BC Business
The Vancouver company upcycles glass to make products like candles and lamps
Co-founders, Mosa Technologies
Life Story: Prishita Agarwal and Abhiudai Mishra went to boarding school in Bangalore, but they didn’t become close until they bonded over social impact causes at UBC Sauder School of Business.
Growing up in Surat, India, Agarwal watched her mom upcycle everything at home, from using old clothes as cleaning rags to turning orange peels into facemasks. “When I see a problem, I want to try to solve it,” she says.
Mishra also grew up in India, but he took initiatives like writing letters to the prime minister advocating for cleaner cities or encouraging neighbours to carpool. “Civic and community engagement have always been a centrepiece in all of the work that I’ve done,” he maintains.
That’s how Rescued Glass was born in 2021. After a party, the UBC students wondered how they could repurpose the many glass bottles that were left over. The pair started cleaning and cutting glass in their kitchens and quickly partnered with student residences, bars and restaurants to collect more.
In 2022, they rebranded to Mosa Technologies and acquired a diamond blade cutter, which spiked their efficiency significantly: “Our production capacity used to be 100 a week and now we’ve grown to around 400 a week,” says Agarwal.
Bottom Line: Vancouver-based Mosa’s team of eight upcycles glass to make products like candles and shot glasses. It partners with various local businesses to collect glass and sells products via its website and 15 retail stores in North America—including the UBC Bookstore (where their products always sell out).
“To date, we’ve saved 10,000 glass bottles,” says Agarwal, “and our aim is to rescue 500,000 in the next three years.” Mosa continues to strengthen ties with local businesses like Richmond-based Lulu Island Winery and offers collection services for those willing to donate more than 20 glass bottles.