Page 55 - Plastics News April 2017

IN THE NEWS

First plastic recycling unit in Indian Institute of Petroleum

Malappuram
and Energy at Vizag receives

he Suchitwa Mission along with the Kerala Plastic Cabinet nod
TManufacturers’ Association will set up a plastic recycling
he Union Cabinet has given its approval for setting
unit in Malappuram. Mission executive director K. Vasuki
Tup of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE)
told DC that the site has been identified. The agreement
at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as ‘an institute
between KPMA and Suchitwa Mission will be signed soon. The
of national importance’ through an Act of Parliament.
unit will process polypropylene, low density polyethylene, The institute
high density will have the
polyethylene governance
and l inear structure as
lo w-density well as legal
polyethylene. man dat e
There will be t o gra n t
degrees in
a few finished
a manner
end products
similar to
like f l o wer
that enjoyed
vases. But most
by IITs. A separate Act will also impart the required status
of the recycled to the institute to become a ‘Centre of Excellence’
plastic will be inpetroleum and energy studies. The Cabinet has also
sold to other approved Rs 655.46 crore as capital expenditure to set
plastic manufactures. The exact site has not been up IIPE and contribution of Rs 200 crore towards its
disclosed. Earlier there were talks about such a unit being Endowment Fund (in addition to a contribution of Rs
set up on KINFRA Park in Thiruvananthapuram. However, 200 crore from oil companies towards the Endowment
the idea seems to have fizzled off. KPMA itself was not Fund). As committed under the 13 Schedule of Andhra
Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, it has been decided
keen on it, anticipating opposition from others. Recycling
to set up this Institute.
units will come up in central Kerala and south Kerala. The
one in south Kerala needn’t be in Thiruvananthapuram, The objective is to meet the quantitative and qualitative
says Mr P.J. Mathew, former KPMA president. “The unit gap in the supply of skilled manpower for thepetroleum
will be able to recycle 2500 metric tonnes of plastic, big sector and to promote research activities needed for
enough to cater to three or four districts. So it can be the growth of the sector. The academic and research
in Kollam or Pathanamthitta as well. Two acres of land activities of IIPE will derive strength from the institute's
proximity to sector-related activities such as KG-Basin,
would be needed as there should be space to store and Visakhapatnam refinery and the planned petrochemical
segregate plastic. The unit itself would not need more complex at Kakinada. Andhra Pradesh Government has
than 25 cents. There will be a water treatment plant and allocated 200 acres of land, free of cost, for setting up of
it will follow all the guidelines laid down by Kerala State IIPE at Sabbavaram Mandal in Visakhapatnam district. A
Pollution Control Board,” he said. The members of KPMA temporary campus of IIPE has been set up from academic
will form a new company which will handle the recycling session 2016-17 from the Andhra University Campus with
unit. The company will buy government-owned land, set two undergraduate programmes. IIT, Kharagpur has
up the unit and run it, he said. taken up the responsibility of mentoring the institute

55 April 2017 | Plastics News