TECHNOLOGY FOR REPURPOSING AS A MEANS FOR SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES- THE PLAN@EARTH EXPERIENCE

In the pyramid of waste management, disposal lies at the very bottom. In most developing countries however, disposal is the chosen method of waste management mostly due to lack of capital, infrastructure and laws for better practices. The result - unscientific landfills and garbage dumps are a ubiquitous sight. Such landfills are an eyesore, breeding spots for pests and disease carrying vectors, as well as causes of ground water contamination. The NGO Plan@Earth has been working in solid waste management for 8 years, and recycling 50 tons of plastic and other recyclables per month. This paper tries to point out the need for cost effective technological innovations to repurpose solid waste that cannot be recycled easily .However while grading plastic for recycling, heavily printed films used for making sachets, candy wrappers, laminated plastic films, and metalised polypropylene used for packing biscuits and chips, could not be recycled. This resulted in the accumulation of the said material forcing Plan@Earth to look for solutions. Attempts were made to find solutions for repurposing of non-recyclable plastic material This need was communicated with the Mechanical Engineering Department of a College, in Gods own country. The aim was to repurpose such films into Eco-Bricks using a machine that would fuse shredded films with powdered gravel. A prototype of the machine was made and the Eco-bricks proved strong and durable,thus useful for roofing or paving. Until laws ban use of such packing material, solutions like Eco-bricks can help reduce landfill.