Simply earlier than the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Sonal Shukla, Vaibhav Verma and their batchmates from the Nationwide Institute of Know-how (NIT), Kurukshetra, went on a winter trek to Parashar Lake in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, as their two-year MTech course was winding down.
“The mountains had been stunningly lovely, and we had been in awe of the surroundings. However then, we observed that there have been heaps of plastic waste scattered in every single place, spoiling the pure magnificence. Seeing such a stunning place ruined by plastic waste left a really robust impression on each of us and made us realise the pressing want to handle this rising downside,” Sonal recollects in a dialog with The Higher India.
Previous to this trek, the Kanpur native (a pupil of electronics and communication) and Vaibhav (a pupil of environmental engineering) had already mentioned their shared curiosity in preserving the surroundings. However this trek within the excessive climes of Himachal Pradesh ramped up their resolution to pursue a profession in waste administration with a give attention to plastic waste.
For Vaibhav, these occasions solely bolstered a selection he made a couple of years in the past. Rising up in Delhi, Vaibhav lived in a locality near the large Bhalswa landfill, an “imposing mountain of waste” he noticed day-after-day.
“This stark reminder of environmental challenges impressed me to pursue a grasp’s diploma in environmental engineering after finishing my bachelors in civil engineering. However seeing the gorgeous mountains spoiled by plastic waste was an actual wake-up name for me,” he recollects.
Quick ahead to September 2020, Sonal and Vaibhav determined to get into enterprise and began their enterprise ‘econscious’ simply months after graduating from NIT.
Within the final 4 years, this Delhi-based startup claims to have recycled roughly 3,50,000 kg of plastic waste to provide a variety of purposeful recycled plastic merchandise, comparable to park benches, dustbins, planters, and different eco-friendly reward objects. Using a “value-based recycling know-how” to fabricate them, econscious has sought to stroll the speak on making a round economic system round plastic waste and driving larger consciousness for sustainability.
Constructing a enterprise throughout COVID-19
“The early months of econscious had been each difficult and thrilling. With the COVID-19 pandemic nonetheless affecting every day life, we needed to navigate restrictions whereas growing our preliminary merchandise. We spent plenty of time researching and prototyping, looking for the most effective methods to recycle plastic waste into helpful merchandise,” says Sonal.
“Our first challenge concerned creating an eco-board out of plastic waste. This board was a prototype and might be used for a number of purposes. This challenge was vital because it allowed us to display the sensible software of our recycling course of,” she provides.
Additionally they labored on creating eco-friendly gifting objects, comparable to planters and coasters, which helped them attain a wider viewers and unfold consciousness concerning the significance of recycling.
“However after a lot experimentation, we discovered that merchandise that can be utilized in public areas like benches and dustbins are appropriate purposes as they create consciousness within the public area about addressing plastic waste whereas additionally requiring huge quantities of recycled plastic. To make a bench, for instance, we require roughly 50 kg of plastic waste. This manner we may create a bigger affect and shortly we began growing such merchandise,” she says.
Suffice to say, there have been some actual challenges they encountered.
“Since we began amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a problem to supply materials, develop prototypes and procure buyer suggestions. However we had been in a position to join with NGOs, company foundations, and native authorities authorities who shared our imaginative and prescient and supported our initiatives. Our partnerships have been instrumental in increasing our attain and affect,” she says.
“Innovation has additionally performed a major position in our journey. For instance, our challenge to create park benches from recycled plastic required us to develop new strategies and designs for processing and moulding the plastic waste. It confirmed us that being open to new concepts and repeatedly enhancing our processes can result in profitable outcomes,” she provides.
Understanding the method
For the Delhi-based startup, the method begins with gathering plastic waste from numerous sources, together with casual waste staff who accumulate supplies from completely different places. Additionally they collaborate with NGOs, housing societies, and schools to run consciousness campaigns and accumulate plastic via supply segregation.
“After accumulating the plastic waste, we type and clear it totally. After the plastic waste is collected, it’s meticulously sorted to separate several types of plastic. This sorting course of is essential as a result of completely different plastics have completely different properties and melting factors, which have an effect on the standard of the ultimate product in addition to the recyclability of the recycled merchandise. Therefore we don’t combine completely different plastic varieties guaranteeing it’s once more recyclable,” explains Sonal.
Nevertheless it’s their ‘value-based recycling know-how’ that makes econscious distinctive and impactful, argues Sonal. Not like conventional recycling strategies, which frequently produce low-quality objects, she claims their strategy ensures that the recycled plastic merchandise they create are high-quality and sensible.
“Conventional recycling typically entails turning plastic into small pellets, which consumes plenty of power. As a substitute, we skip the pellet-making course of and use plastic flakes. This selection not solely saves power but in addition reduces our environmental affect,” explains Sonal.
“We then flip these plastic flakes into eco-boards. That is the place our value-based recycling performs a key position. The eco-boards are sturdy and versatile, serving as uncooked supplies for numerous high-quality merchandise and purposes. This course of is energy-efficient and helps keep the standard of the plastic, permitting us to create long-lasting and invaluable objects,” she provides.
However what are these eco-boards extra particularly? Eco-boards are produced utilizing compression moulding know-how, the place small flakes of particular varieties of plastic waste are compressed to make boards of assorted thicknesses starting from 8 mm as much as 18 mm.
