Interview
Name: Mr. Nitin
Designation: Supervisor (House Keeping)
Company: RNS
Answers given to the asked questions:
Question: What, as per your observation, are the different types of wastes produced in our school?
Answer: Waste generated in the school are of following types-
- Garden: dry leaves, dry grass, flowers, twigs.
- Kitchen (Cafeteria): tea leaves, milk and juice packets, remaining food wasted by the students.
- Classroom: notebook pages, stationary waste such as sharpener waste and pen refills, food thrown by some students in dustbin, fruit peels, biscuit and cake packets.
Question: Which group, in your opinion, produces more waste at school – pre-primary, primary or secondary? Can you explain why you feel that way?
Answer: Secondary section produces more waste in the school because they throw their lunch in washrooms and dustbins in the school but primary students even if they don’t finish their lunch they take it back home without throwing it in the school campus.
Question: What effect can the waste produced at school have on our environment?
Answer: The waste or garbage produced in our school can have some effects on our environment such as plastic pollution, water pollution from the washrooms and from the water purifier. Also, some amount of electricity is wasted from the classrooms but it is mostly recovered by the usage of solar panels for generating electricity.
Question: What steps does the school undertake to manage its waste, as per your observation?
Answer: The biodegradable waste is decomposed with the help of compost pits. Four tanks are prepared to keep the waste in that soil. Then, cow dung is put and some amount of water is also poured. After that, once every15 days, the process is repeated and thus compost is created. Later, it is used in the gardens as manure for plants and trees to keep their roots calm. Students are encouraged to cover their books and notebooks with old newspapers. Plastic collection drives are organized in the school and the collected waste is later transferred to factories for the recycling process. Both sides of chart paper are used so that chart papers aren’t wasted. Solar panels are used for generating electricity.
Question: Do students contribute to the efforts of collecting, managing and recycling waste at school? Do you think there needs to be more effort from the students?
Answer: Yes, the students do contribute for collection and management of waste but I think there needs to be more effort from all the students to control the waste produced in the school because a lot of work is done by the housekeepers to keep the school campus clean and maintain a hygienic environment.
Question: In what ways can the waste produced in school be recycled?
Answer: Mostly the biodegradable waste and plastic are recycled in the school. From the biodegradable waste, manure and fertilizers for plants and trees are made and the plastic is sent to various factories for recycling process.
Question: How can you help in controlling the waste produced in school?
Answer: The students can contribute in the school’s waste management efforts in the following ways-
- The secondary grade students can finish their lunch and breakfast and should not be thrown in dustbins and in washrooms.
- Students can actively participate in the paper/plastic collection drives.
- Students can be encouraged for managing their waste in the classes with the help of teachers.
Question: How can you educate the younger students about being more considerate towards controlling and managing the waste they produce?
Answer: The younger or primary students should be taught the importance of natural resources which we use such as electricity, water and trees (indirectly used by them as papers). The everyday waste generated by them is less as compared to the secondary students or the higher grade students.
Question: What other methods or ideas would you suggest to the school management to have a waste-free environment, which may not be in practice already?
Answer: The school should conduct more rallies regarding saving of electricity, water and trees. This will encourage all the students to manage their waste by themselves. The school can also start rainwater harvesting to collect the rainwater which can later be purified and transferred to the washrooms and water purifiers for students.
Question: Are there any rules and regulations that the students must abide by with regards to waste management or disposal? Are they strictly adhered to? Can anything be done to improve it?
Answer: The school has made some rules regarding garbage management which should be followed by all students in the school campus and society. Many students don’t follow these rules as they aren’t that strict which they should be. Thus, to avoid this, the school should make the laws strict and also announce punishment if they are not obeyed by students.