Guwahati: A School in Assam is hogging limelight these days, not because of its academic results but because of its novel attempt in managing plastic waste.
The Akshar Foundation School on the outskirts of Guwahati is accepting tuition fee in the form of plastic waste. Every week, the students assemble plastic waste of all hues from the local community, fill them up in grocery bags and empty them on a designated place on the school premises.
The school, in turn, recycles the waste into bricks which are used in construction activities.
The objective…
The initiative is aimed at ensuring a clean environment and raising awareness about the ill-effects of plastic use in daily lives, media reports quoting the school authorities said.
The students are encouraged to bring at least 15 types of plastic waste item during a week. By doing so, they not only contribute to building a healthy environment but are also spared the worry of arranging the tuition fee, the school founders Parmita Sarma and Mazin Mukhtar were quoted as saying.
Many of the students enrolled in the school come from financially weak background.
How did this idea come about…
The winter is a time when the neighbourhood would burn the waste to stay warm. But they remained oblivious to the fact the routine practice was posing a risk for them as well to the little ones as the smoke would make all the way to the classroom. It was during one such moment when the Paramita and Mazin decided to do something different to bring about a positive change in the area, the Forbes magazine said.
The environmental achievement has not gone unnoticed. Today, the Akshar Foundation school has made a place for itself in the Northeast region. Reports said several schools in Assam and in neighbouring states are eager to emulate the plastic recycle model as the deadline for the ban on single-use plastic is approaching fast.
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