In a world overflowing with discarded gadgets, one Indian startup is turning trash into treasure — quite literally. Meet Attero, the Noida-based cleantech company that’s reimagining how India deals with its e-waste problem.
We all have that drawer — full of broken phones, tangled wires, dead remotes. We don’t throw them away, not out of sentiment, but because we don’t know what else to do. Enter Attero, a company that’s creating value from the very devices we forget.
The E-Waste Problem Hiding in Our Homes
- India generates over 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste every year.
- About 95% of it is handled by the informal sector, leading to:
- Toxic pollution from lead, mercury, and other materials.
- Exploitation of labor, including children.
- These discarded gadgets contain valuable metals like gold, lithium, cobalt, and silver — critical for electronics, EVs, and solar tech.
Attero: A Homegrown Solution to a Global Problem
Founded in 2008 by brothers Rohan and Nitin Gupta, Attero was born out of a simple frustration: there was no responsible way to discard an old laptop in India.
What started as a small idea has grown into:
- India’s largest e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycler
- Over 5,00,121 mega tonnes of e-waste recycled
- Nearly 10,000 mega tonnes of lithium-ion batteries processed
- A state-of-the-art facility in Roorkee, Uttarakhand
- End-to-end recycling with in-house, proprietary technology
Milestones & Global Impact
Since 2021, Attero’s growth has been explosive:
- 30X revenue growth over four years
- 700% increase in lithium-ion battery recycling capacity
- Grown from 50 to 400+ electronics partners
- Operating in 6+ countries including the US, South Korea, and across Europe
- Holds 46 global patents with more pending
- Their Roorkee plant achieves 98% recovery efficiency (vs. global average of 50–80%)
- The only company globally to earn carbon credits for recycling both e-waste and batteries
MetalMandi: Fixing India’s Scrap Supply Chain
Launched in January 2025, MetalMandi is digitizing the unorganized ₹100,000 crore scrap trade.
Key Features:
- Enables scrap dealers to list and sell scrap at fair prices
- Uses AI-driven pricing and logistics
- Currently supplies 70% of Attero’s e-waste
- Targeting 1,000 tonnes/day transactions by mid-2025
- Empowers dealers with:
- Better income (from ₹10K to ₹15K/month)
- Financial inclusion (banking, insurance, government schemes)
- Transparent tracking of all transactions
Selsmart: E-Waste Recycling at Your Doorstep
Selsmart, launched in mid-2024, is Attero’s D2C platform for individuals.
What it offers:
- Doorstep pickup of old electronics
- Fair market pricing
- DoD-standard data destruction
- Processes e-waste through Attero’s high-tech facility
With 10% of total recycling input already coming from Selsmart, the platform is becoming a go-to for conscious consumers.
Why It Matters — For You
This isn’t just Attero’s mission. It’s ours too.
You can contribute by:
- Using platforms like Selsmart to recycle electronics responsibly
- Educating others about the dangers of informal e-waste handling
- Encouraging local scrap dealers to use tools like MetalMandi
- Choosing brands that support take-back programs
“It’s not waste, until it’s wasted.”
Attero’s Vision: Circular Economy, Smarter India
Attero proves that innovation, impact, and inclusion can go hand in hand. It’s about doing the right thing — for people, planet, and profit.
Whether it’s a phone collecting dust or a junked laptop, you now have a choice. And with Attero, that choice is smart, simple, and sustainable.
