The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) plans to set up an Eco-friendly Recycling Unit (ERU) in Karnataka.
The CEE, which uses the unit to transform plastic waste into household articles in various parts of the country such as New Delhi and Gujarat, has offered to set up a unit in Karnataka. This project aims at not only providing employment but also preventing further damage caused by plastics to environment.
The CEE has approached the Hyderabad Karnataka Development Board (HKDB) with the proposal, and its first unit in the State is estimated to cost Rs. 5.2 lakh. The project is likely to come up in Gulbarga city. A senior functionary of CEE, Shyamala Mani, is likely to visit Gulbarga next week to finalise the proposal.
Official sources told The Hindu here on Wednesday that plastic bags and thin plastic material dumped in open yards and drains would be purchased for reprocessing. The collected waste would first be cleaned and later converted into plasticot fabric.
The sources said the plasticot fabric would be used to make things such as cot material, mats, bags, purses, dining table cloth, mobile phone covers and compact disc covers among other products.
They said that one of the major hurdles in establishing the unit in Gulbarga was the absence of a proper solid waste management system. The fact that segregation of waste at source was not being practised in the district was another factor.
The CEE officials have said that prior to the establishment of the unit, proper channelling of plastic waste has to be done to ensure uninterrupted supply of raw material to the unit.
