In India, sanitary pads are either burned or used at landfill sites, both of which are harmful for the environment. (Picture for representation)
Venture Centre, a Pune-based government-supported incubation centre, will be supporting PadCare Labs for their expansion of services in menstrual hygiene management.
PadCare is a start-up which was incubated at the Venture Centre two years ago, and will now take new wings using the seed fund by its parent organisation. The fund is being provided under the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) LEAP Fund.
“We will mainly use this fund to expand our network and teams, and enhance our operations and marketing. With this funding, we aim to take the PadCare services from pilot demonstration to commercialisation,” said Ajinkya Dhariya, founder and CEO of the company.
The two-year-old company had developed a decentralised smokeless sanitary pad disposal and recycling system unit. In the unit, to be installed at womens’ washrooms, used napkins are collected and processed in an environment-friendly and odourless manner. At present, the units process over 1,500 pads every day. The by-product generated after processing is then sent as raw material for the packaging industry.
On a pilot basis, 40 such units will soon be installed at the Government Industrial Training Institutes in Aundh.
In India, sanitary pads are either burned or used at landfill sites, both of which are harmful for the environment.
“We are also in talks with smart cities of Puducherry, Chennai and Hyderabad. Besides, we also plan to work with corporate companies in Pune and Mumbai, where there would be a sizable number of women employees,” added Dhariya.