Navi Mumbai: NMMC starts 'Dry Waste Passbook' for students, to teach them the importance of waste segregation at an early age

Navi Mumbai: In order to inculcate the habit of cleanliness among children at an early age, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has been carrying out a number of activities at school level. One of the activities is 'Dry Waste Bank', by Belapur ward.

Under the initiative, students are taught different kinds of dry waste and how to segregate them. The initiative has been taken by Dr Mithali Sancheti, ward official of Belapur ward under the guidance of the municipal commissioner Rajesh Narvekar.

Students have been asked to start waste segregation at their homes. “By doing it, they will understand the importance of waste segregations. Later, once a week, they have to deposit plastic bottles, chips or chocolate covers, tetra packs or tins, glass bottles, and household plastics in school,” said an official from Belapur ward, adding that in order to encourage them, points are given to them according to the amount of dry waste they collect and a 'Dry Waste Passbook' has been given to the students to record those points.

In this passbook, the points given by the class teachers, according to the amount of dry waste collected by them, are being recorded. After every 100, 200, 500 points are accumulated, students are given as an incentive, educational materials.

Similarly, 34 students at NMMC School no. 3 were given notebooks, pens, compass boxes and other useful items by Deputy Commissioner of Solid Waste Management Department, Babasaheb Rajale, Belapur Ward Officer Dr. Mithali Sancheti, Sanitation Officer. Vijay Padghan, Principal Surekha Mali were present.

57 students of the other schools enthusiastically participated in this activity. The officials informed that dry waste has been collected three times more under this innovative initiative which has been started recently and an average of 327 kg of dry waste has been collected.