Pune: Hospital recycles 80% dental material used by students

Pune: A gypsum recycling unit set up at the Bharati Vidyapeeth Dental College and Hospital has been able to recycle almost 80 % of the dental material used in pre-clinical exercises by students.

The hospital consumes almost four to five tonnes of gypsum annually, which will now be recycled. The initiative was undertaken by Arti Gachake and Sachin Potdar. They worked on the recycling unit for about six months under the guidance of Jayant Gadgil.

“Recycling used dental gypsum products in treatment modalities and laboratory work has significantly reduced the generation of gypsum waste, and the harmful effects caused by the release of hydrogen sulphide gas,” Gachake said.

The researchers said that materials like dental plaster are used extensively in pre-clinical exercises. “These materials cannot be utilised later,” said Potdar.

Principal of the dental college, Rajesh Kshirsagar, said, “In Mahrashtra, there are close to 42 dental colleges while there are 136 across the country. Imagine the amount of gypsum waste produced by them and the consequent environmental impact.”