Recycling - October - Rainy sessions, soggy cardboard!

Recycling has been really busy this month. With challenges posed by the rainy weather, the group worked in a committed manner. The weather was also a hindrance as lots of cardboard left outside the recycling room got wet even though I personally took initiative to move the cardboard into the room during school lunch times. In addition, we were only able to visit the scrap dealers to sell collected recycling materials once out of four sessions due to the rainy weather. To resolve issues of cardboard loss due to rain, I am deciding of implementing a new plan (starting this November) which involves maintenance of materials left outside the room by the students in the Recycling and Sustainability group outside the service sessions held after school on Thursdays. This will require collaboration within the team and more perseverance from some regularly late or absent students.

 

Grade 10 and grade 11 students taking initiative at service.

A photograph from the sole visit to the scrap dealer this month.

 

I also developed a new and important skill of writing an article on the subject of "Recycling awareness for a sustainable OSC community" addressed to the school community. Due to the importance of the topic of recycling awareness, I am reiterating it below:

 

Recycling @ OSC

            Have you ever wondered what happens to the objects you dispose? Well, the useless and discarded waste is turned into a fresh and dynamic product! In this rapidly changing world, new discoveries and inventions in the field of science and technology have done the undoable. The three step technique called ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ is the rule that governs a new business of reincarnation – the reincarnation of non-biodegradable waste!

The Recycling and Sustainability Group @ The Overseas School of Colombo is a service group in the school’s Community Service program that collects and sorts used paper, cardboard, plastics and several metals into their respective material groups during weekly sessions held afterschool on Thursdays. These items are then sold to scrap dealers in the Battaramulla region. They, in turn, supply these to recycling agencies located in Sri Lanka, India and China.

             Often times, recycling of used materials is thought to be the only step towards creating an environmentally-friendly cyclic waste management system. Consequently, the rates of consumption of many items continue to increase. Thus, the OSC Recycling and Sustainability service group aims to raise communal awareness regarding the importance of reducing consumption of non-biodegradable materials and promoting their reuse wherever possible in order to avoid wastage. For this purpose, cardboard trays made from cartons have been distributed to all rooms in the school for the purpose of collecting ‘reusable’ paper. Similarly, in order to increase efficiency in recycling of non-biodegradable waste in the school, the OSC Maintenance Department has initiated a new program to better waste segregation on the campus. In accordance with the school’s strategic plan for 2010-2015 aimed at creating a green environment, separate sets of bins have been allocated for ‘Plastic’, ‘Paper’ and ‘Food’ waste collection.

The success of this initiative to promote sustainability and an eco-friendly waste management system in the school relies on the response of the OSC community. It is important that all members of the community make efforts to scrupulously follow the new waste disposal system. In addition, independent actions such as minimizing avoidable consumption at home, refraining from printing as far as possible and using electronic means instead, and selling old newspapers and other discarded items to scrap dealers for recycling would surely reduce the community’s ecological footprint.

Dhyani Ywahoo rightly said that “You can tell how high a society is by how much of its garbage is recycled.” Hence, it is vital for everyone in the community to play their part. So, the next time you are disposing a waste item, be ‘waste wise’ and remember ‘3 R’s for waste avatars.’

Other such articles can be accessed on the Recycling and Sustainability blog.

 

Some photographs of the recycling group at work can be accessed from the facebook page maintained by the OSC CAS student news service.

 

I am now looking forward to a less rainy November so that the service can proceed without any hindrance.