Seeks info about expanding scope to convert more single-use plastic into interlocks, pavers

Mysore/Mysuru: Mayor Shivakumar, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Health Officer Dr. D.G. Nagaraj and other officers on Tuesday visited the Jagruth Tech Plant at Vidyaranyapuram and inspected the process of converting waste plastic into recyclable products like interlocks, pavers, pavements and other eco-friendly and long-lasting items. 

 The firm is the authorised single-use plastic waste recycler and collector approved by the MCC and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). The firm is carrying out the recycling process at the Solid Waste Management Unit (Excel Plant) at Sewage Farm premises in Vidyaranyapuram.

 The Mayor inspected the innovative solution to use single-use plastic waste to make interlock tiles or pavers that are stronger than cement. The pavers are affordable, have longevity and are environment friendly.

Dinesh Bopanna, one of the Directors of Jagruth Tech, told Star of Mysore that the Mayor was impressed with the facilities and the technology and asked if the same technology could be used on a larger scale to mitigate the waste disposal problem in Mysuru to a considerable extent.

 “We told the Mayor that all manufactured plastics can be recycled but Low-Value Plastic or single-use plastic or non-recyclable plastic waste are meant to be used only once. Single-use plastics include multi-layered plastic, grocery bags, food packaging, straws, containers, cups and cutlery. We apprised the Mayor that there is a shortage of Low-Value Plastic as they are not supplied to Jagruth Tech,” Dinesh said.

 “We told the Mayor that only if we get used plastic waste from vendors and from other sources, such innovative items are made after the plastic is shredded. The Mayor examined the entire process of mixing and filling compressing to make tiles with a hydraulic machine,” Dinesh added. 

These interlocks can bear loads up to 60 tonnes and are more durable than cement bricks. They can resist temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius. Also, they are fully recyclable and can be reused many times, the Mayor was told.

 Assuring the firm that large quantities of Low-Value Plastic will be supplied to the firm for it to make pavers and interlock tiles, the Mayor said “The company is trying to make a dry waste collection system in a formal way by upcycling and providing end-of-life solutions for Low-Value Plastic.”