Catch them young for a cleaner world

Environmental ConservationThe garbage situation in the City was not so unbearable until the powers that be decided half-heartedly to introduce garbage

The garbage situation in the City was not so unbearable until the powers that be decided half-heartedly to introduce garbage segregation at source.

With Monsoon around the corner, one can’t expect to be free of the garbage dumps but the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) needs to get its basics right from the schools in the City.

Most schools in the City are doing everything they can to train children in segregation, environmental conservation and how to keep not only the school premises free of garbage but also practise the same outside. Several schools in the City have been training their students to segregate wet waste from dry.

Vidya Niketan School in Hebbal has sent out a clear message to its students about waste management and the importance of segregation. About their initiative, principal Lalitha Desikan says that the school has placed four separate dustbins labelled paper, plastic, foil and vegetable waste at prominent locations inside.

 The textbooks are recycled at the end of the year and the recycled paper is used to make envelopes, files, folders etc. Lalitha feels that it is imperative that schools realise the importance of educating students on waste segregation and recycling. “It is only schools that can instill a sense of responsibility in children because they are at an impressionable age and there is still some idealism left in that age group. Any value instilled in young minds has every chance of developing into an established and desirable habit,” she states. 

The Sophia High School has several activities centered around waste segregation, waste management and disposal. Sr Priscilla, principal of the school, says, “Waste is segregated by the students during a programme called ‘Divide and Dump’. The collected waste is disposed in a burning unit created for the purpose. We also have a manure pit where the wet waste is collected and later used as manure for the plants on campus.

 The dry napkins are disposed in an insulator,” explains Priscilla. She explains that the students are encouraged to maintain their own vegetable gardens. “The vegetables that are grown in the garden are displayed during the ‘market day’ held in school. The excess vegetables are either used in the canteen or sold to parents,” she adds. 

Dr Sabitha Ramamurthy, principal of CMR National Public School, says that almost all the school projects are directed toward the environment.“There are separate bins for wet and dry waste but we don’t have too much of wet waste. Paper waste is collected by the students and sent for recycling. The students are taught to refrain from littering the campus and we insist that the same be followed at home,” she adds. 

The efforts made by schools for environmental conservation have been appreciated by students and their parents.

Sudha VN, a high school student, points out that one of the drastic changes in the City has been the rule of mandatory segregation. “We are taught garbage segregation. This helps instill a sense of responsibility in us at a very young age,” she says. 

Sharing the parents’ perspective, Deepti Taneja, an IT professional, says, “The ‘wealth out of waste’ programme in most schools gives children an opportunity to keep their home and surroundings clean. This nurtures good habits in children.”