PepsiCo launches plastic waste management programme across Darjeeling schools

PepsiCo India, in association with waste management firm NEPRA, introduced a waste management education initiative with the schools in Kurseong, Darjeeling. The programme was launched at St Alphonsus School on 19 July 2019.

06 Aug 2019 | By Abhishek Muralidharan

Samir Pathak, AMENA corporate affairs director, sustainability, PepsiCo, said “At PepsiCo, we have been striving to build a world where plastic never becomes waste. With our various recycling initiatives, we are doing our bit to make sustainable plastics a reality. The main idea behind this association is to help provide our future generations with the knowledge of waste management.”

According to Pathak, the programme will aim to collect over 800,000-kg of multilayer packaging in West Bengal. PepsiCo will try to cover the key districts such as Kolkata, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Siliguri in West Bengal.

The programme was inaugurated by Krishna Limboo, chairman, Kurseong Municipality and Debashish Chattopadhyay, sub-divisional officer, Darjeeling.

“As a company, we have been actively working across multiple states to collect, segregate, and sustainably manage the equivalent of 100% of our plastic packaging by 2021. Further, our target is to make 100% of our packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable by 2025,” added Pathak.

The initiative involves creating awareness around dry waste management amongst students, faculty and school members. Over 600 students from 10 schools have signed up for the programme where each week they will donate post-consumer multilayered plastic at dedicated collections points in their schools.

Functioning of the programme:

  • Plastic waste will be deposited by students every week at dedicated collection centres in each school.
     
  • PepsiCo India and NEPRA will be in constant contact with participating schools to help them recognise students, who will be rewarded with a zero waste to landfill badge and certificates during school assemblies.
     
  • Schools that collect most waste will be rewarded in the form of points that can be redeemed against supporting a social cause, sponsoring a child of a waste picker or in an exchange of recycled stationery.
     
  • The initiative will help form an intra-city community of students from different schools, working towards efficient waste management and an effective socio-economic-environmental impact. 
     
  • After Kurseong, PepsiCo India and NEPRA plan to expand the waste management education initiative to all the schools in the Darjeeling district. The MLP collected will be channelled to cement plants for recovery and collectively make a significant difference in the state.