Dr Binish Desai ‘Recycle man of India’ uses discarded PPE and face masks to make advanced eco-bricks

 

Dr Binish Desai converts discarded PPE and face masks into eco-bricks

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only affected human life, global economy and the medical sector, but its adverse effects are also being seen on the environment. Under these circumstances, 27-year-old environmentalist Dr. Binish Desai popularly known as the 'Recycle Man of India', has come forward with an innovative idea to tackle the situation. Where he is converting biomedical wastes especially single-use masks, head covers, and non-woven PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kit and other medical wastes into eco-friendly advanced bricks through the recycling process.

Dr Binish Desai’s obsession with transforming waste started at the tender age of 11

Social Entrepreneur, Environmentalist and Innovator Dr Binish, from Vadodara district, Gujarat, says- “Nothing in this world is useless, when I was 11 years old, I was in my classroom, I wrapped chewing gum with a piece of paper. I put it inside my pocket and forgot to throw it away. After a couple of days, I found the same in my pocket. It had hardened and looked like a solid block. This gave me an idea of making eco-friendly bricks from industrial paper wastes. I named it ‘Advanced brick 1.0’.

Binish latest innovation is Brick 2.0 from biomedical wastes generated during pandemic

corona pandemic has necessitated the widespread usage of Personal Protective Equipment like masks, gloves, PPE suits, and face shields worldwide. These PPE kits are made out of polypropylene plastic and can take hundreds of years to degrade. The increase in the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide is also increasing the demand for PPE packages. In such a situation, managing this generated biomedical garbage has become a big challenge for us. To fix the solution of this problem Binish has come up with another idea. Where he made Brick 2.0, which is an advanced version of brick 1.0, made using waste paper and binders. Brick 2.0 is three times stronger than any red bricks, as he added components such as used PPE and masks, which account for 52 percent of the total, while the rest is made up of paper waste and a binder and costs half as much as the traditional bricks.

Initially, they built more than 40,000 bricks for projects including houses and factories and now producing 15,000 bricks per day. This comes as a global recycling solution and addressing environmental hazards. Such innovation is truly an environmentally friendly solution.

Wall made from bricks 2.0

Process of making the brick 2.0

Binish told to  TheBetterIndian  -  “The process of making the brick is similar to the P-Block, and I added PPE made from non-woven fabric which includes masks, gowns, and head-covers. I started experimenting with the method in my home-lab, and soon made a few in my factory,” Once through with the process, he sent bricks to a local laboratory to check and authorize the material as amid pandemic they cannot reach the national laboratory. Each brick is 12 x 8 x 4 inches in size, and it uses 7 kg of biomedical waste per square foot. He claims it is lighter, and stronger compared to the P-Block 1.0 and costs Rs 2.80 per piece. Its low cost makes it even more appealing to the general public. 

Binish produced his prototype of a P Block by keeping in mind the housing needs of slum residents

Binish always wanted to build affordable homes for slum residents. For the purpose, he started his first company, BDream at the age of 16, and got a patent for his prototype ‘P-blocks,’ using a better organic binder than chewing gum. Collaborating with other companies and NGOs his innovation  build homes and toilets in rural areas as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. The company has already recycled more than 2000 tonnes of waste and built over 20,000 toilets in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Hyderabad and Pali. In 2016, he founded his firm, Eco-Eclectic Tech Group, dedicated to creating eco-friendly solutions by converting household and industrial waste into assets.

How Binish team collect the biomedical waste

According to NEWS18 report- Binish plans to introduce something called Eco Bins, which will help them to collect the waste generated in hospitals, police stations, other places where the staff or people are using PPE kits and medical-grade masks.

The bins will have an indication mark to show that it is full. Once it reaches that mark, the waste is left untouched for the next 72 hours, and then it will be disinfected thoroughly. Once that is done, it is shredded, added along with paper sludge and the binding agent.

Once developed, these bricks can be used for construction purposes. However, Binish tells it is his dream to build cost-effective, portable isolation wards that can be supplied across the country easily.

Binish empowers  women

Binish also founded ‘Eco Light Studio’, which empowers uneducated rural women and widows by providing employment opportunities. The company manufacturing household products like clocks, bags, lamps, and other accessories. He said- "The material is stored for 72 hours in isolation. In this procedure, we employ around 1500 underprivileged women from adjacent villages. The primary goal is to empower women while also encouraging long-term sustainability.”

Women making products with waste - Eco Light Studio Initiative

Binish is working with a production house to manage its biomedical waste

Now, for the first time Dr Binish Desai  is collaborating with 'Pooja Entertainment', a production house to recycle its production waste and reduce its carbon footprint. Deepshikha Deshmukh, producer of  the production house said- “I was worried about the biomedical waste produced like masks and PPE kits during the shoots. We decided to have a sustainable environment in the sets, and having Dr. Binish onboard has made that possible. We will make sure that eco-friendly is a part of our productions, whether it’s the building materials used to design buildings on sets, the plastic utilized, PPE kits and masks, or perhaps even the tea and coffee sediments.”

Desai was named in one of Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs

In 2018, Binish was featured in the list of Forbes Asia’s 30 under 30 Successful Social Entrepreneurs. Nikhil Chandwania published a book on Binish’s Journey and named his book – ‘The Recycle Man: Journey of a 10-Year-Old Boy to Becoming a Waste Warrior.

Conclusion

There is a decrepit relationship between human-use material waste and environmental degradation. The truth is that whatever human beings are making, buying and wasting to maintain their existence, is proving to be more poison for our earth than nutrition. Unchecked harmful materials such as gaseous pollutants, toxic materials, industrial effluents, sewage, agriculture runoffs, automobile wastes will eventually cause an environmental catastrophe.

According to a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in the National Green Tribunal, India generates about 110 Metric Tonnes per day (MT/day) of COVID-19 related biomedical waste. This quantity is in addition to the normal biomedical waste generation of about 609 MT/day.

In recognition of his commendable work and recycled alternative to biomedical waste, now Binish is getting calls not only from India but from all over the world inquiring about the products and getting orders from Australia, USA, Philippines and Brazil. Binish says- “I always follow four things; observe, fail, learn and solve. I see India as a leading solution provider of zero-waste technologies where we make locally and sell globally.”