PepsiCo plastic waste campaign

In partnership with waste management firm Nepra, PepsiCo India has launched a first of its kind, waste management education initiative with the leading schools in Kurseong, Darjeeling. This is part of its ongoing initiative to effectively collect more than 800,000 kg of multi-layered plastic across key districts i.e. Kolkata, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Siliguri in West Bengal.

The program aims to create awareness around dry waste management amongst students, faculty and school members. Over 600 students from 10 schools have signed up for the program, where each week they will donate postconsumer multi layered plastic (MLP) at dedicated collections points in their schools. The collected MLP will be directed to cement plants, where it will be used as alternative fuel.

Workshops will be conducted as per Nepra’s designed education tool-kit to create awareness in schools and sensitise student councils about the different types of plastic and how they can be recycled and recovered. Following a peer-learning methodology, these student councils will further educate their classmates, all done under the supervision of a teacher, as part of plastic waste collection day. PepsiCo India and Nepra will also develop ‘Eco-Clubs’ in schools to drive awareness amongst students through competitions and paper presentations.

Pro-active students will be rewarded with a Zero-waste-tolandfill badge and certificates during school assemblies. Every month the progress of each school will be tracked, and schools leading the drive will earn rewards and certificates. 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 exchange of recycled stationery.