On a Swachh note: City schools give students lessons on zero-waste mgmt

25th June, 2018

THANE: Teaching children the need and methods to segregate and manage their household waste is a crucial part of the community to turn Thane into a zero waste and Swachh city, academicians from various city schools believe.

While the lake city’s Swachh Survekshan ranking shot up from a poor 116th rank last year to the 40th rank this year, these educators believe that cleanliness needs to be inculcated in the mindset of the young generation so that they are motivated to keep sanitation as a priority in their homes as well as their societies; thus bring about this nationwide ranking to the top spot in the coming years.

“Since 2015, our school has been a zero waste school. Our students are actively involved in segregation and management of waste generated here. Whether it is segregating wet and dry waste at a class level, floor level or school level, or turning wet waste into manure through vermi-composting or even recycling dry paper waste using the machine at school, our students have hands-on experience in it,” said Janhavi Rai, principal of St. Xavier’s School.

“Through the years, we have observed that children are adaptable to change. And if taught and involved in such positive initiatives, they can actually make a difference. Over the years, parents of these students have approached us to talk about how these youngsters have helped replicate this waste segregation and management systems in their societies, if not their homes,” she added. Just like the students of St. Xavier’s School, those from a few other schools have also been encouraged into participating in this cleanliness mission outside the four walls of the school building over the past few years.

“In addition to participating in wet waste composting and dry waste recycling in our school premises, our students have also gone out on field trips where they have interacted with vendors and explained the need for using bio-degradable material. While this may or may not have had any impact on vendors, it did give students to get rooted in the cause and thus embed the importance of cleanliness in their mindset,” said Lipika Chandra, principal of Lokpuram Public School.

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com