BPAC is creating a new generation of green ambassadors in Bengaluru. Here's how

Kaveri Kedarnath from BPAC speaks more about how they have been helping students with waste segregation and zero-waste management 
There are over 10 colleges in the city who are part of this programme
There are over 10 colleges in the city who are part of this programme

In the past few years, the municipal body in Bengaluru, along with individuals and NGOs, have been working to create awareness about waste segregation and composting waste. This time, the Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) has started a programme called Green Campus Green Ambassador for college students in the city. Through the programme, a particular group of students will not only implement waste segregation methods in their colleges, but also go door-to-door informing residents about why they must implement it too.

Kaveri Kedarnath, who is part of this programme of BPAC, says, "The course aims at creating a problem-solving community of young individuals who play the important role of a catalyst between the community and the local government in addressing the problem of waste management that is plaguing the city. Our volunteers approach every college in the city and conduct sessions on the importance of waste segregation, avoiding the use of plastic on campus and composting dry leaves and other waste."

Kedarnath further adds that, "The BPAC volunteers select a group of students from every college on the basis of their interest. This programme is designed to have three different phases. In the first phase, these students will go door-to-door in residential areas to conduct a survey on waste segregation. By talking to residents, they will realise that the same must be implemented in their colleges too. Hence, in the second phase, we give them a form to fill out information like the quantity of waste produced every day in college, the number of classrooms, does every classroom have a dustbin, whether the canteen segregates food waste, how much of the total waste is plastic and so on. When they provide us with this data, we tell them how to reduce the quantity of waste by avoiding single-use products. In the last phase, it is all about composting dry waste like paper, leaves, food and so on. This way, they can reduce the burden on landfills."

Way to go: Every college has its own green ambassador who will work to spread awareness among students and localities



Currently, there are more than 10 colleges who are part of this programme including Mount Carmel College, BNM Pre University College, Vasavi Vidyanikethan, Sri Hombegowda PU College, Government First Grade Degree College, HSR Layout, Parikrma Centre for learning, St Anne’s Degree College For Women, Little Angels Modern High School, Clarence High School, Richards Town, Sri Guru Harikishan High School, Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College for Women, MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Mariyappa First Grade College and Vivekananda Degree College. The BPAC volunteers plan to rope in more number of colleges in this programme.

Head on
The college students have already started working on this programme and have completed the first phase. Now, they have started gathering data from their campus. Soon, the BPAC will procure composting bins and train them on the methods of composting manure. A group of experts will conduct an audit in the month of November. The colleges which have done their best in this programme will earn the coveted green campus certification.

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