Harder to recycle and a habitual part of our daily lives, plastic has become inseparable from us. Creating new plastic objects is cheaper than recycling them. In a country where waste management is still in its infancy, tackling plastic waste is a huge problem in India. With many start-ups and organizations venturing into the fight against this never-ending menace, a Delhi-based startup has come up with an innovative solution to dispose of plastic waste. Reportedly, Shayna EcoUnified India Pvt Ltd – founded by Paras Saluja and Sandeep Nagpal – has used 340 ton of plastic waste to make 11 lakh colourful tiles since its inception. Read more about the project on SURFACES REPORTER (SR).
It was during his visit to the Everest Base Camp that Saluja noticed heaps of plastic being dumped on the corners of the road by tourists. His commerce background didn’t help him much to overcome this challenge. Eventually, during one of his visits to Vietnam, he found an innovative idea to deal with plastics. He observed that despite being an economically weaker country full of street markets, Vietnam kept its cities clean. This intrigued him further. He met with government officials and scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to learn more about polymers. Fascinated with NPL’s technology of turning plastics into tiles, Saluja invested in its research and development and obtained the rights to manufacture those tiles for his company Shayna EcoUnified.
Plastic waste is collected from vendors and later crushed, washed and mixed with 15 per cent of fillers. At its production unit in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, it is compressed to make tiles. Nearly 10,000 paver tiles and 4,500 square tiles are manufactured daily. Saluja informs that, 1 kg of plastic waste makes 1 sqft of tile which comprises four plastic paver tiles.
Shayna EcoUnified’s tiles are anti-static, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial. They have a heating capacity up to 140o Celsius and can be cooled down to -25o Celsius. The plastic tiles have a load-bearing capacity of 20 ton and can last up to a minimum of 50 years.
Shayna EcoUnified is known to have undertaken several projects since its inception, of which The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) first dog park is well-known, where bright blue, green and pink tiles adorn the pavement of the dog park. 30,000 plastic carry bags were procured to create tiles for the 3,500 sqft area of the park and 1,500 sqft of area in Shilparamam.
Image credits: Indiegogo and Shayna EcoUnified
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