Abhijith N Kolpe
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Feb 7: Plastic pollution has always posed one of the greatest threats to mother nature. Entering the biosphere, plastic disrupts the cycles of life. Recycling of plastic is being stressed, but the process involves some expenses which cannot be afforded by all. Eco bricks represent a different approach to waste management.

Ida Nitsche, a student from Germany, working with Canara Organization for Development and Peace (CODP) for the past 11 months has implemented a project on eco bricks at three schools. Getting involved with the students of Mangaluru, Ida has raised awareness on waste management in young minds.

Upset seeing waste being dumped in the surroundings, Ida triggered the eco brick project where plastic waste can be reused in an easy process. Plastic drinks bottle, stuffed with plastic bags, crisp packets and other non-biodegradable waste is an eco brick.

With the support of CODP, Ida visited three schools and taught the importance of eco brick project and guided the students to get involved in it. Following Ida’s instructions, students collected plastic waste from their school campus and residences. They managed to get loads of plastics waste and stuffed it into plastic bottles tightly. With the help of clay and husk, the bottles were placed in layers in order to form a bench. Finally, the bench was plastered with a layer of cement and decorated with bottle caps.

Students of Sacred Hearts’ School have made almost 700 bottles with each bottle weighing 800 to 1000 grams. Students here would go in search of non-biodegrable trash so that it would not go back into the soil without being decayed.

Ida, who was into volunteer service, saw waste being dumped in the open and hence thought of finding a way to recycle it. She says, "In my research, I was inspired by Russell Maier's eco-brick project at the Philippines, Indonesia, and Nepal. Eco brick project is a method to reuse waste. These stuffed bottles are stronger than bricks and can be used in community structures like constructing tables, benches, garden areas and much more. This is one of the easiest ways to transform waste. You do not need any funding for this project, nor a machine.

"This project is to create awareness on waste management, where we can teach children about reduce, reuse and recycle in an easy way. I have implemented this project in three schools, namely St Joseph's in Kankanady, Ansar PU College in Bajpe and Sacred Heart, Kulshekar where students are involving themselves in building community structures with the help of waste stuffed bottles. Students have toiled hard to fill those bottles. Over 700 students got involved in the project," she says.

Asked about her experiencce in India, she says "It has been a great experience so far in India. It is nice to know Indian culture and its richness. I take back self-confidence when I go back to Germany. I even learnt new ways of doing things," she said.

Principal of Sacred Hearts’ School Sr Jessie Leena said, "When Ida approached me for the first time to discuss about the eco brick project, it sounded strange to me. I thought about experimenting. The students were very interested to get involved in the project. Ida guided the students of class 5, 6 and 7, and motivated them to make use of waste materials and stuff them into bottles. Students have worked really hard as it was not an easy task to stuff waste inside bottles. It was good to see students use the bottles to make benches at the school ground.”

Sharing her experience, Jessica Santhumayor, a student said, "It was a wonderful experience. Knowing a bit about the project, we all were curious to know more. Ida guided us and we had to work really hard. Out of the stuffed bottles we made benches at the school ground. My first working experience with soil has come out good.”

Showering words of praise on Ida, CODP director Fr Oswald Monterio said, "Ida came from Germany and stepped into CODP 11 months ago to work for the purpose of women empowerment. She was concerned about waste management and environment. Under CODP, Ida took up several awareness programmes on water harvesting, and waste management at several institutions in Mangaluru. Ida started the eco brick project which was quite unique and first-of-its-kind in Mangaluru. She implemented this project in three schools and CODP has been constantly supporting her.

As the world is witnessing ever-growing mountains of plastic waste, people like Ida are working hard to spread awareness on recycling. With people's support, the cost-effective and environment friendly project of eco bricks could trigger a larger movement of environment conservation.