Watch: Shark Tank judges impressed by sanitary napkin disposal device invented by Pune's Ajinkya Dhariya

From innovative services to homemade products, Shark Tank India has amplified the startup success story on national TV. Several ventures have found success after reaching out to pan-India audiences by appearing on the first season of the reality show. But a 27-year-old inventor from Pune captivated the judges with his device, which is designed for the safe disposal of sanitary napkins.

Engineering graduate Ajinkya Dhariya, set up his own startup and has developed a machine called Padcare, which segregates plastic and cellulose drain from used sanitary napkins and makes them viable for recycling.

The idea struck Dhariya in 2018 and is now catering to several organizations to ensure the safe disposal of sanitary napkins. The judges at Shark Tank were impressed by Dhariya 's innovation, and hailed it as a sign of India changing for the better.

Specially developed dustbins are adjusted in toilets and are equipped to cleanly store used sanitary napkins for up to 45 days. Dhariya had created the gamechanging technology back in 2021.

"We install specially developed small dustbins called 'Sanibins' in toilets which are equipped to store the used sanitary napkins for 30 to 45 days and makes sure it is disinfected and does not create any smell." "The sanitary pads are collected from these dustbins on a bi-monthly or monthly basis and then put in Padcare machines which not only segregates its material without affecting the environment but also makes it ready to be used for recycling products," Dhariya had said.

Dhariya and his team accessed data about 12 billion used sanitary napkins generated in India every year, of which 98 per cent are disposed of in landfills or water-bodies, adversely affecting the environment.

Using the recycled material from used sanitary napkins, the team has also designed several decorative products that can be used in homes. The team of youngsters aims to make it available to maximum people in the coming year while making safe and environment-friendly sanitary napkin disposal available.