Project SEARCH raises awareness on recycling among the school community in 200 schools of Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Goa.
PANJIM: After successful efforts to raise awareness on good waste management practices in the schools of Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Tetra Pak India are launching Phase V of Project SEARCH in Goa with a pool of 20 schools in the state.
The yearlong programme was launched at the Goa State Central Library, Patto, Panjim on 18 July 2013. Present on the occasion were, Dr K K Nadkarni, Deputy Director (Adult Education), Directorate of Education, Government of Goa, Ranjana Saikia, Director, Educating Youth for Sustainable Development, TERI and Jaideep Gokhale Environment and Communications Director, Tetra Pak South Asia Markets who witnessed participation of over 200 students and 30 teachers from all over the state.
Dr. Nadkarni, Deputy Director (Adult Education), Directorate of Education, Government of Goa, said, “I am extremely pleased to be associated with TERI and Tetra Pak through project SEARCH. It is the youth we can change, as changing mindsets of the older generation is very difficult.”
Speaking on the initiative Ranjana Saikia, Director, Educating Youth for Sustainable Development, TERI, mentioned “It is a pleasure to work again with Tetra Pak and benefit from the support they provide to such activities. At TERI, we are constantly fighting the odds and working hard towards sensitising people, especially young students about the perils of environmental degradation. In Phase V of Project SEARCH, I am sure we will be able to meet the target of successfully sensitizing the students about good waste management practices and the virtues of 4 Rs, making them key drivers in the essential process of enhancing environment protection knowledge followed by positive action”
On Tetra Pak’s involvement in the initiative, Jaideep Gokhale said, “We are very excited to extend Project SEARCH to Goa as it is important that we raise awareness about responsible consumerism, waste management and carton recyclability in a state that has a delicate ecosystem and also attracts a high influx of tourists. The initiative not just sensitises students about the need for waste management but also provides a platform that encourages them to practice and spread the word about recycling. Tetra Pak’s commitment extends far beyond protecting the contents in a package; it also includes protecting the environment. The level of participation from the entire educational community towards Project SEARCH is a matter of pride for us and indicates the significant work being done under the initiative.”
A nationwide programme was launched in 2009 aimed at raising awareness among students, teachers, the school community and society at large on waste management. The idea is to encourage the young students and teachers to practice the 4Rs – refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle – in their daily lives and make consumption choices that would ensure the sustainability of the planet in the years to come. Project SEARCH is now entering in its fifth year and added Goa as the seventh city in India to implement the programme. In Goa, Project SEARCH will engage with vRecycle Waste Management Services, headed by Mr. Clinton Vaz in a bid to reach out to more schools in the state, and ensure timely waste collection from their premises.
The main objectives of the programme is to institutionalise Project SEARCH in all member schools in a manner that it becomes an indispensable part of the school curriculum/calendar and commands wholehearted involvement of all students and staff to truly make it a respected, credible and innovative school education programme.
Now in its fifth year, Project SEARCH will be be scaled up to reach out to a total of 2,00,000 students and teachers, and it will help set up collection centres in partner schools for the collection of dry waste, recyclables and post-consumer Tetra Pak cartons. The larger aim is to create schools as ‘garbage free zones.
