The small tribal settlement of Kaltipada in Mumbai’s Aarey forest has been proactively collecting plastic waste, not only to keep their households and surroundings clean but for a bigger cause of providing study benches for government school students. The plastic is sent to India’s first low-density plastic recycling facility, where it is upcycled into benches which will be later donated to government schools to facilitate the students to study better.
The plastic collection drive is a part of a barter system initiative ‘plastic do, dhaan lo’, started by Thane-based non-profit organisation Khushiyaan Foundation. As the name suggests, the NGO provides food grains to every household in return for the plastic waste collected by them from their house and its surroundings at the end of the month. Katlipada, with a population of 30 households, collected 40.8kg plastic waste in return of red lentils in the first month of the pilot project, which ultimately aims to cover all the residential areas across the city.
Barter Scheme Turns Waste Into School Benches At India's First LDP Recycling Facility |
Barter Scheme Turns Waste Into School Benches At India's First LDP Recycling Facility |
The initiative is a brainchild of the organisation’s founder Chinu Kwatra who claims to have been inspired from his childhood days when he used to see his family drying the milk bags and exchanging it with traders in return for garlic. While the system has more or less collapsed in the city, Kwatra thought of reviving it but for the collection of low-density plastic like carry bags and packaging bags, which is usually left out from recycling due to its physical qualities.
Talking to The Free Press Journal, Kwatra said, “When we talk about plastic recycling, it is only about high-density plastic and PET bottles whereas most of the plastic waste in the landfills and on the beach is that of low-density. Even the raddi walas do not accept milk bags or other multilayered packaging since it is of no use to them. This is the first time in India that we are recycling low-density plastic including beach plastic to turn them into furniture.”
As the plastic collection from residential localities is still in its initial stage, the majority of plastic waste is collected from the beaches through Khushiyaan Foundation’s cleanup arm Beach Warriors. This plastic is then sent to the NGO’s material recovery facility (MRF) in Thane’s Vartak Nagar, which is India’s first MRF for beach waste, where the plastic is cleaned, segregated and compressed to make granules.
The granules are sent to recycling facilities where they are turned into 18mm thick sheets that are a substitute of plywood. Every 18kg to 20kg of plastic is recycled into one sheet which can make one bench for a primary student. The NGO plans to donate the first batch of 20 benches to a government school by August. Although the manufacturing is carried out at a very slow pace, Kwatra claimed that it can be scaled up to five benches every day with its total current collection of 2,000kg.
While plastic waste is collected regularly from the beaches, the NGO is now focusing on expanding its ‘plastic do, dhaan lo’ initiative to more Adivasi settlements as well as residential societies by offering utilities like seating benches and garbage bags. “By giving eco-friendly tags to such items, people try to earn more profits but we are not into the business of profit-making. My only aim is to get rid of LDP and making furniture out of it is the only option with us or else it goes to cement factories where it is used for burning, which is again harmful for the environment,” said Kwatra.
