Out of the total waste produced in India annually, only 30 percent is recycled.

According to estimates by Central Pollution Control Board of India, less than 15 percent of municipal solid waste generated is processed or treated in the country.

India faces challenges in areas of efficient waste management. The problems range from lack of proper guidelines, planning in waste collection and treatment.

India is also facing challenges in spreading awareness about waste segregation to citizens.

However these challenges have become opportunities for a few entrepreneurs who are turning waste matter into dollars by starting businesses in the space.

Here are five such Indian startups who are contributing to sustainable development through waste management:

POM POM: Founded by Deepak Sethi (CEO) and Kishore K Thakur (COO), this Delhi-based startup collects and pays for recyclables at your doorstep as per the convenience of time and location.

The company accepts all kinds of recyclables such as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metals etc., aiming to reduce the burden on landfills, keeping the environment clean and conserving natural resources and saving energy. The company’s clientele includes ICICI Bank, Oracle, Wipro, H&M and much more.

POM POM allows you to book for a pickup through the website, call or a mobile application.

The customers have to keep the recyclables segregated. Then the agent weighs the recyclables and pays you through Paytm or NEFT.

Later, the waste is collected at the startup’s collection facility where it is further crushed, segregated, and packed before being sent to end-recyclers.

The Upcycle Project: This Mumbai-based startup was founded in the year 2014 by Amishi Parasrampuria.

The company is known for making home decors and gifts from waste, scraps, and old vinyl records.

The waste is collected through individual donations and waste aggregators. After collecting the waste, they clean it and do a quality check. Later the products are designed, cleaned and then labeled.

The final product is then sold on online as well as offline platforms.

Attero: Attero is an end-to-end e-waste recycler and metal extraction company which aims to turn today’s waste into sustainable resources for tomorrow.

The company promotes eco-friendly reuse and recycling of electronics.

Also, it has developed reverse logistics network, backed by integrated IT solutions to collect electronic waste from all across the country.

The company claims have to been recognized by NASA, who have developed technology that allows to set up low cost, low capacity, eco-friendly recycling plants for processing e-waste and extract metals.

The Noida based company was founded in 2008 by Nitin Gupta and Rohan Gupta. It has raised USD 31 million so far in VC funding.

GPS Renewables: Founded in 2011, GPS Renewables is a waste-to-energy technology company that is developing clean and low-cost technology for waste management solutions.

The company’s flagship product is Biourja, a compact unit that can produce biogas on a large scale through a process of breaking down organic waste, without using oxygen.

It was founded by Mainak Chakraborty and Sreekrishna Sankar, the company aims at a thumb rule of 'zero wastage'.

GPS Renewables has now expanded to Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

Protoprint: This startup is aimed at empowering the waste-picker communities by providing them with low-cost technology to produce 3D printer filament from the collected plastic waste.

Protoprint is a Pune based social enterprise founded in the year 2013 by Sidhant Pai –a graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

(Data source: company websites, industry reports)