Bricks From Discarded Masks: ‘Recycle Man’ Binish Desai’s Latest ‘Invention’

Binish Desai, who has earned the sobriquet ‘Recycle Man of India’, is at it again.

Binish — who made headlines in 2010 for designing P-Block bricks (from industrial paper and gum waste) — has been working on converting discarded face masks into bricks ever since the government made it mandatory to use masks to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

The 27-year-old Desai, who has a laboratory at home since the age of 10, channelised his energy towards his new project Bricks 2.0 from April, The Hindu reported.

“Initially, everyone was talking about how the lockdown had helped reduce pollution, but I could only think of what the rising demand for PPE suits and masks would lead to,” says the founder of the Gujarat-based Eco-Eclectic Technologies, whose aim has always been to recycle neglected waste material.

He started by collecting used masks from his family. “I dumped them in a bucket of disinfectant for two days before starting work,” Desai said. He then mixed them with “special binders” created in his lab.

“To check the material’s tenacity I conducted small prototype experiments and explored various combinations of binders. For these bricks, the successful ratio was 52% PPE + 45% paper waste + 3% binder,” explained Desai, who was featured in Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ Asia 2018 list of successful social entrepreneurs.

Desai then created eco bins to collect PPE waste and is trying to tie up with private hospitals, malls and salons to place the bins. “We are in the process of obtaining an NOC from Gujarat Pollution Control Board to conduct mass collection and recycling of the waste,” he informed.

As for safety and hygiene, Desai said that they follow Central Pollution Control Board guidelines.

“PPE waste has to be kept untouched for 72 hours before disposal, so the Eco Bins will be opened 72 hours later and the waste will first be washed in a pool of disinfectant,” explained Desai.

Desai’s team has so far worked with 106 types of waste, including jewellery units, textile scraps, paper surplus, coffee waste, etc. to create over 180 different products.

The new bricks will be sold at Rs 2.8 per piece, the same rate as the P-Block bricks.