Circular Economy of Waste | Dr. Binish Desai | TEDxGateway
Summary
TLDRThe speaker uses a roll of toilet paper as a metaphor for the cycle of waste in nature, highlighting the issue of non-recyclability in modern materials. He discusses the inadequacy of current waste management practices, which often involve relocating waste rather than truly disposing of it. The speaker introduces an innovative solution: bricks made from industrial waste, which are stronger, larger, and cheaper than conventional bricks. These eco-friendly bricks have been used to build low-cost toilets and houses in rural India. The idea originated from a simple experiment with chewing gum and paper, leading to the creation of a lab that converts waste into eco-innovations. The speaker envisions a future where waste is utilized to create sustainable products and technologies, promoting a circular economy where waste becomes a valuable resource.
Takeaways
- 🌿 The speaker holds a roll of toilet paper as a symbol of the natural cycle of waste management that has been disrupted by human intervention and technology.
- 🔄 The speaker emphasizes that before human influence, everything in nature was recyclable, but modern materials have become too complex for nature to break down, leading to waste accumulation.
- 🗑️ The speaker criticizes the current approach to waste management, which involves merely relocating waste from one place to another instead of truly disposing of it.
- 📰 The misconception that paper is 100% recyclable is debunked, with the speaker pointing out that most paper ends up in landfills.
- 🇮🇳 India is highlighted as the sixth-largest waste producer, with a staggering amount of waste generated daily, equivalent to throwing 10,000 cars into landfills.
- 💡 The speaker introduces an innovative solution: bricks made entirely from waste, which are stronger, larger, and cheaper than conventional bricks.
- 🏭 The process of making these eco-friendly bricks is described as simple and replicable, using waste from various industries mixed with a special binder.
- 💡 The idea for these bricks originated from a childhood curiosity when the speaker discovered that paper could harden and be used as a building material.
- 🧪 The speaker has started a lab to convert waste into eco-innovations, creating economic solutions for waste from different industries.
- 🔄 The concept of a circular economy is promoted, where waste from one industry becomes a valuable resource for another, exemplified by various products made from waste.
- 🚀 The speaker envisions a future where waste is utilized to its fullest potential, even in space, and aspires for India to lead in providing zero-waste technologies.
Q & A
What does the speaker symbolize with the roll of toilet paper?
-The speaker uses the roll of toilet paper to symbolize the natural cycle of waste management, highlighting how human and technological advancements have disrupted this cycle, leading to waste that nature can no longer break down.
What is the speaker's view on the current approach to waste management?
-The speaker criticizes the current approach as merely relocating waste from one place to another instead of truly disposing of it, which is causing the environment to be overwhelmed with waste that Earth cannot handle.
Why is the speaker concerned about paper and newspapers after they are used?
-The speaker is concerned because most people believe that paper is 100% recyclable, but in reality, much of it ends up in landfills, contributing to the waste problem.
What is India's ranking in terms of waste production?
-India ranks as the sixth largest producer of waste, with 43 thousand industries producing 19,000 tons of waste every day.
How does the speaker describe the idea of using waste for creating bricks?
-The speaker describes a process where waste from various industries is mixed with a special binder, molded into bricks, and naturally dried. These bricks are stronger, more durable, and cheaper than conventional bricks, and have been used to create low-cost toilets and houses in rural India.
What was the inspiration behind the speaker's discovery of the brick-making process?
-The inspiration came from a childhood incident where a piece of paper hardened after a chewing gum got stuck on it. The speaker's curiosity led to further experiments, eventually leading to the creation and patenting of the first prototype of a brick made from waste.
What is the speaker's approach to converting waste into eco-innovations?
-The speaker started a lab to convert waste into eco-innovations, creating economical solutions from waste produced by various industries. These solutions are then used for companies' CSR projects, generating a sustainable revenue model.
How does the speaker's lab contribute to creating a circular economy?
-The lab creates products from waste, such as road papers from textile and metal manufacturers, soundproofing panels from craft mills, washable sanitary pads from cloth lint, furniture from human hair, and decorative items from paper waste, turning one person's trash into another's treasure.
What is the speaker's vision for India's role in sustainable waste management?
-The speaker envisions India becoming a leading solution provider for zero-waste technologies, educating the world on sustainable waste management practices.
What personal anecdote does the speaker share from their time as an exchange student in the United States?
-The speaker shares an anecdote where they were asked if Indians know what computers are, to which they sarcastically replied that they only make them, highlighting the need for education about India's contributions to the world.
What is the final message the speaker leaves the audience with?
-The speaker reminds the audience of the roll of toilet paper that will soon become a brick on a toilet wall, emphasizing the endless possibilities with waste and the need for innovative solutions in waste management.
Outlines
♻️ The Cycle of Waste Management
The speaker uses a roll of toilet paper to symbolize the natural cycle, including waste management. Historically, everything was recycled back into nature, but modern materials are more complex, leading to waste that nature cannot break down. The current waste management practices involve relocating rather than disposing of waste, contributing to environmental overload. The speaker highlights the misconception that paper is fully recyclable, pointing out that much of it ends up in landfills. India is a major waste producer, and the speaker introduces a solution: bricks made from industrial waste, which are cost-effective and durable. The process is simple and can be replicated in backyards, originating from the speaker's childhood experiment with chewing gum.
