Ekam Eco Solutions

Ekam Eco Solutions is an Indian startup company operating at the intersection of ecological sanitation, water conservation, and sustainable living. The company was founded in May 2013 by Uttam Banerjee, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and Vijayaraghavan Chariar, a professor associated with IIT Delhi’s Centre for Rural Development. It was incubated at IIT Delhi, linking its commercial development to research and innovation work in sanitation and resource efficiency. The company is best known for Zerodor, a waterless urinal technology designed to retrofit existing urinal bowls. The system enables urinals to function without conventional flushing while reducing odour. Its mechanical design does not depend on replaceable cartridges, recurring chemical consumables, or other regularly replaced components. This distinguishes it from some waterless urinal systems that require ongoing purchases of consumable parts or chemical treatments. By eliminating flushing, Zerodor can reduce freshwater use, sewage generation, and associated water costs. The reference material describes potential savings of approximately 100,000 litres of fresh water per public urinal per year, although the actual result depends on usage patterns and installation conditions. A further feature of the system is that urine remains undiluted because it is not mixed with flush water. This can make collection and subsequent use as an organic fertilizer more practicable than with conventional diluted wastewater, subject to appropriate handling and sanitation practices. Ekam began selling Zerodor in October 2013. By 2016, the company reported more than 7,000 installations, indicating adoption in institutional and public-space settings and demonstrating the company’s emphasis on retrofitting rather than requiring complete replacement of existing urinal infrastructure. Ekam’s second major business area is CARE Natural Housekeeping & Home Care Solutions. The CARE range comprises cleaning, deodorizing, drainage, wastewater-treatment, freshening, and food-waste-composting products. These solutions are positioned as non-toxic, biodegradable, and free from harmful chemicals. The range includes toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, multipurpose cleaner, drain cleaners, sewage-treatment solutions for sewage-treatment plants and septic tanks, water-based fresheners, and food-waste composting solutions. Together, Zerodor and CARE extend the company’s proposition beyond a single sanitation device into a broader portfolio of products intended to lower water consumption, reduce chemical exposure, and support more resource-efficient facility management. The company received recognition through the Millennium Alliance Award in 2014 in the water and sanitation field and won the DST–Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program in the same year. Its sewage-treatment products were also recognized and approved through a Ministry of Jal Shakti process associated with the Mashelkar Committee. In 2018, Ekam received a Titan Design Impact Award. These recognitions reflect the company’s positioning as an applied-innovation venture addressing sanitation, water scarcity, and environmentally safer cleaning rather than as a conventional consumer-goods brand. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about Ekam’s corporate ownership, financial performance, current leadership, geographic expansion, and present operating scale. The company is therefore best characterized as an India-focused sustainability and sanitation venture whose principal identifiable offerings are Zerodor waterless urinal technology and the CARE natural home-care portfolio.

Ekam Eco Solutions was established in May 2013 by Uttam Banerjee and Vijayaraghavan Chariar and was incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Banerjee was an IIT Delhi alumnus, while Chariar was a professor connected with the institute’s Centre for Rural Development. The venture emerged from work on practical sanitation systems that could reduce water use and operating costs without requiring extensive replacement of existing infrastructure. The company’s first identifiable commercial product was Zerodor, which entered the market in October 2013. Developed by Chariar, Ramesh Sakthivel, and Banerjee, the system attaches to existing urinal bowls and allows them to operate without flushing. Its mechanical approach is intended to control odour without replaceable parts or consumable chemicals. This design supports retrofit installations in public and institutional facilities, where replacing complete urinal assemblies or introducing recurring chemical expenses may be less attractive. Zerodor’s environmental proposition is based primarily on water and wastewater reduction. Conventional flushing consumes freshwater and produces additional sewage. By removing the flushing requirement, the system can reduce both inputs and downstream wastewater volumes. The undiluted urine produced by a waterless system may also be collected for use as plant fertilizer, provided that collection and application are managed appropriately. Ekam reported more than 7,000 installations by 2016, marking a significant expansion from its initial product launch. Ekam later developed or marketed CARE Natural Housekeeping & Home Care Solutions, a broader product family for environmentally oriented cleaning and facility maintenance. CARE includes toilet, floor, multipurpose, and drain cleaners, as well as water-based fresheners, sewage-treatment products for treatment plants and septic tanks, and food-waste composting solutions. The line is described as non-toxic, biodegradable, and free from harmful chemicals. It complements Zerodor by addressing other sources of water use, chemical exposure, wastewater management, and organic-waste generation in homes and institutions. The company’s development was accompanied by recognition from Indian innovation and sustainability programs. In 2014, it received the Millennium Alliance Award in the water and sanitation field and won the DST–Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program. Its sewage-treatment products were recognized and approved through a Ministry of Jal Shakti process associated with the Mashelkar Committee. Ekam received a Titan Design Impact Award in 2018. Available reference material does not establish a detailed chronology of later product launches, ownership changes, financial results, leadership transitions, or international expansion. The documented history therefore centers on the company’s IIT Delhi incubation, the launch and adoption of Zerodor, the expansion into CARE natural home-care products, and recognition for sanitation and environmental innovation.

