Karnal: A youth in Karnal, dedicated to environment conservation, has developed a machine to make pots for growing flowers and vegetables from plastic waste that saves up to 80% water, besides being lightweight and durable.
Nitin Lalit left his high-profile engineering job abroad to return to India and launch a startup focused on environmental conservation and gardening. His company, Alpha Planter, now supplies pots to almost every state in the country. Started with Rs 25 lakh, the start-up now has an annual turnover of Rs 1.5 crore.
Nitin told ETV Bharat, ” I worked as an automobile engineer in Canada, earning Rs 4 lakh per month. I started following the Canadian lifestyle and saw that the people there work on environmental protection. In 2016, I left my job and returned to India.”
Nitin Lalit making pots from plastic waste (ETV Bharat)
Recognising that India has a huge water and plastic waste problem, he launched his startup. “People living in cities also face problems in gardening because they have less space, but everyone wants to have greenery and grow vegetables at least for themselves. I planned to make pots from waste plastic. I got the company registered in 2017 and started working on making pots from waste plastic and garbage,” he said while pointing out that he had to stretch his engineering mind for three years to make the pot-making machine.
“After making the machine, we started making pots, recycling all kinds of waste plastic like bottles, bottle caps, plastic and polythene etc. The pots looked beautiful after completion and started attracting people,” he shared.
He went on to explain that these pots require very little water for irrigation. “After watering them once, there is no need to water them again for seven to 10 days, which saves a lot of water and time,” he claimed.
His startup is making pots of different sizes, ranging from those to grow flowers to those in which vegetables can be grown. Their price starts from Rs 50 onwards. He said that if someone wants to plant flowers, ornamental plants or vegetables in these pots even without soil, he can easily do it through coco peat.
Nitin Lalit with a pot made from plastic waste (ETV Bharat)
“It took three years to build the machine. Then, the pandemic struck. Our work resumed only after the pandemic. We invested around Rs 25 lakh. The Haryana Horticulture Department also liked my project, which led to a grant of Rs 24 lakh from the government in 2021,” he said.
“People buy the products after seeing them online on our website. Most of them are those who like to have greenery at their homes. Many orders come from people doing kitchen gardening in metro cities,” he added.
Nitin is not only earning substantial profits through his startup, but he is also playing a vital role in environmental conservation and saving water. Nitin has provided employment to around 20 people and has solds pots made from waste plastic to thousands of people. He is an inspiration to the youth looking to launch a successful startup while understanding the problems faced by the country.
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