Bengaluru: In a push to decarbonise the economy, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest oil firm, will recycle 100 million discarded mineral water, cold drink and other PET bottles annually to make eco-friendly uniforms for staff that man its petrol pumps and LPG distributor agencies. The firm also rolled out indoor cooking stoves that can be run on both solar power and auxiliary energy sources to offer households a cheaper and environment-friendly cooking solution.
Hon'ble Shri @narendramodi, presented with a dress made out of recycled PET bottles under #IndianOil's #Unbottled initiative by @ChairmanIOCL.
We will convert 100 million PET Bottles annually to make uniforms for our on-ground teams & non-combat uniforms for our armed forces. pic.twitter.com/aRoK3fXY7Y
— Indian Oil Corp Ltd (@IndianOilcl) February 6, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inaugural function of India Energy Week here launched IOC’s uniform ‘Unbottled’ as well as flagged the commercial rollout of the indoor solar cooking system.
PM Modi said the launch of indoor solar cooking opens a new dimension for green and clean cooking and hoped the cooking stoves will reach 3 crore households in near future.
On the “Unbottled” initiative, he said 10 crore PET bottles will be recycled to help protect the environment.
At the event, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said,
We remain focused on energy efficiencies, laying impetus on fuels of the future, including biofuels and hydrogen, and increasing the use of renewable energies etc.
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The double burner Solar Cooktop can provide a green, clean, effective and permanent solution for the cooking needs of the families, he said.
Mr Puri also said that the “Unbottled” initiative, being launched today, is the largest initiative in the world to reuse and recycle 100 million PET bottles per year. He said,
PET bottles will be converted into cloth for the front-line workers of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), non-combat uniforms for Armed Forces and other Institutions and Retail sales.
IOC, which meets as much as half of the nation’s fuel needs, has already committed to a net-zero emission target by 2046 and is now venturing into recycling PET bottles.
Empty PET packaging discarded by the consumer after use becomes PET waste. IOC will deploy an agency to collect such bottles – 100 million annually – and convert them into yarn to weave or knit fabric. This will then be supplied to a textile company for manufacturing uniforms for IOC’s petrol pump attendants and LPG gas agency staff.
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IOC is the first Indian firm to directly venture into the recycling of PET bottles.
Each set of uniforms will support the recycling of around 28 used PET bottles.
IOC is taking this initiative further through ‘Unbottled’ – a brand for sustainable garments launched for merchandise made from recycled polyester. Under this brand, IOC targets to meet the requirement of uniforms for the customer attendants of other oil marketing companies, non-combat uniforms for the Army, uniforms/ dresses for institutions and sales to retail customers, according to an official statement.
The dress materials for these uniforms have been extracted from recycled polyester derived from the processing of used and discarded PET bottles. This initiative would support recycling about 405 tonnes of PET bottles, equivalent to offsetting over 20 million bottles yearly.
The cooking system, unveiled by the Prime Minister, is designed to work indoors. A solar panel on the rooftop provides the energy needed for cooking. And when the sun isn’t there, it uses auxiliary energy such as LPG or piped natural gas, making it a reliable cooking solution for India.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
