Page 22 - Plastics News September 2020

World's First Plastic Dam made by an Indian

Sachin Deshmukh a resident of Khujgaon village in Plastics and it does not require segregation of plastics
Maharashtra has developed a Dam made from Plastic waste thus reducing the machinery and again saving on
Waste in Sangli and has thus provided a much needed cost.
solutions to deal with plastic waste The Making
The increasing Plastic waste have been a eyesore with Sachin Deshmukh, a resident of Khujgaon village in
heaps of plastic bags and other SUP littered on the Tasgaon Taluka in Maharashtra, have been working on
streets across the country but thanks to Sachin since July 2014 and had registered as a Patent in 2015. It
Deshmukh for his invention of Plastic Dam that could is the World's First Plastic Dam being built in Sangli
now use Plastics waste which was till date used only in (Maharashtra). The dam built across length of 16 metre
road making (apart from recycled plastics). with a height of 2.5 metre and width of 2.5 metre is
Plastic Dam is a unique technique which is without any
pollution (Air, Water & Land) , and provides solution to
get rid of Plastic waste and thereby further help the
country in making water conservation possible at a
comparable low cost.
According to Sachin, “many people say Plastic waste has
become a major problem across the globe and India is no
exception with littering adding to further Plastic
pollution. Inventor Sachin Deshmukh, a researcher on
plastic pollution has found a solution in the form of
Plastic Dam. The world's first plastic dam has been built
in Aravade village, making it literally free from Plastic
waste. While making this Plastic Dam 17.5 ton
compressed municipal waste plastic has been used, thus
constructed at Aravade-Manjarde Road, Sangli
making 148 villages and two municipal corporations in (Maharashtra). Deshmukh chose Aravade village to make
Maharashtra becoming Plastic-Pollution free. The Plastic Plastic Dam. The village Sarpanch Yuvraj Patil, eminent
Dam is capable of conserving water over 15 lakh litres.
citizens Ramchandra Chavan and Sadashiv Chavan
welcomed the research and the construction of the dam
began on October 25, 2019. In making of this plastic
dam, 5 tons of plastic from the waste depot of Islampur
Municipal Council, 8 tons of plastic from the waste depot
of Karad Municipal Council, 4.5 ton's of waste plastic
from about 148 villages in Walwa and Kadegaon tehsils,
totaling to 17.5 tons of plastic in all has been used. The
Palstic municipal waste has been treated at the Waste
Plastic Product Machine (WPPM) technology that
converts plastics waste into Bricks. He had begun the
construction of the dam with financial support of Rs. 1
lakh from Plast India Foundation, and Rs. 50,000 from
Khujgaon village, Chief Executive Officer ZillaParishad
Sangli, Chief Officer Islampur and Karad Municipal
council helped as well for plastic waste and Karan
Dhawan stood by him in support.
Plastic Dam research is significantly helping reduce the
While the Plastic Dam is not only strong and durable it is plastic waste for it utilizes 17.5 tons of plastic in
huge cost effective and saves on time as well. Says making of these plastic dams without polluting be it
Sachin, “We have spent around Rs. 5 lakhs for making Water, Air, Land and even Plastics for it is not burnt. In
the Plastic Dam and it has taken less than a month to addition, this research also promotes water
make this dam fully erected.” conservation while fighting against the cause of Littering
If implemented properly Plastic dams can become one of of Plastic. Sachin mentions, “Most important of all, any
the most effective and handy solution to tackle the type of plastic is used in this dam. There is no need for
increasing menace of littering for it involves all kind of waste plastic segregation. Thus we save on additional

September 2020 22 Plastics News