At Veena’s microfactory in Australia, a broken smartphone or a very old laptop could get a new life as something helpful. While India has been busy trying to look for ways to eliminate the modern day mess called the electronic waste or e-waste, here’s an Indian woman who passionately ‘seeks’ rubbish. Veena Sahajwalla, the director of the Center for Sustainable Research and Technology (SMaRT) at the University of New South Wales, is the one who established the world’s first microfactory where electronic waste is turned into something useful. At Veena’s microfactory in Australia, a broken smartphone or a very old laptop could get a new life as something helpful.
According to a report by the Global E-Waste Monitor, a collaborative agency of the UN, the entire world has produced about 4.47 crore ton of e-waste in 2016. This will go up to 5 crore tones by 2021. In 2016, India alone has produced 20 lakh ton of e-waste. It is reported that only 20% of the total e-waste is being collected and processed effectively in the world. It is in this context that Veena’s microfactory assumes significance.
Recycling factory
Veena established the microfactory with the aid of the Australian Research Council to develop environmentally and economically sustainable micro-recycling of e-waste. Recycling electronic products is a complicated process as they are made by combining lots of different materials. Besides extracting maximum value from waste products, Veena is equally committed towards the cause of environmental protection and also safeguarding the health and well being of the people.
The computer circuits which are processed at the microfactory are turned into metal alloys of copper and tin. Plastic and ceramic materials are transformed into filaments which could be used in 3D printing. Several commercial products could be made out of recycled glass, plastic and wooden waste materials.
Veena’s unique technology has proven that even garments and apparels could be made using processed plastic. The inventor says that significant changes can be brought in the quality of environment by creating microfactories in developing countries or in some island nations where effective waste removal is an expensive affair. Multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer TESCO, mining tool manufacturer Moly–Cop and leading eye wear manufacturers Dresden Optics are also collaborators in this project. Besides environmental benefits, the microfactory has in fact proven to be commercially viable as well. The old products get a completely new makeover which would cater to the needs and demands of the modern world. This also provides an opportunity for the local people to earn a profitable livelihood. In 2014, Veena was awarded the Australian Research Council Laureate fellowship.
“Traditionally people think about recycling waste to the same product – so plastics to plastics. When we have more complicated products, such as electronic devices, we have to think differently,” says Veena.
Chip collection
Veena’s friends often jokes that she has a passion for the things that are usually thrown out. She spent her childhood days in Mumbai, a hugely populated city which produce big amount of waste. Veena says that she wanted to do something about it as she walked past heaps of waste materials and countless factories. She even asked for her old battery back when she got her watch fixed. She used to keep bags of electronic chips which she collected from various places. Veena says that those chip bags had later turned beneficial in her quest to tackle the e-waste.
Crucial invention
The invention of ‘green steel’ has been one of the greatest achievements of Veena who spent her entire career turning e-waste into useful products. The environmental friendly technology that she invented for recycling rubber tyres to replace coal and coke in steel-making earned Veena international acclaim. The world called it the ‘Green Steel’ as it was made by clean technology which is not harmful for the environment.
Path to success
Veena earned her bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT – Kanpur in 1986 before enrolling for a master’s degree in Metals and Materials engineering from the famed University of British Columbia in Canada. She has a PhD in material science and engineering from the University of Michigan.
In 1994, Veena was appointed as a professor of Material Sciences in the faculty of science at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She is married to Rama Mahapatra whom she met as a student in Canada. They have twin girls Thara and Mira together. Veena has already published more than 250 articles in all the major science journals.
In 2011, the nation honored Veena with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. She has also won countless other awards including the prestigious Eureka Prize.
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