💡 Transforming Waste into Valuable Products
The speaker discusses innovative ways to transform waste into valuable products, creating a circular economy. Examples include using textile and metal waste to produce road papers, bathtub waste to make grass, and craft mill waste to create soundproofing panels. Human hair from salons is used to make furniture, and paper waste is turned into lamps, clocks, and phone covers. These eco-innovations not only provide sustainable solutions but also help industries with their CSR projects. The speaker envisions India as a leader in zero-waste technologies, with the potential for future houses in space to be made from waste. The speaker's goal is to educate the world on sustainable waste management and inspire others to envision a waste-free future.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Toilet paper
💡Recyclability
💡Waste segregation
💡Landfills
💡Eco-innovations
💡Circular economy
💡CSR projects
💡Sustainable model
💡Zero waste technologies
💡Menstrual hygiene
💡Exchange student
Highlights
The speaker uses a roll of toilet paper as a metaphor for the cycle of nature and waste management.
For millions of years, natural processes recycled waste, but modern technology has disrupted this cycle.
The evolution of complex materials has made it difficult for nature to break them down, leading to waste accumulation.
Current waste management practices often involve relocating waste rather than truly disposing of it.
Paper and newspapers are commonly believed to be 100% recyclable, but this is a misconception.
Most paper waste ends up in landfills, contrary to popular belief.
India is the sixth-largest waste producer, with 43,000 industries generating 19,000 tons of waste daily.
The speaker introduces eco-friendly bricks made entirely from waste, which are stronger and more durable than conventional bricks.
These waste-derived bricks have been used to create low-cost toilets and houses in rural India.
The process of making these bricks is simple and can be replicated at a small scale.
The idea for the bricks originated from a childhood experiment with chewing gum and paper.
The speaker founded a lab to convert waste into eco-innovations for various industries.
The lab creates sustainable revenue models by providing eco-friendly solutions for corporate social responsibility projects.
Examples of waste transformation include road papers from textile waste and soundproofing panels from craft mill waste.
The lab also develops products like washable sanitary pads from textile lint and furniture from human hair waste.
The speaker envisions a future where waste is utilized to create sustainable products, even in space.
The speaker aspires for India to become a leader in providing zero-waste technologies.
The speaker concludes by reminding the audience of the potential of waste, as exemplified by the toilet paper that will become a brick.
Transcripts
you may be wondering why I'm holding
this roll of toilet paper I see this
toilet paper as a cycle of everything
that happens in nature including waste
management for millions of years before
man and technology walled everything
from the food we ate the clothes we wore
the shelters we lived in to even our
bodies everything would go back to
nature but now even our own bodies are
not completely recyclable for millions
of years before man and technology wall
this is a man-made conservatism and mid
concept that never existed in the past
the evolution of technology materials
have become more and more complex and
nature is no longer able to break down
these materials thus resulting in
generation of face a lot is said about
waste segregation cleanup drives etc but
what's really happening here we are
collecting waste from one place and
dumping it elsewhere so essentially what
we are doing here is not disposing the
waste but just relocating it we are
filling our environment with so much
waste that Earth is no longer able to
handle the way we see our waste is
simply not enough how does your normal
day begin sipping chai reading newspaper
or perhaps using this what happens to
the paper and the newspaper after it's
being used most of us out here believed
that paper is 100% recyclable
unfortunately that's not true most of
our paper is ending up in our landfill
this is just one prime example out of
hundreds of such recyclable products
then end up saying the same faith India
ranks sixth largest producer of waste
with 43 thousand industries producing 19
thousand tons of face every day do you
know how much that is
it's like throwing 10,000 cars into the
landfills daily but what if I told you
all this waste is entirely usable here
is something made entirely out of waste
a brick these brakes are a stronger and
more durable than the conventional brick
they are twice the size yet half the
price these breaks have helped create
low-cost toilets and houses and hundreds
of households of rural India there the
process of making these bricks is no
rocket science the waste from various
industries is brought to our factory
where it's mixed with a special binder
this is then this is then molded in
desired molds and naturally dried the
process is so simple that you can make
them even in your own backyard just as
simple as this processes it originated
from a very simple idea at age 11 when a
chewing gum got stuck on my pants
and I tried removing it with the piece
of paper I noticed that it had hardened
up so I was a curious kid I went back
home decided to do the same experiment
again and with this newfound discovery I
realized and I added more ingredients to
it and this is what it ended up looking
like I was finally able to make the
first prototype of a break and patented
I'm probably the first guy to pay 10
trash with this I realized there were
hundreds of such products and waste that
needed solution so I started a lab where
we convert waste into eco innovations
here we create economical solutions out
of waste coming from various industries
these solutions are then used for their
CSR projects this also helps us generate
a sustainable model of generating
revenue
for example which from textile and metal
manufacturers are now these Road papers
this grass is made out of waste from
bathtub manufacturers waste from craft
mills are now these soundproofing panels
our cloth has lint and this lint is
helping women menstrual hygiene with
these washable sanitary pads our human
hair from salon is helping create
furnitures for the very same salon and
paper waste are now these beautiful
looking lamps clocks and even this
iPhone cover this creates a circular
economy where one man's waste becomes
the other man's treasure possibilities
with waste is endless in future houses
in space are going to be made entirely
out of face for this we just need the
right tools to make India a leading
solution provider of such zero waste
technologies years ago as an exchange
student to United States I was asked
this question do you Indians know what
computers are to which I sarcastically
replied no we just make them to educate
the people about the world I dream of in
India that educates the world about how
to use its way sustainably and to help
you dream the same let me remind you
that this roll of toilet paper is soon
gonna be on its way to become a brick on
a toilet wall thank you
[Applause]
you
[Applause]
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