Recover
Women waste-pickers and a supervisor clear plastic from the shoreline at Mahim Causeway, with Enactus volunteers on site.
Project Sanchay · Enactus H.R. College
From sea waste
From sea waste
to second life.
We pull plastic off Mumbai's coastline, send it to be recycled, and create paid work for the women waste-pickers who recover it.
Worked with & recognised by
Worked with Yashlok Welfare Foundation and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Recognised at Enactus India Nationals 2025, E-Summit IIT Roorkee and IFAT India 2025.
What one student team has done so far.
The numbers so far, from our drives on Mumbai's coast and the credits that fund them.
kg
Ocean plastic recovered
Taken off the shoreline and sent for recycling.
Clean-up drives
Run on Mumbai's coast with our partners.
Women waste-pickers
Employed on our drives and recognised for their work.
Plastic credits sold
To companies offsetting their plastic footprint.
What washes up on Mumbai's shore
PET bottlesChip packetsCarry bagsGhost netsSlippersThermocolPET bottlesChip packetsCarry bagsGhost netsSlippersThermocol
Food wrappersStrawsCupsRopeSachetsBottle capsFood wrappersStrawsCupsRopeSachetsBottle caps
Our approach
More than a clean-up drive.
A clean beach lasts until the next tide. So we built Sanchay around what happens after the plastic is picked up: where it goes, who gets paid, and who pays for it.
Recycle
We sort and segregate it, then send it through our partners to recovery and recycling, where it becomes new products.
Empower
The work pays. Waste-pickers earn from every drive, and plastic credits and scrap sales keep the next one funded.
How it works
From the shoreline to a plastic credit.
Five steps, and every one of them is something you can see on the ground.
-
01
On the shore
Collect
A crew of women waste-pickers and a supervisor work the coastline at Mahim Causeway. Our volunteers manage the site and keep count.
Mahim Reti Bunder -
02
At the collection point
Sort & segregate
What comes off the beach is mixed. We sort it by type so each kind of plastic can go where it will be recovered best.
Sorting -
03
On record
Weigh & document
Every shift is photographed with a GPS and time stamp, and every bag is weighed, so each kilo can be traced back to the day and place it was recovered.
Bagged and logged -
04
Through our partners
Recycle
With Yashlok Welfare Foundation, the plastic goes to recovery and recycling facilities and comes back as useful things: raincoats for municipal workers, helmets for police.
Raincoatsfor Navi Mumbai municipal workersHelmetsfor Rajasthan Police -
05
For companies
Credit
Companies buy plastic credits for the plastic we recover. That money pays the crew and funds the next drive.
PLASTIC CREDIT SANCHAY₹50per credit
Every single kilo counts.
Traceability
Every kilo, on record.
A plastic credit is only worth something if you can prove the plastic was really recovered. So we keep a paper trail for every batch, from the shoreline to the recycler.
Photo at the shore
Each collection is photographed on site with a GPS location and time stamp.
Weighed and logged
Bags are weighed and entered against a batch, with the site, the date and the crew who worked it.
Sorted and handed over
The batch is segregated by type and handed to our recycling partner, who confirms what they received.
Credits with proof
A company's credits are linked to real batches, so they can see the photos and weights behind every rupee.
Batch recordSample
SAN · MHM · 0001
GPS + time stamp ✓
- Photographed at the shore
- Weighed & logged
- Sorted by plastic type
- Handed to recycling partner
- Credits issued with proof
This is a sample showing what a batch record holds. The weight here is for illustration.
Second life
Sea waste, back in service.
Plastic that once threatened marine life now protects the people who keep our cities running.
14 July 2025 · Navi Mumbai
Raincoats for municipal workers
With Yashlok Welfare Foundation, we gave raincoats made from recycled sea-waste plastic to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation workers. The team was felicitated by Commissioner Dr. Kailash Shinde and Mr. Kishore Bhatija of Inorbit Malls and K Raheja Group.
October 2025 · Waves to Wheels
Helmets for Rajasthan Police
Through the "Waves to Wheels" CSR project by IIFL Foundation and Yashlok Welfare Foundation, Rajasthan Police received ISI-certified helmets made from recycled ocean and land plastic. The clean-ups behind them were run by Enactus H.R. College students.
Business model
Collection is only the beginning.
For Sanchay to grow, it has to pay for itself. Two revenue streams connect recovering plastic with earning from it.
Reported revenue so far
₹ lakh
Plastic credits3,000 credits × ₹50 each
₹1,50,000Plastic scrap salesRecovered material sold on
₹10,000Why companies partner with us
- Meet CSR goals with impact you can point to on Mumbai's coast.
- Show real environmental responsibility for your plastic footprint.
- Help empower women and underprivileged communities through paid work.
Plastic credits are our main revenue stream. Every credit funds recovery, sorting and the people who do it.
Our journey
From a pilot on one beach to a national stage.
Groundwork at Mahim
Three pilot phases at Mahim Causeway and Reti Bunder, run with Yashlok Welfare Foundation under our Samudra Manthan project, tested the waste-offsetting model that Sanchay grew from. Over 650 kg of sea waste was collected and sent for recycling.
Project Sanchay begins
Sanchay launches as a waste-offsetting initiative. On 14 July, raincoats made from recycled sea-waste plastic are handed to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation workers.
Top 20 in India
At the Enactus India National Exposition 2025, Sanchay was selected among the top 20 projects nationwide in the Early Stage category.
Enactus India NationalsIFAT India 2025
Two volunteers represented Sanchay at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, meeting global organisations on recycling, funding and QR-based waste tracking.
Waves to Wheels
Clean-ups by Enactus H.R. College students feed the IIFL Foundation and Yashlok Welfare Foundation project that turns ocean plastic into helmets for Rajasthan Police.
15 days on the coast
Sanchay operations at Mahim Causeway: 4 workers and a supervisor, with 5 Enactus volunteers overseeing every day.
Sanchay goes public
A beach clean-up and awareness drive at Girgaon Chowpatty with over 200 students from MSPT and VBMM schools.
Top 40 at IIT Roorkee
At Envision 2026, part of E-Summit '26, Sanchay was among the top 40 teams invited to present, from more than 490 colleges.
E-Summit · IIT RoorkeeRecognised by NMMC
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation recognised Enactus HRC for its work under Project Sanchay.
80,000 kg
Our target: recover and recycle over 80,000 kg of plastic waste.
In action
Sanchay, on the ground.
Shifts on the shore, the bags, the people. Tap any photo to see it bigger.
CAPACITY
01Our own Material Recovery Facility
An MRF set up with Yashlok Welfare Foundation, so we can sort and manage far more recovered plastic.
PEOPLE
02A waste-picker network across Mumbai
More crews, more shorelines, and steady paid work for the people who recover the plastic.
PARTNERS
03More companies on board
Corporates ready to take responsibility for their plastic footprint through credits.
We want a system where plastic waste is treated as a resource, not something to throw away, and where the people who recover it get greater opportunities.
Team Sanchay · Enactus HRC
Partner with us
Make your plastic footprint count.
Buy plastic credits, sponsor a clean-up, or bring Sanchay into your CSR plan. Real change happens when environmental sustainability and social impact work together.