Upcycling of plastic, e-waste catches on as trash put to good use

Dehradun: Upcycling e-waste and plastic waste is gaining momentum in the city, with several social outfits and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) chipping in and putting discarded materials to good use. Doon-based NGO ‘Waste Warriors’ recently partnered with the civic authorities to conduct plastic collection camps where free masks were given to those bringing in their plastic trash.Another city-based NGO ‘Building Dreams Foundation’ has built structures like tree guards, school boundary walls and park benches using eco-bricks, which are basically plastic bottles stuffed with trash. A 1lt bottle accommodates around 700 gm plastic. Till now, the organisation said it has managed to turn 15,000 kg of plastic into eco-bricks.
Eco Group, another such NGO, which has made chairs, table and benches from plastic waste at Khalanga Park, Oli village and Defence Colony, said it has launched 50 campaigns in different RWAs to promote segregation of waste at the source. Its founder Ashish Garg said, “It’s very important to separate plastic waste at home since it is very difficult to pick out reusable items at a landfill.”
CM Trivendra Singh Rawat had also recently inaugurated a studio cum restaurant at the Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA) premises, which was the first such structure to have been completely made out of electronic, or e-waste. The roof was made of one lakh CDs and DVDs, walls and seating area out of other defunct electronics.