CSIR-NCL and RIL join hands to make useful products from COVID-19 PPE waste
CSIR-NCL and RIL join hands to make useful products from COVID-19 PPE waste
CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune jointly with Reliance Industries Ltd.
(RIL) and several other companies from Pune have achieved a breakthrough to manufacture useful
moulded plastic components from COVID-19 PPE waste. The undertaken pilot project has the
potential to scale up and replicate throughout the country to convert PPE waste into useful and
safe products.
A substantial increase in demand for single use plastic items such as Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE), masks, gloves, etc. has been observed since the outbreak of COVID-19
pandemic. Across India, more than 200 tons of COVID-19 related waste was generated every day
in May 2021. So far, this hazardous PPE waste is incinerated at central waste management
(BMWM) facilities. Incineration is energy-intensive and leads to the release of harmful greenhouse
gases.
CSIR-NCL, RIL and other companies embarked on a mission to develop an end-to-end process
for effective recycling of COVID-19 plastic waste to produce value-added plastic products
ensuring decontamination of COVID-19 plastic waste, focusing on the conversion of the plastic
waste suitable for downstream processing and identification of potential stakeholders / markets for
creating value for entire supply-chain.
• CSIR-NCL jointly with RIL and several other companies in Pune region have successfully
made useful products from COVID-19 PPE waste
• Pilot project can be scaled up and replicated throughout India
• Incineration of COVID-19 PPE waste emits greenhouse gases and contributes to global
warming
• It will lead to substantial reduction of emissions and reduced use of virgin plastics
In a proof-of-concept study, CSIR-NCL team successfully demonstrated the lab-scale manufacture
of moulded automotive products from the decontaminated PPE plastic waste (at M/s Niky
Precision Engineers, Pune) by leveraging the existing recycling infrastructure available in Indian
cities.
CSIR-NCL and RIL have now signed an MoU to scale up the production to pilot-scale, laying a
path to take the concept to the national level. A pilot scale of 100 Kg in the Pune city area was
successfully implemented by collaborating with Pune-based companies, viz. M/s APPL Industries
Limited, M/s SKYi Composites, M/s Harsh Deep Agro Products, M/s Urmila Polymers, M/s Jai
Hind Autotech Pvt. Ltd., who produced value-added products. The feed material (PPE kits) was
collected and decontaminated by Passco Environmental Solutions, a waste management company
located in Pune. CSIR-NCL secured all regulatory approvals needed from Maharashtra Pollution
Control Board (MPCB) to complete this pilot trial.
The technical journey of CSIR-NCL, aided by Reliance and CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum
(CSIR-IIP) Dehradun, with funding from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, mainly
involved converting the decontaminated PPE waste (mainly comprising PPE suits/overalls) into
an easily processable and upcycled agglomerated form (pellets or granules). It was ensured that
the polymer pellets show the right attributes necessary for successful conversion to produce nonfood applications, including high-performance automotive components.
This pilot project can be implemented across India to build a sustainable circular “green” economy
that can propel India’s growth in this relatively untapped sector and contribute towards India’s
socio-environmental targets.
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CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune India is a research, development and
consulting organization with a focus on chemical and allied sciences & engineering. It has a
successful record of research partnership with industry. NCL is a flagship laboratory of the Council
of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR, www.csir.res.in) which is the largest network of
publicly funded research institute in India.
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is one of the largest private sector corporations in India. It has
evolved from being a textiles and polyester company to an integrated player across energy,
materials, retail, entertainment and digital services. In each of these areas, it has committed to
innovation-led, exponential growth.