“This course of just isn’t solely environmentally pleasant but in addition permits us to regulate the visible look of the ultimate product. By mixing completely different colored flakes in exact ratios, we are able to create particular patterns on the floor of the eco-boards, giving them a singular and customisable aesthetic. The ensuing boards carefully resemble conventional plywood in each look and software,” explains Sonal.
“These eco-boards can be utilized in numerous methods, from crafting furnishings to creating custom-designed objects. They are often simply fabricated utilizing common slicing and woodworking strategies, and for extra intricate designs, CNC (pc numerical management) slicing will be utilized, permitting for a excessive diploma of precision,” explains Sonal.
In line with her, this capability to customize the sample and design, mixed with the board’s sturdiness, makes eco-boards a flexible materials. “They’re appropriate for a variety of purposes, whether or not it’s creating aesthetically pleasing merchandise or purposeful objects with an extended lifespan. The method up-cycles plastic waste and in addition provides worth by remodeling it into high-quality, visually interesting, and sustainable merchandise,” she provides.
These eco-boards are then used to make a variety of merchandise, together with park benches, dustbins, planters, and different eco-friendly reward objects.
“Our manufacturing course of is designed to maximise the utility and lifespan of those merchandise. By specializing in upcycling, we give plastic waste a brand new life as helpful and aesthetically pleasing merchandise. Our merchandise are crafted to final, providing lasting worth to our shoppers. With high-quality supplies and progressive manufacturing strategies, we make sure that our merchandise are sturdy and considerably cut back plastic waste,” she claims.
Going additional, Vaibhav argues, “Past the merchandise listed in our catalogue, we welcome new concepts and customisation requests from our shoppers.”
Whereas their major focus is on utilizing plastic flakes, additionally they discover different strategies to boost the energy and look of the merchandise.
“We are able to additionally use the granules to make the board and to get any desired color if required. The detailed steps in our course of are fine-tuned for effectivity, however the core ideas of sorting, cleansing, and compressing stay the spine of our operations. Whereas some features of our know-how are proprietary, our overarching objective is all the time to cut back waste, save power, and create sustainable merchandise,” claims Sonal.
Navigating India’s waste administration guidelines & different challenges
Navigating the waste administration sector in India comes with its personal set of challenges. One main hurdle for econscious has been coping with compliance and laws. “These are sometimes designed with massive industries in thoughts. There are not any particular pointers tailor-made for startups like ours which make use of round 15 to twenty folks at any given time. This could make it obscure and meet the necessities successfully,” she says.
“One other vital problem we face is accessing funds from buyers. Many buyers prioritise monetary returns, whereas our focus is on creating social and environmental affect. Whereas now we have been lucky to obtain a couple of grants from non-public organisations, which have been instrumental for us, we nonetheless want extra funds to scale our operations successfully,” she says.
“Moreover, securing a constant provide of plastic waste has been difficult. Though now we have established partnerships with some organisations, scaling our operations requires a extra dependable and steady provide. This entails overcoming logistical points and acquiring the mandatory approvals from native authorities to make issues extra environment friendly,” she provides.
Enterprise mannequin
The enterprise mannequin at econscious is constructed round recycling plastic waste into “high-quality and eco-friendly merchandise”. They give attention to remodeling collected plastic waste into sturdy objects comparable to park benches, dustbins, planters, and different sustainable merchandise.
“Income is generated via the sale of those recycled merchandise. We cater to numerous shoppers, together with, company foundations, authorities authorities, and NGOs who worth our dedication to sustainability and high quality. Our mannequin is supported by the rising market demand for sustainable merchandise. For the reason that inception of this enterprise, now we have generated over Rs 1 crore in income, reflecting the effectiveness and affect of our strategy,” claims Sonal.
Dr Ruby Makhija, the founding father of Why Waste Wednesdays Basis, a Delhi-based non-profit, claims, “econscious has exceeded our expectations with their merchandise and designs. The standard of the recycled plastic benches, mementos, pots, tables, and assortment containers we bought from them is sweet. What stands out about their merchandise is the eye to element.”
Working with manufacturers
Since its inception, the Delhi-based startup has partnered with firms like Bisleri, Nestlé, HCL Basis, P&G, Inexperienced Dream Basis, The American Centre, and different such shoppers.
“These collaborations have been instrumental in validating our enterprise mannequin and scaling our operations. These partnerships work by aligning our experience in recycling with the particular wants and objectives of every model. As an example, with Bisleri, we supported their ‘Bottle for Change’ initiative by offering eco-friendly merchandise produced from their plastic waste, which helped them improve their sustainability efforts. Equally, with Nestlé, we developed customised options that aligned with their environmental commitments,” says Sonal.
“Now we have additionally created bespoke merchandise for these shoppers, together with branded park benches, planters, and dustbins that incorporate their logos and color schemes. We repeatedly search methods to broaden our market attain, improve our product choices, and leverage new applied sciences to make a larger affect sooner or later,” she provides.
Trying forward
“Our major objective is to scale our operations to deal with bigger volumes of plastic waste and broaden our presence to a number of geographical places. By investing in superior recycling know-how and infrastructure, we plan to extend our processing capability and improve our capability to provide a various vary of high-quality merchandise,” notes Sonal.
“We additionally intend to develop merchandise with longer life cycles, aiming to cut back the chance of even recycled plastic objects ending up in landfills. This entails creating sturdy and versatile merchandise that present lasting worth. Moreover, we’ll work on increasing our market attain, each inside India and internationally, to develop our presence and affect globally,” she provides.
(Edited by Padmashree Pande; Pictures courtesy econscious®)
