The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Arts and Architecture THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY OF DHARAVI: MAKING BUILDING MATERIALS FROM WASTE A Thesis in Architecture by SOURAV DEY Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE AUGUST 2018 The thesis of SOURAV DEY was reviewed and approved* by the following: UTE POERSCHKE Professor of Architecture Thesis Co-Advisor LISA DOMENICA IULO Associate Professor of Architecture and Architectural Engineering Thesis Co-Advisor ALI MEMARI Professor of Architectural Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering MEHRDAD HADIGHI Professor and Head Department of Architecture *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT As developing nations continue to progress, people of these countries face problems of shortages in building materials and rising production of solid waste. The purpose of this research study is to explore the establishment of a circular economy by recycling/reusing solid waste as an alternative building material. Focused on the slum of Dharavi in Mumbai, a settlement famous for its existing recycling business, this research explores the concept of a circular economy utilizing local informal labor and the flow of waste materials in the slum. This research presents an analysis of the concept of a circular economy, the history of the Dharavi slum, the imposed governmental policies, existing building materials used in makeshift houses, and case studies where waste is reused as a building product. This research identifies the gaps, advantages, and disadvantages related to how and where the building materials from the case studies could be adapted in the context of the Dharavi slum. This research study contributes to the development of strategies for the application and reinforcement of a circular economy of building materials from waste in the informal economy. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………………………………..………………………….xii 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH ....................................................................................................... 2 1.3 WHY DHARAVI? ............................................................................................................................. 3 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 5 2.1 THE CONCEPT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY ..................................................................................... 5 2.1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.2 PROBLEMS WITH A LINEAR MODEL .......................................................................................... 5 2.1.3 THE CIRCULAR MODEL .............................................................................................................. 7 2.1.4 REQUIREMENTS TO ESTABLISH A CIRCULAR MODEL ............................................................ 10 2.1.5 INITIAL ADAPTATIONS OF A CIRCULAR ECONOMY ............................................................ 12 2.2 CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONTEXTUALIZED TO INDIA ................................................................... 16 2.2.1 INDIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RISING URBANIZATION.............................................. 16 2.2.2 MATERIAL RESOURCE CONSUMPTION IN INDIA .................................................................. 17 2.2.3 WASTE GENERATION IN INDIA ................................................................................................ 18 2.2.4 CONSTRUCTION SECTOR ........................................................................................................ 18 2.2.5 CRITICAL BUILDING MATERIALS IN INDIA .............................................................................. 19 2.2.6 RETHINKING A CIRCULAR INDIAN ECONOMY ..................................................................... 20 2.3 DHARAVI ...................................................................................................................................... 23 2.3.1 THE EXISTING LITERATURE ON DHARAVI ................................................................................ 23 iv 2.3.2 THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES IN DHARAVI ..................................................................... 25 3. RESEARCH OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 30 3.1 RESEARCH AIMS ........................................................................................................................... 30 3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 30 3.3 LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 32 4. BACKGROUND OF DHARAVI ................................................................................................... 33 4.1 LOCATION .................................................................................................................................... 33 4.2 HISTORY & ORIGINS ..................................................................................................................... 35 4.3 EXISTING BUILDING CONDITIONS ............................................................................................... 36 4.4 ENTREPRENEURSHIP CULTURE ....................................................................................................... 46 4.4.1 POTTER INDUSTRY ..................................................................................................................... 47 4.4.2 LEATHER INDUSTRY ................................................................................................................... 49 4.4.3 FOOD AND MEDICAL INDUSTRY ............................................................................................ 49 4.4.4 GARMENT INDUSTRY ................................................................................................................ 50 4.5 ISSUE OF HOUSING AND STATE INTERVENTIONS ........................................................................ 52 4.6 THE INCREMENTAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH .......................................................................... 55 5. THE CULTURE OF RECYCLING ................................................................................................. 58 5.1 WASTE FLOWS IN DHARAVI ......................................................................................................... 58 5.1.1 PLASTIC RECYCLING ................................................................................................................ 59 5.1.2 GLASS RECYCLING .................................................................................................................. 61 5.1.3 E-WASTE RECYCLING ............................................................................................................... 62 5.1.4 METAL RECYCLING .................................................................................................................. 64 5.1.5 CARDBOARD AND PAPER RECYCLING ................................................................................ 67 5.1.6 TETRA PAK RECYCLING ........................................................................................................... 67 v 6. CASE STUDIES OF BUILDING FROM WASTE ........................................................................... 70 6.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 70 6.2 BUILDING MATERIALS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING ..................................................................... 71 6.2.1 PLASTIC LUMBER ....................................................................................................................... 71 6.2.2 PLASTIC WALL TILE .................................................................................................................... 73 6.2.3 PLASTIC ROOFING TILE ............................................................................................................ 75 6.2.4 UBUNTUBLOX ............................................................................................................................ 77 6.2.5 RECYCLED PLASTIC BRICKS .................................................................................................... 80 6.3 BUILDING MATERIALS FROM CARDBOARD RECYCLING ............................................................ 84 6.3.1 CORRUGATED CARDBOARD POD ........................................................................................ 84 6.3.2 MODULAR ROOF ..................................................................................................................... 86 6.4 BUILDING MATERIALS FROM GLASS RECYCLING ....................................................................... 89 6.4.1 RECYCLED GLASS TILES ..........................................................................................................