Auroville shows the way in eco-friendly lifestyle


The international township promotes use of alternatives to plastics and innovative recycling or upcycling of non-biodegradable material

The international township of Auroville is taking the lead in developing an eco-friendly lifestyle, with alternatives to plastics and innovative recycling or upcycling of non-biodegradable material.

Eco Service, a waste management company, has been at the forefront of a campaign against solid waste, specifically plastic and non-recyclable plastic materials, since its launch in 1984.

The venture has opened around 340 collection points across the township from where plastic materials, glasses and other types of solid waste are segregated. Around 10 to 12 tonnes of solid waste and plastic waste are generated during the peak season — and about nine tonnes off-season — from October to March. About 60% of the waste is recycled and the remaining is landfilled.

Few may be aware that waste can be sorted into several categories. Here, it is segregated into 83 types. The Eco Service team first isolates plastic that can be recycled. At the sorting shed, the non-recyclable plastic is shredded into tiny particles. The waste is then mixed with cement concrete and used for construction of experimental walls on the premises.

The segregated plastic, except the multilayer type (packaging materials), is bundled and taken to dealers in Sedurapet and Mettupalayam in nearby Puducherry with a specific demand to dealers that they should not incinerate the waste as it would be a threat to the environment.

“The recyclable waste is sold to recycling dealers for use as raw materials. The multilayer plastic is not landfilled and is only stored on the premises,” says K. Palani, an executive at Eco Service......Read more

 

Source web page: The hindu


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