Recycled with twist: From tyres to bags, jumbo poo to books

In this world of fast depleting resources and growing accumulation of waste, it is high time we start following the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.

In a consumerist society, reduction is not always possible, but we can make our best efforts to reuse and recycle. Here are a few initiatives, which are true to the spirit of reusing and recycling, and have come up with interesting ways to create something new from the discarded.

Creative pursuit

The Delhi based NGO Chintan has been working with the marginalised section since 1999, mainly on urban issues, in particular — solid waste management. They handle over 26 tons of waste daily and have created livelihoods for approximately 1,000 persons. Chintan makes over 5,000 kg of compost every month, diverting over 30 tons of wet waste from being discarded in the landfills. They also partner with Safai Sena (another independent initiative) and the Northern Railways to handle the waste from the litter bins. It is then turned into compost, which is then returned to the railways free of cost.

From elephant poo

Recycling elephant dung and turning it into paper is the organisation Haathi Chaap. The dung undergoes several cleaning processes — cleaned, cooked in water, disinfected, dried, sifted, beaten into a pulp, made into sheets, and calendered (a process of interleaving a bunch of sheets with zinc coated metal sheets and passing them back and forth under pressure). An elephant eats about 250 kg of food in a day, and that can produce 100 kg of dung. This kind of paper, ecologically, can be a superior substitute to the normal paper. In addition to notebooks and stationery, the brand also makes bags, frames, and photo albums.

Available at Hauz Khas Village, Khan Market and GK I N-Block