Ten management students from Mumbai’s Universal Business School, known as India’s first Green Business School initiated Project Roop recently where plastic bottles will be converted into hydroponic plant holders.
Research suggests that a million plastic bottles are purchased around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis. The Government of India data suggests that daily India produces 15000 tons of plastic waste out of which only 9000 tons gets recycled and 6000 tons go to dumping sites.
“Being a part of the green management institute, we were inspired to work in this area and create a sustainable model that will promote ecosystem restoration. One of the students had started hydroponic at home which led to the idea of plastic bottles reuse to grow plants and encourage indoor hydroponic farming and that’s how Project Roop was born,” shares Sudharma Kambhamettu, student president of ENACTUS Universal Business School, Mumbai.
The project will be thus driven towards reducing the dumping of plastic bottles of 1 litre and above and providing an effortless solution for hydroponic farming.
In the initial phase of the pilot project, students conducted cleanliness drives in Mumbai and Chennai. The plastic bottles collected in the process were sent for recycling and the money earned in this process was used to develop the prototype for hydroponics.
The team is at present actively promoting this initiative through an in-house podcast series called ‘Make it Green’ where they invite speakers to talk about plastic induced pollution and discuss possible sustainable solutions.
“This is a completely student driven project. They have been involved in each and every aspect, be it ideation, development of the prototype or procurement of materials such as plastic bottles, jute and pipe. The finances will also be handled by them. The assembling and the holding of the stock will be handled by an NGO,” adds Dr Asha Bhatia, Director- Research and Faculty In charge of ENACTUS at UBS.
About the prototype
Students have developed a prototype which includes a minimum of five half cut bottles (upside down) connected with a small pipe through which the nutrient rich water can be dispersed to all the bottles. The plastic bottles will be thus converted into hydroponic plant holders.
The bottle will be cut in half with the upper half smaller than the lower half so that a larger quantity of water can be filled in it. The bottles will be connected by a pipe to make a chain like structure that makes watering multiple bottles at a time easy. The students also have plans to use eco-friendly materials such as jute, tags made from cotton etc to make customised bottles.
“Our main target audience will be households and terrace farming enthusiasts. Rooftop gardening or terrace gardening has gained attention over the past few years in cities due to the lack of space, as well as a need for creating greener environments,” shares Het Gor, Project Head – ROOP.
“The aim is to make the project self-sustainable and reach out to communities within Mumbai and nearby areas over the next couple of months,” adds Abhishek, Project Member, ROOP.
Universal Business School is ranked among the most innovative business schools in India. As a premier management college offering pioneering programs, entrepreneurial experiences at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, its pedagogic innovation and pioneering tie ups with Cardiff Met. University, UK, Swiss School of Management, Italy, INSEEC Business School, France, University of Economics, Bulgaria and Lincoln University, USA have made it one of the top BBA and MBA institutions in terms of alumni performance and industry demand. The B School has a sprawling 40 acres’ campus in the Green Karjat valley, offering a second home to the brightest young minds. Campus placements are top-notch with the school being the first in Asia Pacific to have an exclusive Thomson Reuters Cross Asset Trading Room. Universal Business School Alumni are leading professionals across twenty different nations. UBS follows the 3E Model of Ethics, Environment and Experiential learning, making sure that its students hit the ground running. “Our students placed across 20 nations can connect the dots looking forward,” sums up Tarun Anand, Founder and Chairman.
