Pandemic-Generated Waste Is Turned into Hospital Beds

As if the COVID-19 pandemic was not bad enough, changing much of our lives, some of the products we use(d) to protect ourselves from the virus are fueling an environmental problem. With masks and PPE kits threatening to choke nature, people need to find a solution on how to deal with this kind of waste in order to stop it from invading our planet. India, for example, has generated more than 10,000 tons of excess waste from such products in the last two years. None of such garbage is biodegradable, which means that masks further contribute to the growing waste problem.

On the other hand, the country has long suffered from a chronic shortage of hospital beds. The situation got worse in the pandemic, with thousands of people losing the battle with the virus because they could not receive treatment as there were no available beds. Aiming to tackle the bed shortage problem and also fight the growing waste problem, Eco Eclectic Technologies (EETech), a company that develops eco-friendly solutions for domestic and industrial waste, embraced the circular economy concept for the launch of “The Novel Bed Project.”

Teaming up with Cheil WW India, the company saw the life-saving potential such pandemic-related garbage holds. By combining the concept and product design developed by the agency with EETech’s innovative technology, the duo successfully turned waste into a hospital bed. The team made it from scratch using discarded PPE kits, 1000+ masks, coffee waste, and eco-friendly laminated paper and scrap materials. It was then donated to a hospital in Delhi, paying homage to all those patients who lost their lives during the health crisis.

Accompanying the initiative is a one-minute-long video, developed by production house Epitome, which kicked off in India across digital platforms on April 27th. Besides serving as a tribute to millions of Indians who passed away as a result of the COVID-19, the video is aimed at educating the public about face-mask pollution, how to properly dispose of them, and how they can be used to overcome hospital bed shortages.

Speaking about the project, Dr. Binish Desai, Founder of EETech, said: “I saw the amount of waste being generated by single-use masks and I started experimenting. I don’t see waste as a waste, I see it as a resource. As humans, we have created it, so it is our responsibility to get rid of it and so I started this particular project. Coming up with innovation from pandemic-related waste is very important.”

Emmanuel Upputuru, CCO at Cheil India, continued: “We needed a novel way to address Covid waste in a way that would benefit society. With the dire shortage of hospital beds in India, we knew of no better way to repurpose the waste than to create much-needed hospital beds. Something only possible by collaborating with Dr. Desai’s EETech, the world leaders in breakthrough recycling technologies. The first bed produced was presented to a hospital in Delhi as a tribute to the ones we lost.”

The Novel Bed Project was carried out with the help of IDA, an NGO that aims to provide help to women in rural areas. The public can discover more about the project and how they can get involved by checking out the campaign’s webpage. Also, the company said they are using disposable masks to create other novel products such as a clock, pen stand, or soap dispenser. The proceeds from the sale of these items — available for purchase from EETech’s online store — will be used to create more beds for more hospitals.

Credits:

Client: Eco Eclectic Technologies

Agency: Cheil WW India

Chief Creative Officer: Emmanuel Upputuru

Creative Director: Aneesh Jaisinghani

Art Director: Nikhil Kumar, Aneesh Jaisinghani

Copywriter: Emmanuel Upputuru, Suparv Chotmarada

Account Director: Palak Omkar Gupta

Director/ Production Co: Epitome

Producer: Govind Aggarwal

Line Producer: Alaukik Narayan

DoP: Amal Sudhakaran