October 28 – Recycling plastic waste has become a global issue long ago. Many research studies have been carried out across the globe to find a solution to the disposal of plastic waste without causing any harm to the environment.
Thermocol (polysterene foam), which is a non bio-degradable plastic waste, is causing a major harm to the environment.
IIT-Hyderabad faculty member Chandra Shekar Sharma has designed a model to recycle thermocol without causing any damage to environment by using orange peel as a solvent. After tasting success at the lab level, the IIT faculty has applied for Indian, Chinese, American and PCT patent for his model.
Founding a startup (Restero Technologies) on the premises of IIT, he has also decided to recycle thermocol commercially soon to make it into a fabric, which would successfully absorb oil from water.
Since the existing recycling of thermocol models were not only feasible financially and also emanate toxic gases into the environment, the IIT faculty has said that not many have dared to take up the idea of recycling the thermocol.. Stating that they had already completed the lab level trials of the project, Sharma said that the launch of commercial recycled thermocol was a matter of time.
