MUMBAI -- Indian rotational molder Maharashtra Maha Polyplast Pvt. Ltd. is developing a new line of products to improve living space in India's dense metropolitan areas.
With concrete jungles erected overnight in India, there is hardly space left for plants and greenery, the company said. Moreover, the fast pace life in bigger cities have hardly left anyone to spend time with plants.
Maharashtra Maha Polyplast seeks to bring city dwellers closer to plants through a rotationally molded "self-watering mobile plant unit," which can be placed on a balcony in a multi-story housing complex.
"There is a cavity for storing water under every plant, with tank capacity of 7 liters. All the chambers are interconnected by a tube that supplies water to tanks below the plant," explained R.K. Sethi, managing director, at Plastivision India 2013 in Mumbai.
The chambers need to be filled with water only once every 25 days, and supply water to the plant through capillary action as needed, Sethi said.
Maharashta Polyplast is building the unit based on a design developed by a U.S. company with a designer in Pune. The product, which was launched at Plastivision, will cost about 30,000 rupees ($485). The company already has orders for 150 units.
"The concept is easily understandable and equally easy to install," Sethi said.
The company has manufacturing in Mumbai and Vasai.
Maharashta Polyplast also showcased a garbage chute, which would provide a central space to throw refuse from multi-story buildings. It is a common system in Europe, but is only beginning to expand to India.
Sethi said the plastic chute could be extended for use through a 100-floor building, and is already installed in a few 20-floor housing complexes in Mumbai.
The system costs about 25,000 rupees ($400).
The company also showed a PVC underground manhole chamber, in development for almost three years. The chamber can range from 300 millimeters to 1,200 millimeters and replace a traditional concrete system.
