- June 5, 2021
- Story
Eco-restoration starts from India
World Environment Day is observed every year on 5 June and is celebrated by more than 100 countries. The environment is a major issue, which not only affects the well-being of the people but also hampers economic development throughout the world.
The theme of World Environment Day 2021 is "Ecosystem Restoration".
We believe India plays an important role, when it comes to initiatives taken for restoration of the ecosystem and use of renewable energy.
While the world is full of creative entrepreneurs who are working tirelessly to make the world a better place to live, we bring you some stories about people who are deep rooted to their soil and have been coming up with innovative ideas to save the environment.
Let’s get started!
Pyrolysis plant for plastic waste management by K Sivagami.
Samudhyoga Waste Chakra, Chennai uses advanced technology to derive value out of plastic and liquid waste in a decentralized, digitized, and decarbonized fashion.
Together with South Chennai Corporation, they are working on a pilot project to launch a pyrolysis plant that can prevent 250 kg of plastics from reaching the oceans per day to produce 200 litres of oil with zero emissions for industrial use.
By appropriately transforming the plastic waste right into oil, the Samudhyoga will certainly conserve sea as well as Planet from countless microplastics.
Self-sustainable modular toilet system.
Indumathi Nambi and team Waste Chakra, Chennai have developed a self-sustainable modular toilet system which aims to reduce water footprint and generate green chemicals and water for reuse from the human and cow urine.
The technology called Eco Fert can process urine and recycle water to make toilets a sustainable sanitation technology.
From 1,000 litres of urine, the unit recovers 850 litres of water, 100 litres of ammonia, and one kg of struvite.
The recovered water is sent back to the system for flushing and gardening purposes.
The ammonia is sold, and the money earned is used to develop community toilets.
Solar powered groundnut harvesting machine
30 year old B.Sc graduate Raju Mupparapu, Warangal has invented a solar-powered groundnut cutter that will help farmers to harvest groundnuts that saves money and time.
Simple idea for Groundnuts picking. used bicycle rim, mini DC motor, battery and 10w solar panel. No use electricity and fuel #ecofrindly#Ruralinnovator @teamTSIC @Collector_WGLU @KTRTRS @anandmahindra @VpGautham_ias @ShashankaKondur @HiWarangal pic.twitter.com/6B70TfjA6m
— R A J U M U P P A R A P U (@Rajumupparapu1) March 5, 2020
This machine can harvest one acre area in 6 hours while the manual harvesting takes almost 2 days.
He used a cycle rim, belt, an iron frame, 20W DC motor, 12V battery and 10W solar panel to make the machine.
Low cost rooftop rainwater harvesting filter.
Amit Doshi’s NeeRain Private Ltd, Gujarat offers maintenance-free and cost-effective two-stage rooftop rainwater harvesting system.
The water then collects in a small tank with a transparent cover which makes the process visible. The water passes out of the system and is pure, clean and fresh rainwater.
It exits to the borewell or groundwater source. About 60% of the domestic beneficiaries have collectively saved around seven crore litres of water till now.
Solar-powered bike
Mupparapu Raju, Telangana developed a cost-effective solar-powered electric cycle that can run at a speed of 25 kmph. Fully charged, the vehicle is able to cover a distance of 20 km.
The solar panel charges the battery and if the battery runs out of charge, pedals can be used.
Renewable sources of energy will not only address climate change and global warming issues but also likely to reduce India’s dependency on fuel imports.
Net cage farming
C V Varghese, Kerala has come up with an innovative solution to grow produce using vertical mesh tower method.
In this method, organic fertilizer compounds like jeevamrutha and neem cake, wet and dry cow dung, goat dung, coconut husk, dry leaves and compost are used as potting mix instead of soil.
The net cage is made using weld mesh at a height of 4 feet and it is bent to form cylindrical shape or tower. Compared to other methods, less amount of water is required for irrigation.
Net cage farming is an ideal for those who do not have sufficient space and availability of water.
Vitamin D enriched rice and wheat
Chintala Venkat Reddy, 70 year old Hydearabad farmer, has innovated a rice and wheat variety that is infused with vitamin D, for which he won an international patent from WIPO.
The invention puts forth a new composition based on non-chemical, natural plant- based extracts to produce crop plants with high Vitamin D content, without genetic modification or application of chemicals.
The patented revolutionary farming technique ensures the presence of the crucial Vitamin D in rice and wheat in a completely natural way.
He is in talks with MNCs for mass production of new varieties of rice and wheat.
Sustainable takeaway boxes
Made of dried leaves – hand-woven reusable boxes
The BrickOven Cafe, Philippines, is using eco-friendly pizza boxes weaved out of pandan leaves and supporting local weavers.
The cardboard alternative is also helping the local weaving industry deal with economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Customers can keep them to use as storage containers, by simply washing and drying them in the sun.
Hope we will see similar weaved products replace the non-biodegradable packaging materials currently used for takeout.
The hidden Elon Musk of Africa
18 year old Kelvin from Ghana who built the car from scratch speaks English fluently, he has the intelligence of an innovator and he has the talent of an engineer.
He didn’t attend any formal engineering school. He built the entire car from scratch.
He deserves to be in a better place, he will be an inspiration to many, especially in his current environment .He is an example for ”Passion is energy.
Recycled paper pencil
The numbers substantiate the need for preventing the felling of trees for the sole purpose of retrieving wood to make pencils and for coming up with a sustainable alternative.
Nivedita Mitra, an engineer turned social entrepreneur from Delhi, decided to quit a well-paying job last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, to build a start-up that would replace the traditional wooden pencils with ones made of recycled paper in a bid to offer an eco-friendly substitute.
The pencils are manufactured from waste papers mainly through recycling old newspapers.
Recycled paper pencil is widely available at the stationeries. It is promoted even by the government for the benefit of the environment.
World’s 1st solar heated military tent
World environment day is incomplete without this great man Sonam Wangchuck
Sonam Wangchuck has come up with an innovation that could help people stay warm in the freezing cold of Ladakh. It can keep them warm at 15 degrees even when it is -14 degrees outside.
It uses only sunlight, water and insulated layers to maintain temperature. The solar heated tents can be used by 10 people at a time and are completely portable.
Wangchuck is the founder of Student Educational and Cultural Movement in Ladakh. The whole institute is designed with solar energy and uses no fossil fuel for cooking, lighting or heating.
This replaces tons of kerosene fuel, pollution and emission.
We wish all the entrepreneurs and will always be thankful for their passion to save and restore the environment.
Sources: EvXprts Foundation | Logical Indian | YouTube
