Waste Management - Putting our daily waste to good use!

How many of us have seen the unsightly piles of garbage laying by the road and sniffed the decomposing wet waste? This was the topic of a field trip undertaken by Middle to Senior level students of Jyotirmay International School at an exhibition organized by the PMC at the Maulana Abdul Kalam Hall in Koregaon Park.

This field trip was in continuation of the topic Waste Management which these students had been learning in their subject EVM with their teacher Somishala.

Waste disposal is to be taken seriously for the protection of our environment and our teachers have in the past discussed proper recycling even as we’ve wondered about the various processes and cost factors.

At the PMC exhibition our students learned about segregating waste according to wet or dry and how wet garbage can be converted into organic manure by using simple techniques. They also discovered how chemical and sanitary disposal from hospitals gets incinerated for our safety.

Learning about an incinerator

There were stalls at this exhibition displaying various eco-friendly methods of waste disposal such as earthenware and mechanized composters for speedy manure production, biogas production and sanitary waste incineration. An important learning experience from this visit was that the biogas produced from wet waste can be used safely for cooking food.

Dr. Dhende, a Health Inspector of the PMC who is also one of our parents, spoke to the students about the dangers of mounting piles of garbage causing health issues, which was one of the reasons for such an exhibition. He also informed the children about two kinds of biodegradable waste such as wet or kitchen waste and dry waste like grass clippings, leaves and coconut shells or coir from the garden waste.

The awareness gleaned from this field trip was to compost all wet garbage, proper waste disposal and not to burn garbage which generates fumes, gases and pollution.

Students and teachers listening to talks about waste management

The students learned that these simple and easy techniques can be followed in individual homes, housing societies and localities. They took away brochures from various stalls which they could show to their parents, neighbours and society authorities.