Can you imagine your tetra pak waste being recycled to make tables for school children? Hard to imagine, of course, but it is happening. About 1342 primary schools in Andhra Pradesh are currently using some 5,368 tables made out of recycled tetra paks. And there is a special Bengaluru connect to them. The tables are being designed and manufactured in the city.
While River-Tide is the brain behind the idea, Saahas Zero Waste, the city-based waste management social enterprise, is its executioner. "We thought it would be interesting to introduce these kids to an eco-friendly environment at a young age. We approached Saahas, gave them the design. It wouldn't have been possible without the support of Andhra Pradesh’s Commissioner of School Education, K Sandhya Rani who proactively allocated funds for it. Mr. G Srinivas, IAS, State Project Director, approved the initiative which was followed up with successful implementation by Ms. Rajyalakshmi, Director SCERT," says Sandeep Menon, CEO, Tide Learning.
River-Tide is rooted in the Rishi Valley School's noteworthy educational pedagogy developed by RIVER, (Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources), the teacher training and resource development wing of Rishi Valley Rural Education Centre. River-Tide is a collaboration between River and Tide Learning to enhance the value and access of River’s educational content for teachers and students through innovative tools of technology. "The whole River programme has a holistic approach with a thrust on community development and interaction. These eco-friendly tables fit into it perfectly. After working with the content, we wanted to get into the classrooms and work with their infrastructure,” explains Sandeep, who is also an alumnus of Rishi Valley. The four learning areas in the classrooms have four tables with a group of students sitting around each of them. The tables were introduced in July this year.
River’s Multi Grade and Multi Level (MGML) pedagogy has been around for 40 years and since then the programme for elementary education has been adopted by government primary schools across several states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhatisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. In Andhra Pradesh, the programme is named Ananda Lahari Abhyasana or ALA and the tables have been taken as part of it. The introduction of tables has naturally led to a lot of excitement amongst students and teachers. Designed simply, the metal frames are painted in red and blue colours.
After tables, River-Tide is targeting racks and trays in these classrooms as ALA progresses into its second phase spreading to more schools. From first and second standards in schools, it will also move to third and fourth standards.
Sunitha Jayaram, manager, recycled products verticals, Saahas Zero Waste, feels the initiative will encourage others to see the scope and set up recycling units. "Right now, there are just three recycling units. We are in no way promoting a particular product but yes, it is better to divert a waste product for better use than simply send it to a landfill."
Consider these numbers to get an idea about its impact on our environment. About 2000 cartons of 200 ml tetra paks go into the making of two tables. And for every tonne of carton recycled, we save 900 kgs of greenhouse gas emission and three cubic metres of landfill. One recycled tetra pak sheet measuring eight feet by four feet is used to make two tables, which saves half a big tree from being cut.
Though Saahas has been using recycled tetra pak furniture in their office, it is the first time the furniture is out in the public domain in such large numbers. The biggest challenge for this project was to make the tables safe for children. "We had multiple trials as there were concerns about its edges, cost-effectiveness and aesthetics. We tried different materials after which we settled for metal frames,” says Sunitha. Recently, Saahas Zero Waste was in the news for being the only company shortlisted for the Waislitz Global Citizen Award.
