Plastic waste unit set up in Pilibhit village without feasibility checks
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Established under Centre's
, the unit is the first of its kind in the tehsil, with another of the same size and capacity proposed for Bisalpur. Built for Rs 16 lakh, it took five months to complete and is now awaiting the installation of a 10 KVA electricity connection before becoming operational. Its stated aim is to make 189 villages and Puranpur tehsil headquarters free of plastic pollution.
The facility is designed to recycle up to 2,000 kg of plastic waste per day.
However, officials admit they have no data on the total plastic waste generated in the areas it will serve.
Adding to the concerns, there is no marketing plan for the finished product—plastic granules intended for use in asphalt mixtures for road construction. In the absence of any quality control mechanism, the department cannot confirm if the granules will meet PWD's standards or risk rejection. 'If the quality of the product is not accepted by PWD, we plan to sell it to brick kilns for burning bricks or to other plastic recycling plants in different districts,' said Amit Kumar, deputy project manager.
Kumar also admitted that no profit or loss projections were made in the project report. Local residents say that without a clear plan for raw material supply, product quality, and marketing, the future of this ambitious initiative remains uncertain.
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