VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakha Valley School has taken up the task of educating young minds on the need for a plastic-free future and as part of the initiative, the management has banned all plastic from its campus. Instead of plastic, files, water bottles, stationery, birthday cards and academic certificates have been replaced with eco-friendly and bio-degradable material. It is the only school in Vizag to implement a total ban on plastic.
The Centre has banned single-use plastic from July 1. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, too, implemented a total plastic ban. Taking cue, the school, run by a Trust with district Collector A Mallikarjuna as its chairman, took this as an opportunity to help students help the planet.
School Principal Eswari Prabhakar said, “Despite increase in awareness and recycling, we are now at a point where trillions of plastic pieces are floating in our oceans. To help prevent more plastic piling up in the nature, we all need to watch the amount of plastic is being generated from the things we consume.”
Students who are members of the eco-club, an initiative by the school, aim at creating awareness about the harmful effects of plastic use, make files, bags and greeting cards using recyclable and reusable materials.
“These students are Eco-Warriors because they are fighting to eliminate plastic from their lives and maintain a sustainable lifestyle,” the principal noted. Recently, the district collector had flagged off six new CNG buses, which were added to the school’s existing fleet of buses to reduce air pollution.