October 15, 2022

An unusual way to tackle India's plastic crisis

topic:	Sustainable Development
tags:	#India, #plastic, #hygeine, #recucling
located:	India
by:	Quinta Thomson

Public urination and plastic waste are two major issues affecting India today. 

Although under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, public urination is punishable by a fine of 1,000 rupees, roughly half the population of India resorts to the practice - mostly due to lack of proper facilities and awareness.

The situation worsens when it comes to plastic waste. India produces 25,940 tonnes of single-use plastic per day - waste that will take over 400 years to decompose. All the while, microplastics enter and pollute food and water sources, severely endangering local populations. 

Not many can visualise a link between these two concurring crises, but BasicShit, as the name suggests - a no-nonsense collective of artists, architects and scientists - aims to develop accessible toilet units constructed from recycled plastic waste.

Turning the equivalent of 8740 bottles (120kg of plastic waste) into dry toilet unites, BasicShit is tackling two global issues with one solution. 

Utilising all-organic cartridges and components such as charcoal, saw dust and gravel, the toilet facilities  are odourless and do not require the use of water.

Run by Ashwani Aggarwal, BasicShit provides urban populations with clean, hygienic sanitation facilities while addressing India's mounting plastic crisis.

So far, Aggarwal and the BasicShit collective have recycled over 9,986 kg of waste. In the process, he is creating a circular economy. 

Want to support the collective's innovative work? You can donate towards a range of campaigns that the organisation is currently implementing.

Donating Rs. 12,000 into their Open Urination campaign, for instance, will turn the equivalent of 2750 wasted bottles into a public urinal, sparing 0.0935 tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

The urinal is sustainable and involves zero maintenance costs, and so the donated money goes incredibly far.

Alternatively, you can subscribe to BasicShit’s patron programme, where a monthly donation will finance the further implementation of current projects and the development of new ones.  

Image by Nick Fewings.