These Teenage Environmentalists Are Saving Their Local Societies From Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, but these teenagers have taken upon themselves to mitigate the menace in their localities

16-year-old Vyom Agarwal from Mumbai chose to solve something that students like him used most - pens! For the same, he launched Project Muovi with the guidance and mentorship of Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation, 1 Million For 1 Billion (1M1B).

Plastic pens are a part of the throw-away culture that people have been developing unknowingly over the last several years. Project Muovi was created, with an aim to promote and conduct the recycling of plastic pens by mobilising teenagers (aged between 13-17 years of age).

Under the project, Vyom and his friends in the colony conduct weekly drives, collecting plastic pens door-to-door and spreading awareness about the need of banning the throwaway culture.

He has tied up with local recyclers he came to know through his family members. The recycler sends it to several waste management factories for the segregation and granule process. They are then turned into other plastic commodities like bottles, bottle caps, mallets, coasters, etc.

So far, Project Muovi has reached out to more than 2,700 households to collect pens, make them aware about the plastic pen pollution and recycled over 3,500 pens. Around 50 young volunteers are working with Vyom on this

15-year-old Esha Nahar from Bengaluru is another samaritan who has decided to combat plastic pollution by raising awareness. A class 10 student at Mallya Aditi International School, Esha urges people to reduce plastic products in their homes by saying ‘no' to plastic every day and use the alternatives, through her project 'Swachh Sansaar'.

She educates people on the kinds of alternatives that can be used instead of plastic for daily usage, such as steel utensils, cloth bags while purchasing groceries, bamboo toothbrushes, combs, cutlery candle shells, etc., made out of coconut shells and much more.

Esha also distribute recycled clothes, bags, toothbrushes, pens, pencils among the underprivileged children. 'Swachh Sansaar' has reached out to and impacted nearly 700 people directly and indirectly.

The young environment enthusiast has also conducted awareness sessions amongst young students in two underprivileged schools and in three apartment complexes as well as two offices to reach out to varied age groups of people