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29 March 2024

House construction using recycled plastic waste to tackle plastic menace in India

Published
By Wam

An Indian couple's initiative of constructing houses and other structures using sheets made of processed plastic waste will help tackle plastic menace across the country, the Asian News International, ANI, reported on Saturday.

The entrepreneur couple in Hyderabad in the Southern state of Telangana started the initiative after realising the ill-effects of plastic. Prashant Lingam and his wife Aruna, who have a decade-long experience in designing houses and bamboo furniture, decided to use recycled plastic waste for their work after they saw a video in 2017 of a bull being operated to remove plastic from its stomach.

"We got scared after watching that video. Then we started researching on the subject. The infrastructural need of the country is increasing enormously so we thought of building a house with plastic only," Lingam told ANI.

"We came up with a substitute of plywood and made a plastic plank which is made from 'milk packets' and can be used for making furniture, toilets, benches and bus shelters," he said.

The first house the couple built in Hyderabad's Uppal was of about 800 square feet. It was constructed using 7 tonnes of plastic. "That much plastic was saved from being incinerated; it was used to construct a new house," Lingam said.

There are apprehensions among people who are new to the concept of living in a plastic house but there is nothing to worry about. "It is as good as any other regular brick and mortar house. The plastic house is water, fire and heat resistant. Thus, it can last for 30 - 40 years," he said.

Lingam has been getting support from the Telangana government and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, GHMC, for his work. "Some schools have asked us to build benches for them," he said.

"Eleven states in India have already imposed a full or partial ban on plastic. However, implementation is not so easy in our country. We should look for alternatives for plastic. There are alternatives available in jute, bamboo and cotton," Lingam said.

"We can contribute to 'plastic-free society' in two best ways. One is by cutting down the use of plastic and the second by reusing it," he added.