Eco-friendly duo turns plastic waste into sustainable home

In a remarkable feat, two friends from Aurangabad, Namita Kapale and Kalyani Bharmbe, have transformed 16,000 discarded plastic water bottles into an eco-friendly house, offering a sustainable solution to India’s plastic waste crisis. The house, named ‘Wawar’, is situated on a 4,000 sq ft field in Sambhaji Nagar near Daulatabad and showcases the duo’s innovative approach to reducing plastic waste.

Using a mix of cow dung, soil, plastic bottles, and 12-13 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic, the duo has created a naturally cool and sustainable home. The house comprises two square-shaped rooms and a round hut, with walls made from eco-bricks constructed using plastic bottles filled with multi-layer plastic and soil.

Namita and Kalyani’s project not only addresses the issue of plastic pollution but also provides an affordable housing solution, with their eco-friendly house costing half the price of traditional cement houses (Rs 700 per sq ft vs Rs 1,300 per sq ft). Their innovative work has garnered recognition, including praise from former environment minister Aditya Thackeray, who commended their efforts as worth replicating.