Mumbai: Mumbaikars need no longer fret about the piles of plastic they need to dispose of before the ban on the material comes into effect in the State next month. A Mulund-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) has for the past one year been collecting plastic waste from the city and recycling it into fuel.
Concern over the amount of plastic waste being discarded in dumping grounds led to landscape developer Asmita Gokhale starting Nirbhaya. After some research, she tracked down a Pune-based company that recycles plastic waste.
Since then, Ms Gokhale and her team of 10 have been enforcing the ‘Plastic-Free Mulund Project’, collecting plastic waste from their own as well as neighbouring buildings every day. The team collects plastic waste from 90 residential societies on a regular basis. Said Ms. Gokhale, “We approach societies in Bhandup, Mulund and Thane and ask them to give us plastic materials like plastic bags, tiffin boxes, bottles, oil cans, milk and shampoo sachets, toys, thermocol, water buckets, plates, glasses and others items throughout the month.”
After the collection is done, all the waste is sent to the G D Environmental Private Ltd in Pune on the last Sunday of every month, where it is recycled into drop-in fuel, a substitute for conventional fuel that is interchangeable with conventional fuel. This fuel is then used in industrial generators and boilers.
The NGO has also approached students and staff members of various schools in Mulund, seeking their help in collecting plastic waste. Recently, the students even collected plastic waste discarded in the streets and handed it over to the NGO for recycling. The recent plastic ban has had an effect on their initiative, with an increasing number of people now giving away their plastic waste to Nirbhaya.
“Ragpickers and the civic body, too, collect plastic waste and send it for recycling. However, this plastic is recycled into second-grade plastic, which is equally hazardous for the environment,” Ms. Gokhale said. The NGO has approached the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation with a proposal to jointly work on the issue of plastic waste management.
Kishore Gandhi, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, T ward, said, “We were approached by Nirbhaya with their model of waste management and we have asked them to give us a plan and details of the project. We will then decide on how to take it forward.”
The usage of plastic is not as much of a problem as its management, said Ms. Gokhale. “If plastic waste is recycled properly, the issue can be handled well.”
