Delhi govt schools to conduct activities for phasing out single-use plastic

NEW DELHI: The government schools in Delhi will conduct weekly activities to phase out single-use plastic from schools and promote waste management, a circular from the Directorate of Education (DoE) said.

The activities include taking pledges, attending lecture sessions in the morning assembly, and sharing items from 'Bartan bhandar' (a separate room in schools to store reusable utensils) with the students. According to the circular, all government school students will take a pledge to phase out single-use plastic (SUP) every Monday during the morning assembly and lecture sessions will be organised every Tuesday. It said that items from 'Bartan Bhandar' will also be shared with the students for personal use during small functions or festivals.

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"For the activity related to 'Bartan bhandar', one school on a pilot basis from each district under DoE is to be nominated,” the circular said. All the Delhi Directorate of Education (district) have been asked to nominate one school on a pilot basis under their jurisdiction for necessary compliance with the activities and actions to be taken by the concerned head of the school, it said.

In May, the Delhi government issued an order asking all schools in the national capital to set up a separate room within their premises to store reusable utensils as part of its plan to phase out SUP. The DoE in a letter to schools had said they need to replace plastic dishes with those made of steel or glass etc, and keep them in a separate store room, ‘Bartan bhandar’. The ban on certain SUP items came into force on July 1, with the state government’s initiating an enforcement campaign to identify and close down units engaging in production, distribution, stocking and sale of such items, officials said.