• 2018

  Titan Design Impact Award

  [1]Ekam Eco Solutionsen.wikipedia.org

  Ekam received a Titan Design Impact Award for its sustainability-oriented innovation.

• 2016

  Zerodor surpasses 7,000 reported installations

  [1]Ekam Eco Solutionsen.wikipedia.org

  Ekam reported more than 7,000 Zerodor installations by 2016.

• 2014

  Water and sanitation awards

  [1]Ekam Eco Solutionsen.wikipedia.org

  The company received the Millennium Alliance Award in water and sanitation and won the DST–Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program.

• 2013

  Company founded and incubated at IIT Delhi

  [1]Ekam Eco Solutionsen.wikipedia.org

  Uttam Banerjee and Vijayaraghavan Chariar founded Ekam Eco Solutions in May 2013, with the venture incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

• 2013

  Zerodor enters the market

  [1]Ekam Eco Solutionsen.wikipedia.org

  Ekam began selling Zerodor, its retrofit waterless urinal technology, in October 2013.

An India-focused ecological sanitation and sustainable-living company offering water-saving sanitation technology and biodegradable, non-toxic housekeeping and wastewater solutions.

• Ecological sanitation · 2013

  Zerodor Waterless Urinal Technology

  Zerodor is a mechanical retrofit mechanism that attaches to existing urinal bowls and enables operation without conventional flushing. It is designed to reduce odour while avoiding replaceable parts and recurring chemical consumables. The system can lower freshwater consumption, sewage generation, and water-related operating costs. Because urine is not diluted with flush water, collection for potential fertilizer use is more practical than with conventional systems, subject to suitable handling. Its retrofit format makes it applicable to public, institutional, and other high-use facilities.

• Sustainable cleaning and home care

  CARE Natural Housekeeping & Home Care Solutions

  CARE is Ekam’s range of natural housekeeping and home-care products. The portfolio is described as non-toxic, biodegradable, and free from harmful chemicals. It includes toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, multipurpose cleaner, drain cleaners, water-based fresheners, sewage-treatment solutions for sewage-treatment plants and septic tanks, and food-waste composting solutions. The line extends Ekam’s sustainability proposition from water-saving sanitation into everyday cleaning, wastewater management, odour control, and organic-waste processing.

• 2013

  Launch of Zerodor waterless urinal technologyProduct launch

  Background

  Ekam was developing an ecological sanitation product that could reduce the water and sewage burden associated with conventional flushing while using existing urinal infrastructure.

  Action taken

  The company began selling Zerodor in October 2013 as a mechanical retrofit system for waterless, lower-odour urinals without recurring consumable parts or chemicals.

  Aftermath

  The product was subsequently reported to have exceeded 7,000 installations by 2016 and became the company’s best-known offering.

  Source

• Expansion into natural home-care and wastewater solutionsStrategy

  Background

  After establishing its sanitation technology proposition, Ekam broadened its sustainability offering to cover cleaning, deodorizing, wastewater treatment, septic-tank care, and food-waste management.

  Action taken

  The company marketed the CARE Natural Housekeeping & Home Care Solutions portfolio, including biodegradable cleaning products, water-based fresheners, sewage-treatment solutions, and composting products.

  Aftermath

  CARE gave Ekam a broader product scope spanning ecological sanitation and sustainable facility and household maintenance.

  Source

1. 1Ekam Eco Solutionsen.wikipedia.org