A bus stand made of 1,000 plastic bottles

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, May 8

For those thinking of how to dispose of used plastic water bottles, the Hyderabad-based social enterprise, Bamboo House India, has shown the way. The Swaroopnagar colony in the Uppal area of the city has a unique bus stop made of used plastic water bottles at street number 10.

Under the “Recycle India” initiative, the company, started by two young graduates, recycles scrap such as tyres and drums to make seats and benches. It took just about two weeks to build the shelter under the initiative.

“We used 1,000 one-litre bottles for the bus stop, and each bottle costs us Rs 1.40. The shelter is 8x4 feet and the frame is made of metal,” said Prashant Lingam, one of the company founders.

“The city is short of bus stops. There is a huge demand for these, but contractors demand exorbitant rates that run into lakhs. Our total cost was around Rs 15,000 and it was a knock-down model, which can be removed, if necessary,” said Lingam, a management graduate.

To make the bus stop, two artisans drilled a longitudinal hole in the bottles and ran a wire rope to tie them up with each other. 

“Because there was a gap between the bottles, we noticed that air was flowing freely, and the shelter was not heating up,” he says. The company is also planning to add a few recycled tyres as seats for the shelter. 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has also shown interest in the initiative and is holding talks with the company for seven pilot projects before the monsoon to ensure that a “bottled” bus shelter can sustain all seasons. 

‘Bottled’ shelter 

• Two artisans worked for about two weeks using 1,000 plastic water bottles to create a 8x4 feet bus shelter
• They drilled a longitudinal hole in bottles and ran a wire rope to tie them up 
• Bamboo House India is also planning to add a few recycled tyres as seats for shelter