Bottles To Blocks
University student Aditya Shukla was traveling from Sarkhej to Odhav in Gujarat, when he first noticed the dense and dark smoke coming out of the Pirana dump site in Ahmedabad. He was interning at Sickle Innovation at that time and it was his first time in the city. The sight shocked him and made him realize that waste management was an issue that demanded immediate attention. Aditya began intensive research on waste management and recycling and came across a research paper that discussed how irradiated plastics can be used as an additive to concrete to increase its strength. Use of this methods reduces the use of cement in building blocks, thus eliminating pollution created by the cement manufacturing process as well as burning of the plastic waste. The research paper sparked the idea for Recycler, a start-up that transforms mixed plastic waste and construction waste into value-added construction commercial products with minimal environmental risk.
Once Aditya had zeroed on his idea, he got his cousin, Sudhir Shukla, a mechanical engineer by training, on board. Despite both of them working at the time, they started developing their envisioned product only to quickly realize the need for a stronger team. Aditya’s ex-classmate, Harish Makvana and Professor Yogesh Sharma, a faculty member from their alma mater, Gujarat Technological University, joined Recycler. Despite being well aware of the risks with start-ups, but too enthusiastic to let go of a venture with significant social value, the team of four driven engineers incorporated Recycler in 2017.
As entrepreneurs, one of the greatest challenges is to convince people to believe in the idea enough to make an investment. The first funding for Recycler came from a college senior to one of the founders who believed in their idea. The second investment came from a client of Aditya’s previous company, who liked the idea so much that he invested without any clause of return. The next few rounds of funding came in form of grants from Government of Gujarat and other institutions like CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University also extended their support in form of accommodation and food for the team, as a part of PDPU’s Innovation and Incubation Center. Currently, the start-up’s pilot manufacturing unit is operating in the premises of PDPU.
In December 2017, Recycler’s team filed for the patent for their advanced composite material and the process associated with it. They use locally sourced industrial and construction waste, such as foundry sand, quarry dust, fly ash, which are then bound together with mixed plastic waste (MLP, Polythene bags, tetra packs) for the final composite material. Blocks made out of this composite material are rigid, durable and heat resistant, having been accredited by India’s National Accreditation Board of Testing and Calibration Laboratories and Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology. The composite material can be easily molded into bricks, blocks and walls, demonstrating a strength higher than M40 concrete (it has a compressive strength more than 40 N/mmsq). Recycler’s pilot project was the pro-bono delivery of 3,000 paver blocks to an NGO that works towards the development of women and children. Their second project is being developed with PDPU itself.
The current manufacturing unit at PDPU has the capacity of manufacturing 500–600 blocks per day, and the start-up is now working towards creating a fully-fledged manufacturing plant that can manufacture 1,500 blocks per day. Recycler aims to obtain an area of 3,000 square feet, where they will be able to accommodate their production and inventory storage. Once the manufacturing unit is set up, the team plans on tapping major infrastructure and smart city projects in Gujarat.
The start-up also plans on manufacturing interlocking brick units and composite blocks with their material. “We are currently focusing on paver blocks, but have Lego bricks are in pipeline too. We will be able to manufacture these once we have enough money for creating the molds, which are expensive,” says Aditya.
The team believes in constantly moving towards the future at a slow, but steady pace. When asked if he felt a need for diversification in his team, since all are engineers, Aditya says “We might do better with someone from another background, but no one can pitch the product better than we, the creators, can. Although we certainly will on board someone once we have enough funding on our plate.”
Aditya believes, “Talent and confidence are within ourselves. Build an idea, start working on it, and then all you need is a right platform.” Using Recycler’s paver block as a metaphor, talent, confidence, perseverance and dedication are the polymers that, when mixed in definite proportions, can build a disruptive and solid business case.
