It’s 2009. Both of us were walking in a jungle in Pune. Then a deer was noticed. He was getting upset. We saw him dying in agony before our eyes. Actually, he died due to eating plastic. This incident did not let us sleep for many nights.

We decided that something has to be done with this plastic. One day both of us were sitting in a hotel for dinner. The waiter brought ice in the glass. The ice melted, so we thought why not melt the plastic and do something.

Then we invented such a formula that today we are selling 700 liters of diesel-like oil every day from waste plastic. This oil is used to operate generators and boats apart from industrial machines. This eco friendly startup has a business of 2 crores annually.

58-year-old Shirish Phadtare is telling us these things while showing his production unit in Pune, not in any forest.

At present 20 people are working in Shirish’s Pune unit. Some are cleaning the waste plastic, some are processing it. Showing the pile of waste plastic, he says, ‘Which people throw here and there, build a mountain of garbage, we prepare oil from it. The demand is so much that it is difficult to supply.

Shirish tells about the days when he was experimenting on it. Says, ‘Both of us do not come from science background. So there was no idea what to do. I was an accountant and Medha was associated with the profession of branding.

Remembering those old things, Shirish starts smiling. Says, ‘First of all, I started meeting friends from my mechanical and chemical background.

We and Shirish reach the place where oil is being extracted from the waste plastic through a boiler. Says, ‘We both decided to set up a plant. A 35 kg plant was set up at a cost of Rs 10 lakh. After experimenting for three consecutive years, good quality oil came out from the waste. It was like a diesel. After which another 300 kg plant was installed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.

It is difficult to differentiate diesel from the waste oil that Shirish is showing us. He says, ‘Not only you, the people of the industry also see it like diesel. Even if it is not, it works in the same way and is cheaper, this extra benefit. ,

Says Shirish, ‘We had nothing to lose. Both of us were already doing business to run the house. When we started the process of making oil from the waste, people used to think crazy. Used to say, this madman will make oil out of garbage. Look today…’

They give more information about this oil. It is said, ‘Like crude oil, products like petrol, gasoline, diesel, kerosene are made by refining. Similarly, waste plastic is melted to make oil. The plastic should be completely clean. Some companies buy this oil and make plastic again. We manufacture and supply oil to the industry. Industry people are preferring to buy waste oil instead of diesel for the machine.

But in this work, Shirish also has the biggest challenge in front of him. He says, ‘Waste to say is plastic. But collecting it in large quantities is a challenge. Shirish says that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has talked about supplying waste plastic many times, but so far it has not happened. By forming a trust, he is getting the waste collected from the society of Pune through his plastic warriors.

“If there is help from the government, we can produce more oil,” says Shirish. There is a daily demand of 25,000 liters of oil in the market, and for this we need 50 tonnes of waste plastic every day.

They put some figures in front of us. “Pune generates 2,000 tonnes of garbage every day. Which contains 160 tons of plastic. It contains 80 tons of recyclable plastic. Now Shirish’s company is also manufacturing plastic to oil machine. Apart from Noida, the work of setting up plants in other cities is also going on.

Shirish says, the waste generated after recycling plastic is also used to make roads. Till now I have constructed 30 roads of Pune.

Also read these three reports of Positive Story…

1. Mother said – leave the work of Khadi, get married: Today Reliance, Raymond is our customer, a saree worth 32 thousand; 2.5 crore turnover

The age at which girls start thinking about their marriage. The parents start thinking about the preparations to welcome the baraatis at the door. At that age, Umang Sridhar of Bhopal was thinking about his startup. (read full story)

2. Farming at the age of 55, 10 lakh profit annually: The cost of a plant in his garden is 15 lakhs, then wheat 120 rupees per kg.

Pakhowal is a village about 35 km from Ludhiana in Punjab, where 55-year-old Rupinder Kaur runs ‘Kulraj Organic Farming’. Tall body, slight wrinkles in my hands due to age, but agile enough to show my form when I reach. (read full story)

3. 500 crore company made from three lakhs: Cricketers like Virat-Dhoni wear clothes made by me, Adidas, Reebok our customers

Even after searching for a job in Delhi for several months, I could not find any work worth my mind, so in Tughlakabad, I started the work of making garments with 13 people by installing only 10 sewing machines. Today there is an annual turnover of 500 crores. More than 50,000 sewing machines are used to make 50,000 t-shirts and track pants every day. Players wear clothes made by our company in National-International Cricket, IPL, Commonwealth Games. (read full news)