Page 21 - Plastics News December 2025
P. 21
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
MUMBAI NGO LAUNCHES PLASTIC
RECYCLING DRIVE TO PROVIDE FREE MEDICINES
by Hussain Shaikh, the founder of the Malwani
Health Care & Public Service Centre, popularly
known as “Health buddy”.
"The drive began a year ago in Malwani MHADA,
Malad West, with the aim of reducing plastic pol-
lution and supporting low-income families who
struggle to afford basic medication.
Shaikh said that used plastic bottles, once emp-
he NGO has installed “Plastic Bottle Re- tied, lost all value for people and often ended up
cycle Boxes” outside its clinic in Malwani, littered across streets, contributing to pollution.
Tencouraging residents to deposit their We installed the first recycle box in Malwani a
empty plastic bottles instead of discarding them year ago and began collecting discarded bot-
on the streets. tles. Every month, the box would fill up five to
six times. The collected plastic was then sold to
The Malwani Health Care & Public Service Cen- nearby scrap vendors, earning Rs. 500–Rs. 800
tre, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation per month.
(NGO) working towards community welfare, has
introduced an innovative eco-friendly initiative This money was used responsibly to purchase
that blends environmental responsibility with loose medicines under the supervision of a visit-
public health support. ing doctor at the centre. With just this one box,
every month we provided free medicines for fe-
The NGO has installed “Plastic Bottle Recycle ver, body pain, cough, cold, and other aches to
Boxes” outside its clinic in Malwani, encouraging 20 to 30 people in Malwani.
residents to deposit their empty plastic bottles
instead of discarding them on the streets. Under Encouraged by the success of the initial experi-
this initiative, citizens who contribute to the recy- ment, we now aim to scale up the initiative by
cling effort receive free medicines for common involving various NGOs, social workers, political
ailments such as fever, body pain, cough, cold, groups, and the general public.
and headaches. The model operates on a simple "I believe that with collective participation, the
yet impactful concept, “You feed me plastic bot- campaign can provide free medication to a much
tles, I give back free medicines to the needy.”
larger number of people while helping reduce
The campaign, Plastic Do, Muft Mein Dawai Lo plastic waste in the locality," he said.
Social Drive, was conceptualised and initiated
Through this initiative, we are planning to con-
December 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 21
