Plastic Free IIT Kgp

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Well, now..
This one is something that come to our minds.

If it is that Chandigarh can be plastic free, when not IIT Kharagpur?!
So, well.. that means, that it can be; and we embark on the mission to do so. The approach that we looked at was simple:
- Permanent ban on use of all plastic bags and polythenes etc.
- Availability of alternatives (jute / paper / cloth bags) which would be within the price point of the shop keepers
- A one-time cleaning of the campus of all the plastic that is there, by the form a collection drive.

Kind of simple enough. The institute has put into place a ban of sorts on the place. Some of our work done. We have to ensure that it lasts.
Availability of alternatives 'within the purchasing power of shop keepers' is the main issue. To curtail this cost, we are exploring the area of sponsorship and CSR of companies, where in the company will get their logos on the bags and hence the cost gets subsidized.
A one time cleaning and collection drive is also in place. Rough plans drawn up with the help of the superintendent engineer at the Civil Works and Maintenance Department at IIT Kharagpur.

For supply of the alternatives, we are looking at partnering with NGOs. This will lead to dual benefits, with the NGO generating revenue as well as environmental benefit.

Currently in the phase of implementation, will post progress soon :)

Cheers,
Saurav

Posted by Johny-walker at 1:59 PM  
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