Plasticonomy - Proposal for first urban village to attempt plastic recycle & reuse
Bombay61, Urbanists
Authors: Ketaki Bhadgaonkar and Jai Bhadgaonkar
Waste Free Versova Koliwada
Plasticonomy - Proposal
for first urban village to attempt plastic recycle & reuse
In
2016, Bombay 61 team drafted a project for Versova Koliwada, a historical
fishing village in Mumbai. The project was submitted to Shelter Global’s
international competition ‘Dencity’ and won the 1st prize. https://shelterglobal.org/competition/2016/mumbai-versova-koliwada/
Shelter Global is an
interdisciplinary, not-for-profit organization focused on solving the world’s
shelter crisis by providing safe, clean living conditions for everyone. The
project deals with a number of critical issues relevant to the Koli community
of Mumbai. The Kolis, a fishermen community, are some of the earliest
inhabitants of the city, having lived here even before it was named Bombaim by
the first Portuguese colonizers. The Kolis of Mumbai have been fighting for
recognition and opposing the redevelopment plans of the government. Urbz has
always supported Dharavi-Koliwada’s efforts to be excluded from the Dharavi
Redevelopment Project.
Versova-Koliwada, situated along the Malad Creek, is a lively village with 50000 inhabitants that is now classified a slum by the government. Due to the nature of the water current, the solid waste eventually settles on the banks of Koliwada. During monsoon, mountainous heaps of plastic debris accumulates on the coast. As a result, the nearby polluted mangroves experience a loss of cross-breeding. The extreme pollution affects the local economy, allied skilled occupations in the hamlet, and fuels ecological concerns.
The proposed four-phased intervention encompasses a number of critical questions and tackles two major issues: integration and sustainable development. The intervention intends to blur the existing social boundary between the Kolis and the city dwellers, and effectuate integration across various levels: social, economic, spatial and political. This proposal wishes to address the issue of an ‘unseen future’ of these communities by exploring different methods that can sustain their existence and propel it forward in an exemplary environment-friendly manner.
The
first phase aims to inaugurate a ‘Knowledge Center’ with the support of the
already established Versova Co-operative society. This center proposes to
facilitate new activities and services based on the principle of
micro-intervention. One of the major pollutants responsible for the coastal and
mangrove degradation is plastic debris. The first step of this phase designates
focal points for waste collection and segregation. The center would use the
skills of the net weavers to make filter screens, suspended 2 meters deep in
the creek and anchored along the edge, imitating a water filter system. This
ensures uninterrupted movement of fish while creating an efficient method for
waste collection. The plastic debris collected from a comprehensive waste
sorting would be recycled and repurposed.
The technology of
‘Plastic Boats’ will be used to make a ‘Poor man’s boat.’ This is a float which
is made of plastic gunny bags with three compartments. They are filled with
empty, used plastic bottles and stitched together to make a homogeneous mass.
Its design and the air in the empty bottles allow it to float, much like any
inflatable swim-tube or ring. The proposed floating-island would benefit and
prolong the lives of the mangroves and corals. A floating island of a base
diameter of 18 m consists of two components: plastic nets made of tied bottles
and a wooden board. This technology is presently used to build inflatable
tubes/rings for closed system aquaculture.
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Illustration showing installation of
collection waste accumulation by installing fishing net.
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Illustration showing aquaculture activities
conducted with the help of Plastic boat technology
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The
third phase focuses on uplifting the economy and supporting the fish market by
introducing ‘Inland Fish Culture’ where fresh water and ornamental fish
breeding is carried out. The final phase aims at setting up a Fish Processing
Industry. This expansion would extend Koliwada’s economic reach to the city,
establishing a socio-economic interaction between the two. This phase also
includes setting up a restaurant, an aquarium and an information center.
Creation of spaces designated for workshops and exhibits of local fish produce
like the popular dry fish pickle, especially during the yearly Versova Seafood Festival,
are also proposed.
The proposal
is envisioned to have a ripple effect across the various Koli communities of
Mumbai. The ideas in this project could potentially be duplicated in different
Koliwadas with the Versova-Koliwada as a starting
point. The interventions in the project use technology as a means to empower
local business and strengthen ties both within and outside the Koli community.
Finally, the project hopes to erase lines of social division between the city
and the ‘slum’, looking at both as one mutually beneficial and interdependent
entity.
The
team is now looking forward to engaging with the Koli community at Versova to
bring the project to life. The main goal of the Dencity proposal is to
incrementally develop the existing ancillary industries, stimulate employment,
and encourage the germination of more small scale industries. The projects hope
to highlight existing skills sets and incorporate clever use of technology to
enhance the social, economic and cultural state of the entire village. The
following experiments were conducted to understand the effective workability
and consequences of the project.
Experiment
1 - Trash boat prototype
Bombay 61 along
with Urbz team successfully experimented with a preliminary design for the
plastic boat prototype. Building of the plastic waste boat is the first step
for the implementation of the four phased proposal.
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Image showing experimentation of Plastic
Boat
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Experiment 2 - Net
filter installation
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Image showing installation of net in the creek
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The phase 1 of the project deals with the installation of net
filters at selected waste collection points. The Bombay61 team along with local
Kolis conducted an experiment of installing the net filters at two points in
Malad creek. The main objective of this experiment was to analyze the waste
accumulation points and pattern. The idea was to use the local skill set of net
making and fishing to fish out garbage. The knowledge center, which is part of
the larger proposal, will essentially promote and innovate these skills for
effective waste collection. We chose two different points in the creek and
where we entered during the high tide with a locally made net which was 2 mts in
width and about 50 mts long. The net was tied to the mangroves on the either end
to make it stable and strong enough to withstand the pressure of waste and
tidal variation. With the effect of low tide, the flowing waste started to
accumulate near the net filters which can be easily collected and taken for
further cleaning, drying and recycling.
Nice initiative. Are you guys solely based in Versova?
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