Assam Working Toward Getting 1st Anganwadi Made Of Plastic Bottles

An Anganwadi centre in Assam’s Hailakandi district will be constructed with plastic bottles stuffed with non-biodegradable waste and mud, officials said on Saturday.

Apart from the district administration, UNDP, the state education, social welfare and PWD departments are part of the project, he added.

The anganwadi centre at Singhalla area in Lala block will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 3.46 lakh, district Additional Deputy Commissioner R K Dam said.

Liquid cement will be used to reinforce the ‘ecobricks’, the plastic bricks stuffed with waste, the official said.

The district administration has already set up ‘plastic banks’ where citizens can deposit single-use plastic items, which could be turned into ecobricks, Dam added.

The rooms of the earthquake-resilient structure will be ventilated by making holes in the ecobricks, he said. As part of ‘Plastic Borjon Campaign’, the district administration organised a workshop and a rally on Friday to generate awareness about how to convert plastic bottles into ecobricks, reports edexlive.

The rally, conducted in collaboration with the Hailakandi Municipal Board, was flagged off by Dam. “Next time, you hold a plastic bottle in your hand, try thinking of it not as rubbish to be disposed of, but as the building block for something extraordinary,” Dam told the participating children.

He said the concept of ecobricks, which originated in Guatemala, turns waste into a robust and affordable building material which simultaneously tackles problems of unemployment, waste and lack of housing.

Ecobricks represent a different approach to waste management as plastic recycling is an energy-intensive, polluting business often involving long-distance transportation, Dam said.