Among other issues, proper waste management is the major problem plaguing India. To handle the tonnes of plastic waste sustainably, a Delhi-based startup has been recycling plastic waste and making colorful tiles from it. Shayna EcoUnified has turned 340 tonnes of plastic waste into 11 lakh colourful tiles in the past two years.
Image: Shayna EcoUnified
Paras Saluja with his friend Sandeep Nagpal started Shayna Ecounified India in July 2017. Till then, he had zero experience in waste management. Before that, he had been working as a distributor of pharmaceuticals.
It all started in 2015 when Saluja visited the Everest Base Camp and was shocked to see the place littered with garbage. He decided to do something for the environment by proper disposal of plastic garbage. But, a commerce graduate did not have any expertise in the area.
However, when he visited Vietnam, he was much inspired by their clean cities despite having scores of street markets. On his return, he met with government officials and scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to gather more information about plastics/polymers and how to recycle them sustainably.
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NPL was working on a technology that could turn plastics into tiles. Fascinated, but mostly inspired, with the technology, Paras invested in the Research and Development and took rights to manufacture the tiles for his company Shayna EcoUnified and started production in 2018.
Paras joined Sandeep Nagpal and his team at Shayna in managing plastic waste sustainably and economically. Sandeep has 25 years of experience in the field of distribution.
Image: Shayna EcoUnified
The plastic material is categorized into three sections – toys, disposable cutlery, chairs, and tables that consist of Polypropylene (PP); PET bottles, their caps, and crates are made of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE); and the Low-Density Polyethylene that is used to make milk pouches, mainly.
The plastic waste is sourced from the rag-pickers, which is then crushed, washed, mixed with fillers and then compressed to make tiles at the production unit based in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Presently, Paras is closely working with three major street vendors in the Delhi NCR area for raw materials.
Image: Shayna EcoUnified
Around 10,000 paver tiles and 4,500 square tiles are manufactured in a day. A kilogram of plastic waste makes one square feet of tiles which comprises of 4 plastic paver tiles. Besides HDCP paver tiles, the company also makes floor tiles, designer tiles, and tiles for dustbins and toilets.
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These tiles are anti-static, antimicrobial, antibacterial with a heating capacity of up to 140-degree Celsius and can be cooled down to -25 degrees Celsius. The tiles with a load-bearing capacity of 20 tonnes and 40 tonnes are manufactured. Paras claims that their plastic tiles can last up to a minimum of 50 years.
The company’s first big government project was undertaken in 2018 when The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation used Shayna EcoUnified’s tiles in its dog park. These tiles, used at the GHMC dog park in Hyderabad, and the NPL are light, compact and come with an interlocking feature.
Tiles made of recycled plastic have been used in the park / Image: Shayna EcoUnified
Till now, Paras has provided tiles from recycled plastic to L’Oréal International, Tata Motors – Jamshedpur, and has also won the tender from Municipal Corporation in Gurugram.
Many corporate companies have reached out to the Shayna EcoUnified for EPR and CSR activities. In this case, the concerned company will provide the raw material namely plastics, and Shayna EcoUnified will make tiles.
As of now, Shayna EcoUnified have turned 340 tonnes of waste plastics into colourful plastic tiles.
Via: The Logical Indian