Shashank Nimkar entered the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, with dreams of working closely with materials and creating “design solutions.” he left with a solution to ceramic waste.
“When pursuing a Masters in Design, students are taken for an industrial visit at a cluster of ceramic manufacturers in Uttar Pradesh. During this visit, I witnessed huge piles of glaze-fired ceramic rejects in almost all lanes of the town. I realised that ceramics don’t biodegrade for centuries, and I would be the one contributing to this landfill, designing collection after collection every season,” says the 32-year-old, who started a self-initiated graduation project in 2018 “to find ways to recycle the landfilled glaze-fired ceramic waste into a re-usable clay”.
Glaze-fired ceramic rejects at a landfill
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
After the first prototypes were out of the furnace, in mid 2019, the project featured in the media, and Shashank says this was “a major validation for the project to be commercialised”. After a pause during the lockdowns, he launched Earth Tatva and started commercial operations in 2021 with a grant from the government of Gujarat.
Ceramic waste is pulverised to a fine powder which is then mixed with their patented clay composition
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Currently, Shashank sources ceramic waste from industrial clusters of ceramic manufacturers in Gujarat, and turns them into a range of everyday products. These include food-safe, microwave and dishwasher-friendly mugs, bowls, vases, and the recently-launched mosaic tiles.
“As we source post-industrial waste from a cluster of industries we do not have to sort it. Additionally, unlike other materials we also do not need to sort the waste as per colour,” he says, adding, “We get the waste pulverised to a fine powder which is then mixed with our patented clay composition that acts as a natural binder. Once we get this liquid composition called ‘slip’, we de-water it to get cakes of clay that are then pugged through a machine to remove any air trapped inside.”
Bowls at Earth Tatva
| Photo Credit:
Karan Oza
The recycled content in the material (called TatvaMix) “makes the products stronger than conventional ceramics as the glaze particles in the material, upon firing, fuse with clay to give it strength internally”. However, Shashank says that pulverisation itself is not a recycling solution. “We have to build a market for the raw materials and products made using it to sell and create a viable impact. In addition, as the waste comes mixed from different sources we have to keep testing that it offers consistent results.”
Mosaic tiles can be customised by hand sketching illustrations on them using ceramic colours
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Apart from B2C sales on the website, the brand also supplies custom gifts to corporates and Shashank is also using the mosaic tiles at a residential project in Surat. “We can also personalise the tiles by hand sketching illustrations on them using ceramic colours that remain fade-proof and are low-maintenance,” says the designer who also partners with ceramic studios such as Clay Botik in Jaipur and Mitti and Mind in Gurgaon to execute bespoke projects.
Details on earthtatva.com
