Indian society is characterized by the presence of different groups, interdependent in economic terms but strictly separated on the social environment - a reality very different from that of Europe, based on the spread of the middle class. Indian cities are inhabited by a cosmopolitan elite, while 75% of the population lives in rural conditions, sometimes in extreme poverty. The imbalance generates an exceptional migratory pressure on urban centers that are not sufficiently developed to support it.
Within the city then the growth of autonomous settlements is very common, settlements that are extremely simple and that consist of independent urban structures located on areas generally of little economic value: the banks of rivers, railway lines and roads, industrial areas. To indicate this type of settlement the Indians use the term "Squatter Settlement." The trade in waste and materials for the construction of Squatter Settlement is now part of a sophisticated network of trade. In this way, the poorest of the population obtain their supplies of building materials at very low cost and through the activities of collecting, sorting and exchanging, they guarantee for themselves a minimum source of income.
As part of a research project the recycling of plastic waste has been tested , obtained by simplified processing techniques, suitable for very small-scale entrepreneurial activities. The experiment has seen the use of ligands of different nature - mineral and synthetic - that have offered various and different opportunities for recycling waste materials. With both types of binders various products have been made : from building blocks, to plates and panels.