BENGALURU: It’s a good feeling when your fight for a cause is recognised not just by your supporters but also globally. Anitha Shankar, co-founder of city- based startup, Astu Eco up, recently stood second in the Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge organised by National Geographic Society and Sky Ocean Ventures. The startup, which makes various compostable solutions for single-use plastic products, had sent their container box made of Areca leaves, as their entry for the contest. These products are said to be 100 per cent naturally compostable and safe. One can refrigerate, microwave or keep the box in a freezer.
Astu lost the first place to Qwarzo from France, who came up with a compostable solution to replace single-use plastic in numerous applications like coffee stirrers, cutlery, straws, etc in a cost-effective manner. Speaking to CE from Washington DC, where the award function took place, Shankar says she was hoping for the first prize but is equally excited about this achievement too. “The contest was a worldwide solution to decrease single-use plastic from the ocean. Astu’s entry into the contest was with the container box made of areca leaves, which works really well with the take-away industry. This can help decrease 3,600 tonnes of single-use plastics in five years, which is equivalent to 371 million pieces of single-use plastic boxes. It can also provide job opportunities to over 500 people in rural India, as per our statistics. Though we won the second place, I am happy that I could make India proud,” says Shankar, who was one of the 24 finalists. The contest saw an entry from 291 teams from countries like Chile, Israel, Germany, USA, Kenya, etc. Shankar started preparing for the contest a few months ago and in July 2019, they were announced as one of the finalists.
Astu Eco was founded in 2017 by Shankar and her partner Tejshree Madhu. She says the goal behind coming up with Astu was to decrease the use of disposable plastics globally and help reduce environment pollution. “Astu’s vision is to impact 1 billion people by 2027 in terms of providing solutions for the single-use plastic challenge that the world is facing,” says Shankar.
Apart from compostable container, Astu has a limited portfolio of about 20 odd products from plates and cutlery to shopping bags and straws. They have an Eco Party Pack that contains 10 units of dinner plates, quarter plates, spoons, cups and paper straws, which is ideal for any house party and outings. Currently, they are selling through their own website, and on e-commerce platforms and offline tie-ups.
