From scrap to sustainable...

A desire to make even the smallest contribution towards this beautiful planet gets some entrepreneurs enthused about repurposing and up-cycling pre-used materials to create unique products while also generating job for marginalised women

A lampshade made from a discarded PVC pipe by Kitsch Bits

The Use Me Works team

Carpets Inter’s carpets are made from plastic waste

In this one year when we are battling against the deadly Covid-19 virus, we are slowly realising the importance of ecology and a healthy environment as a whole. It is also helping us to understand the issues it is facing like plastic waste. Plastic waste is one of the top environmental problems of the world. According to global reports, only 9 percent of plastic is recycled and out of which only 10 percent is recycled more than once, 12 percent is incinerated, and around 80 percent goes to landfills and oceans.

Fabrics from waste

Looking at this grim scenario, there are many social enterprises, groups, and even individuals who are working on re-purposing plastic waste and upcycling it. Out of plastic waste, single-use plastic and multi-layered plastic is not recyclable. But, now there are enterprises like Pune-based EcoKaari that makes upcycled handwoven accessories from waste plastic. Nandan Bhat, founder, and director, EcoKaari, mentions that he thought of this concept when he came across the rampant issue of littered plastic waste while trekking. EcoKaari is trying to solve two issues — the problem of plastic waste and providing new skills to people mainly from less privileged backgrounds. “It’s time to create a larger canvas for all the creativity that our artisans of India have for generations,” says Bhat.

EcoKaari, which started in 2020, employs 22 people. They source their raw material, which is waste plastic, from local NGOs who directly work with waste pickers. It has now become an alternative earning channel for them as they segregate plastic waste according to their requirement. They also get their raw material from conscious consumers who donate their household plastic waste and from corporates who discard their plastic packaging because of a misprint or a missing barcode.

They upcycle five types of plastic waste — plastic carry bags, multi-layered packages, gift wrappers, old audio/video cassette tapes, and also plastic packaging of online shopping brands. They upcycle around 12,000-15,000 plastic bags in a month. EcoKaari is also committed to the after-sale use of its products. Along with this social enterprise, there are also companies that are trying to solve the menace of plastic waste, especially plastic PET bottles. A Thailand-based company, Carpets Inter, which manufactures modular carpet products uses discarded, single-use PET plastic soft drink and water bottles. The Modular Carpet Tiles’ unique EcoSoft PET felt cushion backing is manufactured using this plastic. Their one square meter of carpet typically contains an estimated 55 single-use recycled PET plastic bottles. The process starts with collection and processing through a series of special washing technique to breaking down the PET into its raw materials, cleaning and then cutting them into flakes before being melted and extruded into fibres of natural white colour. “We repurpose and donate 100 percent of the sediment deposited from our on-site water and human waste sewerage treatment plant,” says Richard Morris, Global Business Director, Carpets Inter. Along with the plastic waste, the country also battles with the waste in general. It could be cloth, metal, or any other material that can be re-purposed. A Delhi-based private social enterprise, Use Me Works, is one such company that uses such waste material to its fullest potential. Meenakshi Sharma the brain behind this seven-year-old enterprise, says, “Not only resources, but our belief in sustainability also goes beyond products. We work with women who want to become empowered and sustain their families.” They have a team of 30 women who are local residents of a marginalised area of Chhatarpur, South Delhi, where it is based. The raw material is scraps from different clothing brands, footwear brands, boutiques, factories as well as domestic waste (fabric scraps or recyclable wastes). They make a wide range of products like zero-waste home decor, plastic-free event decors, laptop bags, wallets, fashion accessories, kitchenware, etc. They have also prevented 12,000 kilograms of waste from going to the landfill.

Customising products

Not only companies even individuals are making a difference. Sharmila Mazumdar, from Delhi, who moved to a small village in Goa around 12 years ago explored her creative side and started making products from waste material. She makes and markets her products through Kitsch Bits and sells them at fairs and online as well. She makes lampshades from old PVC pipes and other home décor items from waste material. She also customises products. Speaking about the challenges, she maintains that making handmade products is time-consuming and thus the output is slower and even expensive. “It also makes it difficult to compete with mass manufactures from a pricing and customer awareness point of view,” says Sharmila.