PET bottles transform into construction materials to build toilets in rural areas

05-Jan-17

A group of students from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have transformed discarded plastic (PET) ottles collected from city restaurants into durable construction material with which they plan to build toilets in rural areas. The first such ‘bottle’ toilet is going to come up in Bandikavanoor in Sholavaram taluk in Thiruvallur district.

The idea was conceptualised as part of 18th edition of four-day Shaastra-2017, which is one of the Asia’s largest student-managed technical festival. Students first filled the PET bottles with coarse sand and water. Later, they drained the water to ensure there is no gap between the sand crystals and filled with more sand to the brim. Now, 400 ml discarded plastic bottle weighs 800 grams and is a substitute for the bricks.
A student, W Keerthana, said the basic compressibility tests show the bricks and these plastic bottles are equal in strength. “To prove our idea, we have built a bench in front of Taramani guest house inside the IIT Madras campus and will be carrying out a few tests before going ahead with the construction of toilets,” she said.