Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complicated (BKC) neighbourhood identifies as an city sprawl. Towering places of work solid their concrete shadows on the pavement under; their boxy silhouettes generally punctured by the welcome shadow of bushes. The shade is an efficient respite. And on one significantly busy Mumbai afternoon, whereas within the space, I noticed one other such respite — a bench.

No abnormal bench, this one was vivid, placing and demanded consideration. It was virtually amusing to observe it interrupt the town’s breathless routine, permitting passers-by a minute of relaxation.

A more in-depth look revealed that the bench — which is a part of a set of 70 — is a dwelling story of sustainability, its journey inscribed on it in technicolour font: ‘This bench is made out of recycled plastic waste’.

The concept for a product of this nature was born throughout one specific seaside clean-up drive organised by L&T, when, shocked by the magnitude of the plastic waste suffocating Mumbai’s shores, the workforce brainstormed on a believable answer.

Conversations with Undertaking Mumbai led to the concept to show plastic waste into benches, tiles, desks, bins and backyard utilities, which might be reintegrated into group areas throughout the town.

A full-circle impression is what the Lead CSR at L&T Vitality Hydrocarbon, calls it. To this finish, in 2020, L&T, in affiliation with Undertaking Mumbai, launched The Mumbai Plastic Recyclothon (TMPR) — a citizen-led initiative to mobilise the folks of Mumbai to affix the motion to curb plastic air pollution by turning into a part of the answer and selecting to recycle their plastic waste.

Championing consciousness round recycling 

BKC isn’t the one location the place a sustainable narrative is being spun within the type of recycled benches and tiles. “You’ll additionally discover them at Byculla Zoo, and within the 4 zero-waste gardens round Mumbai that we developed final yr,” she shares.

The gardens are a working example for sustainability, that includes paved pathways product of recycled plastic tiles. And regardless of their uncooked materials being primarily waste, she factors out that the benches look similar to every other.

I disagree. They give the impression of being even higher!

However whilst L&T’s eco-conscious endeavours are giving waste a objective whereas concurrently beautifying the town, the trigger transcends that. The corporate sees the recycled benches as dialog starters across the bigger urgent problem of plastic air pollution. They see the waste-to-product mannequin as a approach of breaking the ice between these subjects and youngsters, making them part of the dialogue round waste mitigation.

The Lead CSR at L&T Vitality Hydrocarbon remarks, “Throughout these classes, we see how excited youngsters are about accumulating plastic waste, after which watching the waste be become pencil bins. They see it as a sort of celebration of how waste can provide them one thing stunning.”

Acknowledging that consciousness amongst residents in the direction of recycling has seen a surge within the current previous, Shishir Joshi — founder and CEO, Undertaking Mumbai — causes that the primary precedence should nonetheless be to scale back plastic consumption.

That being mentioned, the plastic that does go into use have to be put aside for recycling, Shishir urges, irrespective of the sort and kind. “The second folks begin segregating the plastic, and in the event that they’re uncertain of what have to be completed with a sure sort of plastic, there’s an opportunity that it could discover its approach right into a landfill as an alternative of being recycled,” Shishir causes.

When you’re sceptical in regards to the recycling potential of a type of plastic, merely set it apart for the recycler to make that decision.

The subsequent step after assortment is to weigh the plastic to find out the quantity that has are available by means of the drive, Shishir provides. “Then it will get segregated into plastic and non-plastic objects; inside plastic, it will get segregated into the sorts of plastic utilized in totally different facilities. By our affiliation with L&T, we’ve learnt to make it as artistic as attainable as a result of residents sit up for one thing totally different every time. The segregated plastic then goes right into a crushing machine, will get moulded by means of warmth and will get transformed into pellets. Utilizing these, totally different facilities comparable to T-shirts, benches, tiles, and so forth are created.”

The variety within the plastic waste collected additionally ensures a gamut of multi-purpose merchandise.

To authenticate the method, Shishir explains, “As soon as the plastic will get recycled, we’re supplied with an audit certification from the recycler, which states that every one the fabric that has gone into making the actual amenity is from the plastic waste. Folks put plenty of religion within the course of. It is a partnership of belief.”

In making this a citizen-led initiative — in FY 2024-25 alone, the initiative engaged over a lakh households and the volunteer base grew to 4 lakh residents — recycling is reworked from a fringe follow to one thing deeply woven into the town residents’ day by day lives.

Explaining the logistics of the drive, Shishir explains, the plastic waste is collected as soon as a month throughout 45 places pan-Mumbai, together with housing societies, faculties, schools, and places of work. 

The waste has been given a brand new lease of life within the type of 404 backyard benches, 286 college benches, 266 dustbins, 240 flowerpots and 1,000 pencil bins — distributed in BMC gardens, faculties, and public areas. Moreover, practically 9,000 metres of recycled pathways have been created.

Tackling the tide of plastic waste by means of recycling

A technicoloured mess may be noticed throughout the landfills of India; it eclipses the skyline, rising larger day by day, teetering on the sting, threatening to break down.

A examine by the College of Leeds, printed in Nature, calling India “a plastic air pollution hotspot”, revealed that, in accordance with the paper’s estimated international knowledge for 2020, the biggest quantity of air pollution is emitted in India: 9.3 million tonnes — round a fifth of the entire quantity.

“India emerges because the place the place essentially the most emissions happen as a result of it has a big inhabitants, roughly 1.4 billion, and far of its waste isn’t collected,” the report learn.

The statistics are regarding.

However L&T, by means of its collaboration with Undertaking Mumbai, beckons us in the direction of the ‘different numbers’: over 500 tonnes of plastic waste recycled into benches, college desks, and public facilities; over 5,00,000 kg (500 tonnes) of plastic diverted from landfills and over 39,791 kg of waste faraway from Mumbai’s seashores and water our bodies.

With each merchandise produced from the waste, a brand new hope is spun. And it takes on a special that means for each citizen.

Take, as an example, the bench at BKC. For some, it’s a reminder to pause; for others, it’s an area of respite within the hustle; and for the town at giant, it’s a reminder of the facility of an thought to remodel waste into objective.

In partnership with L&T

Edited by Pranita Bhat; all photos courtesy L&T

Sources

‘Uncollected waste and open burning are main causes of plastic air pollution disaster’: by College of Leeds, Revealed on 4 September 2024.