA 2025 award. To date, we have filed eight patents (3 granted), are now a Certified B Corporation, and I have been selected as a Yale Climate Fellow 2026. Beyond contributing to reshaping the economy, however, what matters most to us is that we have already helped many former waste pickers transition into formal employment, supporting entire families on their path out of poverty.

What does this development mean for your company?

We manufacture our products entirely from waste streams of which less than one percent is currently recycled worldwide. Initial tests indicate that this material can be recycled at least ten times using conventional recycling processes without any loss of quality or of its ability to be recycled within polyethylene or polypropylene streams thanks to its purity and the compatibilisers it contains. It almost sounds too good to be true. We are currently working to validate and reproduce these results. The initial findings are very promising. While doing all of this, we are also permanently graduating former waste workers out of multidimensional poverty through dignified employment, increasing their income by two to three times.