Page 73 - Plastics News October 2018

in thE nEwS

Maharashtra to build toilets using Mangaluru Corporation stops

plastic man’s technology using plastic water bottles

he State will soon use stone blocks made of plastic and cting on a government directive, Mangaluru City
TPET bottles in construction of public toilets under the ACorporation has stopped using plastic water
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The government has decided bottles. In addition to doing away with the menace
to procure the technology for making plastone, a unique of plastic bottles, the civic body is expected to save
stone block made with plastic coating, from proffessor between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 2.50 lakh annually from this
Rajagopalan Vasudevan, known as the plastic man of India. move. The civic body has replaced plastic bottles with
The block was invented in 2012 when the professor was steel tumblers, as one-time investment. According
looking for a technology to withstand pressure and water to Madhu S. Manohar, Environment Engineer of the
corporation, the corporation has purchased 200 steel
glasses, 50 steel jugs, five steel trays and two steel
containers. Each container has a capacity to store 50
litres of water. It cost the civic body about Rs 35,000.
He said that so far the corporation purchased about
20,000 plastic water bottles of half litre and 250 ml
capacity annually for using them in meetings of the
council and four standing committees and in other
programmes. The council and the committees held
a minimum 60 meetings annually. Purchase of plastic
water bottles cost the corporation between Rs 2 lakh
percolation. A single plastone block consumes about 300 and Rs 2.50 lakh. Now, water could be collected from
plastic bags and six PET bottles. The technology could come water filters installed in the corporation, stored in the
in handy to help the State meet its targets of building over steel containers and supplied during all meetings. The
10 lakh toilets this year under the SBM, launched in 2014 corporation stopped using water bottles for the first
as a five-year scheme. “We have decided to procure the
technology and even tiles made of plastic from professor
Vasudevan. We plan to use them in construction of toilets
since they are non porous and prevent water penetration,”
Anil Diggikar, principal secretary, environment, said. Under
the SBM scheme, the State is promoting construction and
use of sanitary latrine at all households. The scheme aims
to make toilets available in every house and in turn make
the country open defecation free by October 2, 2019. As
per estimates, Maharashtra’s 27,902 gram panchayats have
1.15 crore houses, of which 63.67 lakh or 55% are without
toilets. The government had constructed 12.79 individual
toilets at Rs 656 crore by the end of 2017. The cost of time in the council meeting this month. Instead, steel
constructing a single unit could significantly come down glasses and jugs were used. Used plastic water bottles
with the use of plastone. A single palstone of one square thrown away in public places in the city by tourists and
by one square foot has a manufacturing cost of Rs 45, and others have emerged as a menace.
is sold at Rs 80

October 2018 Plastics News 2018 Plastics News
73
77 October