Students in India are fighting plastic waste; Project Fankaari designs terracotta packaging to eliminate plastic food bags, volunteers make Eco Bricks to build benches, students exchange plastic waste with Recycle Mela for notebooks, reusable cloth bags

July 3, 2025 (Hindustan Times) –

India, July 3 -- Whether it's getting food delivered at your doorstep or carrying home groceries from the local market, plastic bags are a convenience that have continued to stay even after several attempts to make our lives plastic free. On International Plastic Bag Free Day, today, beating plastic pollution one bag at a time are some youngsters from Delhi-NCR. Overcoming challenges of growing plastic footprint on the environmental while coming up with sustainable options, here's how they are making continuous efforts to keep eco-friendly initiatives strong.

From college campuses to community corners, a growing number of environmentally conscious souls are stepping up to tackle the plastic problem, not just through awareness drives but through real, hands-on action. At Delhi University(DU)'s Sri Venkateswara College, the Enactus team is targeting one of the most plastic-heavy industries: food. "Through Project Fankaari, we're working to eliminate plastic bags used in food packaging and delivery," shares Ujjwal Jain, a member, adding, "We've teamed up with traditional potters to design food-grade terracotta packaging that's not only biodegradable but preserves food quality. These alternatives are about 95% recyclable. Apart from bags, eco-friendly salad and dip bowls, their product line is growing and so is their impact. As students, we believe we have the energy and creativity to imagine new ideas and innovative solutions," says Ujjwal. "And being part of the Enactus, we also feel a responsibility to lead by example and push our friends and other students on campus toward more conscious consumption."

The sense of purpose is echoed by young volunteers who are busy making Eco Brick on educational campuses across NCR. "Over the years, people have tried many ways to cut down on plastic bag use - charging for them, encouraging cloth bags - but most of those efforts fade quickly," says Madhuri Varshney from a Dwarka-based NGO, Rise Foundation, adding, "What we've realised is that real change happens when you make the solution interactive and fun. So we conduct drives at several colleges across Delhi University as well as schools. After each awareness session, the youngsters are given a task to collect plastic waste from their surroundings and tightly stuff plastic bottles with plastic bags and other often discarded plastics. These bottles are then used to make Eco Bricks. It's an activity that transforms waste into something useful. More importantly, it makes students more mindful of the plastic they use every day. When they submit these eco bricks to us, we use these to build benches and stools for communities, parks, schools, etc."

Meanwhile, Recycle Mela has been regularly popping up at College of Vocational Studies (CVS) and the Faculty of Law in DU. "We also offer a chance to the city locals at various community centres to drop off plastic bags and single-use plastic items in exchange for eco-friendly products," informs Ruby Makhija, from Why Waste Wednesday Foundation, which organises this mela to make plastic recycling more accessible and rewarding. She adds, "Plastic bags are a big threat, not just because they clog landfills, but because animals chew on them and marine life ingests them. Through Recycle Mela, we make disposal easy and rewarding. We visit campuses where students hand in their plastic waste, and in return, we give them notebooks made from recycled paper, reusable cloth bags, even copier paper and more. Such a reward-based exchange not only motivates participation but also shows the hidden value of what one usually throw away. Our drive has now expanded to schools, corporate offices, and local communities, with support from MCD and NDMC. We want to make recycling feel accessible and cool, especially for the youth. Plus we update about upcoming mela on our social media, so anyone can find us and join in the initiative." Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hindustan Times. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at contentservices@htdigital.in

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