Three young innovators, Shreyansh Chaturvedi, Sandarbh Soni, and Naman Singh, with guidance from Jithin Lawrence, were presented with the challenge to create a solution that would have a positive impact on society. They identified accumulated waste, particularly plastic waste, as one of the major social issues. The team found that plastic is a non-biodegradable waste and is very difficult to segregate from other waste products.

After intense research and findings, the team came up with a solution called the Reverse Vending Machine. The prototype machine demonstrates how plastic waste can be collected separately and on deposition, carry out steps that enable its recycling. The idea is to encourage people to develop a habit of collecting plastic waste and depositing it at the Reverse Vending Machine. The machine weighs the collected plastic and rewards the person with money. The plastic collected in the vending machine is then segregated into categories and sent to recycling units.
The idea for the Reverse Vending Machine came to the team while observing the amount of plastic waste that accumulated at their school. A similar problem would be prevalent in almost all establishments, institutions, and organizations. The Reverse Vending Machine posed various challenges before the team. After several design thinking sessions, the team solved the issue at the school level itself.
The Reverse Vending Machine promotes the culture of waste management. It encourages us to collect plastic waste separately at the unitary level in our homes and get rewarded for the same as well. If scaled up and converted into a real-time project, the use of Reverse Vending Machines will slowly and gradually encourage the citizens of our country to develop the culture of waste segregation and help create a cleaner, greener, and ‘plastic-free’ environment.
The efforts of Shreyansh, Sandarbh, Naman, and Jithin in creating the Reverse Vending Machine have the potential to bring about a significant positive impact on the environment. By encouraging the collection and recycling of plastic waste, they are helping to create a sustainable future for us all.
TEAM NAME
INNOVATOR’S CLUB
TEAM MEMBERS
Shreyansh Chaturvedi, Sandarbh Soni and
Naman Singh
ATL IN-CHARGE
Jithin Lawrence
Source: https://aim.gov.in/pdf/ingenious-tinkerers.pdf