Twelve enterprising youngsters of the Sishya school in Chennai toiled for two and a half hours on Elliot’s beach on June 3, collecting seven bags full of plastic waste. The initiative was in response to the call of the United Nations Environment Program to #BeatPlasticPollution in the run-up to World Environment Day on June 5.
Leading the way was Sishya’s very own Garbage Man, Ram M. Kripa, who also started a waste segregation initiative in his school. He remarked that the amount of plastic was astonishing given the area covered. Such is the concentration of plastic waste in the Uroor side of the beach.
Crusaders
Passersby were quick to notice these youthful crusaders, offering encouragement as they donned their Sunday best, the Environment Club of Sishya shirt. With gloves and masks, they charged into battle, first eliminating the packets and wrappers, before digging into the sand to reveal the scores of plastic bottles buried beneath.
The team included Nandan S, Aryaman T, Abbas P, Nidhi M, Archita A, Tarun C, Trisha S, Ranjekha J, Thanya V, Akshara S and Ram Mukund Kripa. However, the story is far from over. This cleanup was never meant to be a one-off event. It is a platform, a catalyst, to raise awareness about plastic pollution, throughout the city, via the youth.
