In a first, Indian Railways Western Railway zone installed new benches made of re-cycled plastic in railway stations. The effort is a step taken by Indian Railways towards promoting ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyan’.

The plastic benches were put at Churchgate station premises. According to official statement: "It is perhaps the first time that recycled plastic is used in a core passenger amenity on Indian Railways."

भारतीय रेल की एक और नई पहल - रीसाइकलड प्लास्टिक से बने 3 बेंच पश्चिम रेलवे के चर्चगेट स्टेशन पर लगायें गए हैं। ये बेंच मजबूत एंव वज़नी हैं, इससे पर्यावरण को दूषित होने से बचाने में मदद मिलेगी । pic.twitter.com/xUDHbp29vw — Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 2, 2019

The plastic benches have been placed at platform no 2/3 at north end side of Churchgate railway station. These benches are made from the collection of plastic in a drive held at Western Railways under ‘Bottles for change’ Program in association with M/S Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. Nearly 109 tonnes of plastic waste was collected during a fortnight-long cleanliness drive carried out by the Western Railways at its stations.

As an appreciation gesture, M/s Bisleri International Private Limited placed three benches made by recycled plastic as a part of its CSR initiative. Almost 40 to 50 kg of soft plastic went in the making of one bench, the official said, adding these seats are water- proof and ideal for outdoor locations.

The ‘Bottles for Change’ is aimed to educate the public about the importance of sending plastic objects for recycling and not to treat it as waste which leads to a cleaner environment.

"These benches are strong and heavy which will help in protecting the environment from contamination," the ministry tweeted on Wednesday.

The process of making plastic benches from re-cycled plastic

Recycled Plastic benches by Bottles for Change are made from post -consumer mix plastics i.e. MLP, Plastic bags/pouches and such soft plastics.

The plastic is first shred into small pieces, the shredded pieces spread in a tray of required thickness and this tray is further fed into an oven and heated to particular temperature, then compressed and cooled to form a homogenize Board. The board of size 8 ft x 4 ft is then cut in a CNC machine into desired sizes and shapes and the bench is assembled.

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