Gujarat start-up converts plastic waste into furniture

The proliferation of plastic waste is a major environmental problem and several attempts are being made to tackle it. One such initiative took off in 2017 in Maharashtra’s Amravati, where four friends came together to reduce the waste.

It all started when Madhur N. Rathi, an MBA student, after attending a conference on waste management was convinced to do something and so he roped his friends, Bhushan Boob, Roshan Pidiyar and Ashish Modak to start Recycle Bell Private Limited in 2017 with each of them putting in Rs.5 lakh as seed money.

Talking about it, Rathi told Better India: “Wanting to learn more about waste management, I worked at Nepra Resource Management Pvt Ltd in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as a project coordinator. Three and a half years later, I came back to my hometown due to family reasons. But my love for waste management increased day by day and I asked my friends to help in launching a new venture — Recycle Bell Private Limited.”

Initially the waste was collected from shops, ragpickers and industries, and separated to be sold to recyclers to make products of daily use.

After two years, they decided to use the waste collected to create products themselves and after doing due research on the subject, Econiture came into being which makes and sells furniture and home décor using recycled plastic. “Most of us use products from recycled plastic for an eco-friendly life, but very few know that these same recycled products can be recycled after years. Our brand Econiture’s products are an example of it,” informed Rathi.

Till now 5,000 kilograms of plastic waste has been utilised to make stools, chairs, stands, racks, shelfs, tables, benches and pots. These products can be kept safely outdoors without any fear of damage due to climatic conditions.

The company uses e-commerce platforms like Saryu Homes and Amazon to sell these products which range from Rs.300 to 30,000 and the revenue generated is Rs.24 lakhs per year.