Despite growing global concerns about environmental conservation and efficient waste management practices, several companies in India see the disposal of waste products as an undesirable cost. What if waste management was to become a potential source of income?

The dumping of waste into landfills is the most widely used form of waste disposal, and these sites are where significant environmental damage occurs. Once a landfill starts overflowing with piles of trash, a new landfill site is found in another part of the city. This clearly, is not a viable solution to efficient waste disposal.

‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’, an ambitious campaign launched for a cleaner India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, can only be successful if innovative ways of disposing and recycling waste are developed. In light of this recent cleanliness drive, MYB brings you a list of five companies that have developed innovative ways of recycling waste and in doing so, have been successful in converting waste streams into revenue streams.

1. Maharani Paints:

Paint sludge, which has been labelled a hazardous industrial waste product, is an unavoidable by-product of the paint industry and its disposal has been a major environmental concern. Normally, paint sludge is either incinerated or deposited in landfills, which causes significant infertility of the land. In 2005, Mr B.R. Bhatia, chairman of Maharani Paints, took up the challenge of developing an innovative paint sludge recycling technology and became the first company in the world to convert paint sludge into high quality industrial primers, which are then used by the automotive industry. “Ever since that day in 2005, this cutting edge technology of recycling paint has grown to become a major line of business for the company,” says Mr Bhatia with pride.

2. Monarch Catalyst:

Manufacturer of nickel catalyst for oils and oleo chemicals, Monarch Catalyst is also the only company in India, which is authorised to process nickel waste. Director of Monarch, Mr Krishnan Muthukumar says, “We started this business (of recovering nickel from spent catalysts) and it gave us an economic advantage because our costs were lower since we didn’t have to import as much.” Waste and spent catalyst containing nickel has to be handled with great care since nickel, being a carcinogenic element, can be extremely dangerous to human health as well as to the environment. The company takes pride in careful extraction of the element from hazardous waste and converting it into high quality nickel salts.

 3. Arora Fibres:

The infamous plastic water bottles, after use, usually become garbage in landfills and each bottle can take up to 1000 years to biodegrade. Another popular method of disposal is the incineration of these bottles, which releases toxic fumes into the atmosphere, posing a serious health risk to consumers. But by reusing these very plastic bottles, Arora Fibres, since 1994, has been recycling its way towards a greener future. Polyester fibre, the recycled finished product of plastic bottles, is further used in the automobile industry as well as in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries, as packaging material. “Plastic has been profitable for Arora Fibres,” says Mr Rupinder Singh Arora, chairman of the company.

4. Gravita:

The vision statement of Gravita says, “All our operations are extremely eco-friendly and cost-competitive. We are fully committed to the preservation and protection of our natural resources and are fully aware that we can do so only in a pollution-free environment.” Well-known in the field of recycling lead, Gravita has also been successful in regenerating materials of spent lead-acid batteries, typically recognised as car batteries. Most of these scrap batteries are taken to recycling facilities where their components are separated. These components are further subjected to an individual recycling process. The recycling circle is indefinite and thus, every new lead-acid battery contains 60-80 per cent recycled lead and plastic, which means that this system of disposal is extremely eco-friendly and cost effective.

5. Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Company

Managing Director of Jindal ITF, Mr Indresh Batra says, “Solid waste management solutions are much needed to manage the growing problem of municipal solid waste faced by burgeoning metropolises and towns. Innovative, scientific and sustainable solutions such as waste to power as implemented in our Timarpur Okhla plant are the way forward in combating this problem.” India’s first large scale commercial waste to energy facility, the Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Company processes municipal solid waste through an environmentally friendly process of combustion, to generate clean and renewable energy. The heat from the combustion process boils water, the steam from which drives a turbine that generates electricity. This electricity is then distributed to the local grid.