A group of students from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai, have come up with a waste disposal solution. They have sought to convert PET (Polyethene Terephthalate) waste bottles into brick-like construction units.
This idea was conceptualised as part of 18th edition of four-day Shaastra-2017, which is one of the Asia’s largest student-managed technical festival and aims to work towards eliminating following two problems:
- Open Defecation Problem: As per WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, 2015, 44% of India’s population is still defecating in open risking health, dignity and safety every day.
- The Plastic Bottle Litter Problem: The accumulation of plastic waste and lesser options for riddance from it creates a litter problem that is a blotch on the city and its beaches.
How does this takes place?
The technique to build these constructional units is simple, yet brilliant . Students have to first filled the PET bottles with coarse sand and water. Later, they drain the water to ensure there is no gap between the sand crystals and filled it with even more sand to the brim. Now, 400 ml discarded plastic bottle weighs 800 grams and is a substitute for the bricks.
How will this technique help in cleanliness programme?
The transformed discarded plastic water bottles which are as par as bricks can be used as units for construction. The basic compressibility tests show the bricks and these plastic bottles are equal in strength. The first such ‘bottle’ toilet is going to come up in Bandikavanoor in Sholavaram taluk in Thiruvallur district. The total making cost of such toilet would just be Rs 18,000.
“To prove our idea, we have built a bench in front of Taramani guest house inside the IIT Madras campus and will be carrying out a few tests before going ahead with the construction of toilets,” says W Keerthana, a student who is the part of this programme.
Students have installed multiple collection boxes in various restaurants throughout the city and the bottles would be collected through collection drives thereafter. Students are inviting more restaurants, lodges, companies and NGOs to participate in this initiative. The PET bottles collected from city restaurants would be transformed into durable construction material and would be used to build toilets in rural areas.
