Students of Subbiah Vidyalayam Girls Higher Secondary School in Tuticorin with wrappers they collecte

MADURAI: While district administrations across the state have been fighting hard to cut down plastic usage and indiscreet disposal of waste, the Tuticorin Corporation has reached out to companies manufacturing packaged foods through school students to curb the menace.

Students of Subbiah Vidyalayam Girls Higher Secondary School in the district collected 20,244 wrappers of packaged food items in less than two weeks and sent it to the respective companies. Along with the wrappers they also sent a note to the companies, which said, “We are happy with the taste and quality of your products, but unhappy with the plastic packaging. We want to ensure a safe environment for our future generations and minimise our plastic footprint.” It further added, “We have decided to collect used plastic wrappers of your products and send them to you for safe disposal. Please help us savour your products without guilt by introducing eco-friendly packaging.”

Leading the list was Britannia with 10,660 wrappers, followed by Nabati (wafers) – 3,412 wrappers, sent to the respective brands through the Tuticorin corporation commissioner, Alby John Varghese. In his forwarding letter to the companies, Varghese said according to section 9 of the Plastic Waste Management Rule, 2016, producers, importers and brand owners are responsible for collecting plastic waste left by their products. The corporation has also asked companies to prepare an action plan to collect used wrappers and implement the same within two months.

The commissioner told TOI that the exercise by the students was a grand success. “We will extend the practice to other corporation and private schools.”

