Reimagining plastic recycling: Meet the IAS officer from Hyderabad who is paving the way for better waste management in her city

From pavements made of recycled plastic, to an entire office room created from plastic bottles and bamboo, IAS officer Hari Chandana Desari is working with organisations for better waste management and using waste for good.

Paving a way towards a sustainable future for her city, Hyderabad, Hari Chandana Dasari, an IAS officer in Zonal Commissioner (West) of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), has been working with Bamboo House India and a few other eco-friendly organisations to bring a change in the waste management system.

It all started with Hari Chandana wanting to put to use a bunch of old unused tyres lying in the GHMC yard. In the process of finding a solution, Dasari met Prashant Lingham, Co-Founder of Bamboo House India.

She told Efforts For Good,

We opted to turn the old tyres and barrels into furniture for public places. After that, we explored street furniture made of recycled plastic. I must mention that we received a lot of positive support from the citizens.

The street furniture was a success with the public, which led Hari Chandana and Prashant to build a bus shelter out of plastic pet bottles. Later, they went on to construct an entire office-house for GHMC out of bamboo and plastic bottles earlier this year, reports NDTV.

The construction of a conventional building on the same size would cost Rs 25 lakh, but with the office room made of plastic bottles and bamboo the cost came to only Rs 7 lakh. They utilised 800 kilos of shredded plastic waste for this. The 13x13 tile floor was made by 4.5 lakh polythene bags.

However, their eco-friendly recycling measures did not end there. After this, Hari Chandana took on another project with Prashant under GHMC. The project laid plastic paver tiles along 10 prime streets in the city, accounting for a total area of 4,000 sqft, and they are planning to work on another 7,000 sqft.

On the project’s feasibility, Hari Chandana told Efforts For Good,

It might seem that the recycled plastic paver tiles are costlier. But if we take into consideration the entire expense of plastic waste disposal – starting from transport to landfills or incineration – recycling them into paver tiles is way more economical and eco-friendly.

Hari Chandana has not only bought a recycling revolution in the city’s waste management but she has also made sure that the waste is decomposed well.

Her house too comprises a recycled bathroom and a rainwater harvesting reservoir. What about electricity? She explains:

I have installed a solar power generator at my house, which takes care of all my power needs. I have a home composter where all my wet waste goes.

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