Giving a boost to PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ scheme, Indian Railways has put up a ‘Swachh Bharat Recycle Machine’, which is a bottle/can recycling machine at the Churchgate railway station in Mumbai. With this initiative used plastic water bottles on tracks may become a thing of the past.
“The first machine, which is as big as a refrigerator, was set up at the Churchgate station on World Environment Day on June 5. We plan to put such machines at 10 stations namely Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra (local), Bandra terminus, Santacruz, Andheri, Goregaon, Borivali and Bhayandar,” Mukul Jain, Western Railways Divisional Railway Manager told FE Online.
500 bottles in a day can be crushed with one machine and it will only accept bottles/cans with authentic bar codes. Users will get an instant ‘reward’ when recyling used containers, motivating repeated use, said Jain.
“When the bottle is accepted by the machine, three options on the screen will appear — donation, mobile recharge and discount from an outlet with which the machine-provider has tied up for discounts. The user can select either option and a printout will be issued,” Jain explained.
Jain also told FE Online that no money was spent by the Western Railway to install the machine. Infact, this machine can help add revenue to the Indian Railways by letting them advertise on the side panels and the LED screen. “With advertising on just one machine, the Railways can add Rs 2,20,000,” he said. “With these machines, cleanliness can be maintained at the stations, helping PM’s Swacch Bharat project and revenue for railways can be churned out,” he added.
The machines are being provided by Wockhardt Foundation. “The cost of one machine is Rs 7 lakh,” Sarah Tantary, Programme & Business development Manager, Wockhardt Foundation said.
However, Wockhardt is still in talks with various corporates to tie up for rewards. Sarah Tantary said, “Talks are on with Reliance Jio and outlets like Dominos, McDonalds.”
The recycled bottles will be supplied to fibre-manufacturing companies to be used for clothes, carpets and grocery bags, Tantary added.
Under Swachh Bharat Recycle Machine, we want to recycle every plastic bottle and make India sustainable for the future generations, said Dr.Huz, CEO, Wockhardt Foundation.
Western Railway has selected the stations based on footfalls and as long-distance trains operate from some of them.
