Plastic Recycling in Chennai

Solid Waste Management and Plastic Recycle in Chennai

Even as a modernising India and every district like Chennai roars ahead, it is leaving a trail of plastic waste everywhere. Bottles, bags, buckets, shoes and garments are thrown away by the rich and the poor. Luckily, India has already exhausted that reflex reaction of shallow thinkers: ‘ban plastics!’ And even more luckily, some sober minds are focused on creative solutions to the problem. In terms of reclycling research - there are two initiatives which has come out of the labs.

Prof Vasudevan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu had proposed blending plastic waste with bitumen and rock aggregate used in paving roads. He said this improves bonding and make the roads survive the monsoons better. A small stretch of road was paved early this year to prove the concept. Now there is news that the practice may be spreading.

While that approach has to do with disposal, Alka Zadgaonkar’s is do with reuse. An academic and a researcher in Nagpur, she has gained a WIPO patent for her process to convert all manner of plastic wastes into petrochemicals. For eight years she and her husband Umesh have worked on perfecting the process. They then demonstrated it to many critical audiences. And now news comes that their doggedness may be paying off. Indian Oil Corporation [IOC] has signed a deal with her.

That apart - what is the measure done in Chennai for recylcing?
As "The Hindu" reports in June 2008, Average quantum of waste generated from each household is around 2.5 kg. Individually, nobody puts it into separate containers or places for recycling, like other developed nations do. In fact, the special rag pickers pick the plastics and recyclable wastes and get money for that from the organized recyclers.

A comprehensive solid waste management policy is on the anvil to halve the waste generated by houses in town panchayats by 2015, K. Gopal, Commissioner, Town Pachayats, has said.

The policy would be based on three R's: reduce, recycle and reuse. Awareness and training programmes would be conducted for stakeholders.

Each district would have at least one plastic recycle unit, he said. Residents would be encouraged to hand over non-degradable waste to these units through organised rag-pickers. We need to make it to one kg per household, instead of 2.5 kgs.

This is more of lack of awareness. Till date, there are many people who do not even know that there is a recylcing concept and also how harmful it is to the environment, if we ignore it. If you are interested, we wrote an article about clean and Green Chennai, sometime back.

After a little research online, Chennai Times bloggers(reporters) found out some recyclers. If you are a recycler and want to be listed, let us know at chennaitimes@gmail.com.

Chennai Metal Recycling , Estd. 2007, (Raja)
Importers of Waste Papers and Plastics.
Address: 69,Kamarajar Salai, East Gate,India,MADURAI,TamilNadu

Deepam Polymers & Chemicals
Munichalai Road, Chennai-625009

Sheila Sons
73, Abrami Street, Narayanapuram West,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 625 014.
Manufacturer / Supplier / Exporter of : medicinal Plants.,Plastic recycled materials.

SK Industries (Chennai)
Chennai TamilNadu
India