JOIN USThe power of paper
So instead of discarding the waste bits of project papers or piling up the daily newspapers, we can recycle old paper and use it again.
This way, we can utilise waste and also do our bit to reduce the number of trees being cut.
Students in Bangalore too have taken an initiative towards paper recycling. Colleges like Jyoti Nivas and Christ University have their own paper recycling units, which allow youngsters to do their bit towards the environment.
Says Vijayalakshmi Vishwanath, Vice-Principle of the Arts Department, Jyoti Nivas College, “We started this unit ten years ago in a small way in the Social Science Department itself. In 2007, we put up a new unit and called it Prayatna. We started this unit because we felt it was necessary for the students to act towards the environment than merely listening to lectures about conserving it.
Paper is the main material used in any educational institute.”
She adds, “Students participate in a huge and satisfactory number. Posters have been put up and boxes have been kept in every corner of the corridors. The students and staff drop all the waste papers into these boxes and these papers are then taken to the unit for recycling. We make different products out of the recycled paper like books, folders and even planners. Everybody participates in it.”
Students at Christ University are also working towards paper recycling under the banner of Centre for Social Action’s (CSA) waste management campaign.
Arun Williams, one of the active members of CSA, says, “Our target is to make Christ University a ‘zero-waste zone’. Dustbins are put across the campus with clear instructions of segregating the waste into dry and wet waste.”
The wet waste is converted into manure and the dry waste is taken to the Paper Recycling Unit in the campus.
Here, the waste is recycled into and many products are made out of it like folders, notebooks, holders etc, which are sold in the campus as well as marketed outside.
The money, that is collected, is given as salary to the workers at the unit. Most students across the City are aware of paper recycling and a huge number of them also take part in it.
It is a good sign of progress towards a greener ‘Garden City’. Just a food for thought — every morning, if we recycle one newspaper, we can save almost 40,000 trees from being cut down!
So, do your bit today.