Recove Ventures Private Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Industries, Government of Maharashtra to develop a recycling and circular manufacturing ecosystem in the state over the next decade.

The MoU was signed at Mantralaya, Mumbai, between Dr. P. Anbalagan (IAS), Principal Secretary, Industries, Investment and Services, Government of Maharashtra, and Co-Founders of Recove Ventures, Kunal Kumar and Viral Chhajer. This was followed by a meeting with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.

Under the 10-year framework, the company plans to invest over ₹500 crore across waste processing, recycling, material recovery, aggregation, and related circular manufacturing activities in Maharashtra. In the first phase, the company plans to build capacity to process 5,000 tonnes of plastic waste per month, scaling up to 1,00,000 tonnes per annum over time, including expansion into additional recyclable streams.

India's recycling industry is changing due to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, which mandates that manufacturers utilise roughly 30 percent recycled plastic currently, raising it to 60 percent within two to three years. Although PET plastic is currently being recycled to nearly 95 percent, HDPE, and PP plastics are only being recycled to under 30 percent due to inadequate infrastructure for collection and processing facilities. This discrepancy may cost India USD 36 billion worth of recyclable material by 2025-2030.

Viral Chhajer, co-founder of Recove Ventures, confirmed that the firm intends to construct facilities to recycle plastic waste into recyclable industrial raw material.

The Anchor Project: A 1,100 TPM HDPE/PP Facility at Jalgaon

The first project under the MoU is an HDPE and PP recycling facility at Additional Jalgaon MIDC, District Jalgaon, a D+ industrial zone. The project involves an investment of over ₹35 crore and an installed capacity of 1,100 tonnes per month.

The facility will utilise machinery to process plastic waste into small pellets that are suitable for reuse, with a cleaning system to eliminate their odor. The plastic pellets will serve in packaging materials, automobile components, and consumer goods. The factory will most likely be established from October to December 2026, potentially generating approximately 100 direct employment opportunities and more than 1,500 indirect employment opportunities.

For the purpose of implementation, the Government of Maharashtra will offer facilitation of land allocation in MIDC or Circular Economy Park areas, single-window clearances, and incentives within the framework of existing state policies.

According to Dr. P. Anbalagan, Principal Secretary, Industries, Investment and Services, Government of Maharashtra, the partnerships help in the growth of industries, sustainability, and employment in the state.

Kunal Kumar, Co-founder, Recove Ventures pointed out that for large-scale recycling efforts, there should be coordination between various processes.

Existing Operations

Jalgaon forms a part of the company’s facilities in Maharashtra. A pre-processing facility in Pune started its operations in April 2026 and is under expansion. The company runs a processing facility in Bangalore, which has been operational since December 2025 and processes more than 415 tons of plastic waste per month.

Recove Ventures is run by Co-Founder Viral Chhajer, who has co-founded StayAbode and Smartstaff, and worked at Runnr and Goldman Sachs, along with Co-Founder Kunal Kumar, an IAS officer from the 1999 batch, who has worked as Joint Secretary and Mission Director for India’s Smart Cities Mission from 2018 to 2024 and as Municipal Commissioner for Pune, Kolhapur, and Nagpur.

The founding team also includes Aayush Killa, an IIM alumnus with experience at McKinsey, NEOM, and Ola; and Sharan Subaiah, founder of MiGLU and Green Earth Industries. The company is backed by Momentum Capital, Ganesh Natarajan, and investors including Chaitanya Kejriwal and Ashish Goel.