Get paper from plastic pulp, the Khadi way

Plastic is collected, chopped into fine pieces and mixed with cotton fibre rags to produce paper bags, notebooks and household items. This KVIC initiative is successfully running across the country, eating up 20% of the processed, degraded plastic to produce items that are finding takers in the market.

Mineral paper, also called stone paper or rock paper meets the quality standards for books, general stationary and also boxes. It’s also better for printing, because it requires a smaller quantity of ink.

It’s not the first time plastic has been turned into paper, but this is the first time that the process is cost competitive. Companies in Spain and Taiwan for example are also doing this, but for the Mexican company, the cost is 4 times lower.

The process itself breaks down plastic into small pellets and mixes it with calcium and stone. The resulting mixture is then heated to more than 100 degrees Celsius and rolled into large sheets of paper, using a machine somewhat similar to tortilla manufacturing. From 235 kilograms of PET bottles, you get 907 kilograms of mineral paper, while also ensuring that the plastic isn’t dumped some place – it’s a win-win story.