Students kickstart ‘zero waste schools audit’

Ludhiana, July 18

Students from seven schools in Ludhiana kickstarted the Zero Waste Schools Programme during a workshop organised at Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, on Thursday.

The programme has been launched by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) in collaboration with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the Cleaner Air and Better Health (CABH) project. The programme aims at encouraging students to play a proactive role in reducing, reusing and recycling solid waste in schools across the city. It was attended by students, teachers and municipal corporation officials.

Students from Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar; Arya Senior Secondary School near Damoria bridge; BCM Senior Secondary School, Metro road; Government Primary School, Jamalpur; Sai Public School, Barota Road; Ramgharia Senior Secondary School near Vishkarma chowk and Government High School, Sarabha Nagar, participated in the event.

The workshop aimed to inspire a culture of sustainability among future generations through responsible waste segregation and disposal. The programme also aimed at providing insights into typical waste generation per student and promoting effective waste management methods that other schools in the state could adopt.

Through the workshop, students were given training to identify, categorise, measure and find solutions for the waste generated on their school campuses. The workshop included interactive demonstrations and activities and featured student artwork related to the programme’s goals.

Sandeep Rishi, MC Commissioner, said the Zero Waste Schools Programme was an exciting platform to share insights and best practices in waste management for the city’s benefit.

Priyanka Singh, programme lead, CEEW, said, “The Zero Waste Schools Programme aims to promote sustainable waste management practices across India’s schools. The CABH initiative supports research and evaluates the effectiveness of the zero waste audit process in schools, emphasising waste reduction initiatives, sustainable waste management practices, and reduction of emission from waste burning.”