School/College Recycling Hub

Reusing keeps new resources from being used for a while longer, and old resources from entering the waste stream. It's as important as it is unglamorous. It’s time to think about how we can do it more.

Before recycling or disposing anything, it’s time to consider whether it has life left in it. A jam jar can store leftovers. Food scraps can become compost. An old shirt can become a pajama top. An opened envelope can become a shopping list. A magazine can be shared. DVDs can be traded. A dishwasher can be repaired. A computer can be upgraded. A car can be resold. A cell phone can be donated. Returnable bottles can be, well... returned.

According to the findings of the Environment Statistics of Nepal 2013 published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) alone generated 457 metric tons of solid waste per day in the fiscal year 2012-2013 which is 70 percent of the total waste generated in country and of the total solid waste generated on a daily basis inside KMC, 63.2 percent is organic while plastic, paper, and glass constitute 10.8, 9 and 5.4 percent of the solid waste respectively. The significant rise in solid wastes inside KMC has not only contributed to environmental and social challenges such as river pollution, lack of landfill site and deplorable local environment, but has also caused huge economic loss to the government authorities due to their inability to properly manage solid wastes. In the case of Kathmandu, the majority of public seem ignorant about proper management of solid waste that could have helped the city to mitigate the challenging solid waste problem.

Youths are the agents of the change. The role of youths has been strengthening in current scenario. The role of schools/Colleges has broadened over the years as awareness of the importance of Reuse and recycling has deepened. Many programs have been established to teach youths to be responsible for their carbon footprint.

Youth Alliance for Environment (YAE) conducted ‘Training on school/college recycling hub' in five different schools/colleges namely ‘Durga Bhawani Academy, Dhumbarahei’, ‘Ankur Padawi Sikhya Sadan, Gongabu’, ‘Kadambari Memorial College, Baneshwor’, ‘Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Ghantaghar’ and ‘Thames international College, Old-Baneshwor’. There were 40 participants in each college/school on the training on college/School recycling hub.

I started the training by explaining the current scenario of the waste, percentage of degradable waste in Kathmandu and the contribution of paper utilization for current environment problems. I discussed about 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) principle.  I pointed that the utilization of paper waste in different useful products also represents the storage of carbon for that period.

The students made two different products ‘paper mat’ and ‘paper pen holder’ in each group with the direct instruction of the trainer at their school. Meanwhile, they knew to make other paper products like paper bags, paper carpet, Paper chess board, large paper holders etc.  

The trainer also explained about the national and international scenario of the paper products, awards etc. It was great chance to learn with fun.