Government school students on ‘clean plastic’ drive to create a safe environment

On June 5, which was observed as the World Environment Day, students of the Government Higher Secondary School at Onthanpatti in Tiruchirappali district, which has a strength of around 400, took an oath that they would strive to make their villages plastic-free. 

Staying true to their promise, the students on Tuesday collected plastic items which they found lying on the ground near their school and villages. 

The students, who brought the collected waste to the school campus, were rewarded with gifts like pencils, pen and other stationary items as a token of encouragement.  

“We educated our students on the ill-effects of plastic and asked them to create an awareness among their parents and ensure plastic-free villages for a safe environment. We initially targeted 100 bags but the students were able to collect 108 bags till Tuesday,” said Rajasekar, a teacher of the school. 

Stating that the students have taken their task seriously, Rajasekar said there is a healthy competition among students as to who could collect the maximum quantity of plastic. “Seeing their enthusiasm, we gave small gifts as a token of encouragement,” Rajasekar said. 

The school administration has planned to display the collected plastic items and to show them to the parents. 

“We will ask the students to explain the health hazards posed by plastics during the exhibition. The collected items would be safely disposed after making the parents aware of the situation,” Rajasekar added. 

Significantly, students of this school had removed ‘Seemai Karuvelam’ from a waterbody last year, an act which was appreciated by the District Collector.