PadCareX

Ajinkya Dhariya has been selected as part of UNICEF Innovation30: Young Innovators Shaping the Future.

Countries of Solution Deployment: India

Innovation Accelerator: World Economic Forum UpLink, Switzerland 

Ajinkya Dhariya, 28, is the mastermind behind PadCareX. This patented sanitary napkin recycling technology seamlessly separates pulp and plastic, repurposing them into valuable materials for industries like packaging and agriculture.   

Ajinkya’s journey to creating PadCareX is deeply personal. When he was only 11, a particular moment of curiosity sparked by a sanitary napkin advertisement led to a profound discussion with his mother about menstrual hygiene. After obtaining a mechanical engineering degree and completing a stint as an R&D engineer at India’s Space Agency, Ajinkya quit and set a course to solve a staggering problem.   

The environmental impact of pads is immense, with billions of sanitary products being used monthly. In India alone, 12 billion sanitary napkins end up in landfills annually, with 98 per cent of this waste not being properly managed. Non-recycled sanitary products pose a health risk to children and millions of waste collectors who handle sanitary waste manually. They also increase the likelihood of contamination of water bodies.  

During PadCareX’s innovative process, used napkins are collected in specially designed bins, preventing odour and bacterial growth for up to 30 days. These bins are transported to material recovery centers. Using a novel perforation-based system, 99.5 per cent of materials are recovered with >95 per cent separation between pulp and plastics. The recovered pulp can be converted into highly specialized chemicals for use in the packaging and agriculture industries.     

With PadCareX, Ajinkya is determined to make a social transformation impact. "We want to break the taboos around menstruation and menstrual hygiene whilst managing the balance between convenience and sustainability,” he says.