🏆 Paradip Port Authority Wins First Prize at Swachhata Pakhwada Awards 2025

Paradip Port Authority (PPA) has won First Prize at the Swachhata Pakhwada Awards 2025, instituted by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

The award was presented by Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, in the presence of Hon’ble Minister of State Shri Shantanu Thakur and Shri Vijay Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, at a ceremony held in New Delhi. The honour was received by Shri P. L. Haranadh, IRTS, Chairman, Paradip Port Authority, on behalf of Team PPA.

This recognition highlights outstanding performance in cleanliness, sustainability, and community participation under initiatives such as Jan Bhagidari, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam, and Safai Mitra Suraksha. A major highlight was the plantation of 40,000 saplings undertaken to mark the birthday of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, reinforcing PPA’s strong commitment to environmental protection and sustainable growth under the vision of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

1.       Bottle Bricks                    

Bottle Bricks make up for a very simple and accessible technology that can transform everyday plastic materials into a useful building material – plastic bottles stuffed full of trash until they are as compact as bricks. Also known as “Eco-bricks” and “Portable Landfill Devices,” Bottle Bricks are now being increasingly used around the world as a viable way to clean up the environment, prevent plastic pollution, and create a much needed building material.

The process is incredibly simple – collect dry inorganic waste material (plastic bags, plastic wrappers, twist ties, etc.) and stuff it into a clean plastic bottle with a wooden stick or spoon. The more you stuff, the more plastic you will divert from the landfill or clean up out of the environment, and the stronger your bottle brick will be!

Our method of filling up the bottles was a bit different but more or less the same. We used on site sand and filled the bottles with it in order to make the bottles sturdy and more durable for they would then be able to occupy every inch of the bottle in an efficient manner.  

1.       Paper Crete                                   

Paper crete is a fairly new ingredient in the natural building world. It is basically re-pulped paper fibre with Portland cement or clay and/or other dirt added. When cement is added, this material is not as "green" as would be ideal, but the relatively small amount of cement is perhaps a reasonable trade-off for what paper crete can offer.

Some notable properties of paper crete are: 1) It is dimensionally very stable both through the process of taking in moisture and drying out and in a wide range of temperatures. 2) It will hold fasteners to some extent, especially screws, without cracking. 3) It is highly insulating (about R-2 1/2 per inch). 4) It does not support flames, but will smoulder for days if it does catch fire. The more cement and mineral material that is added to the mix, the more fire proof it becomes. 5) It will support moulds if it remains warm and moist for too long. 6) It will wick moisture from the ground into the wall if buried in dirt. 7) It becomes soft and will deteriorate if kept damp (especially underground) for too long. 8) It resists rodent and insect infestation.