For green Games,schools to recycle waste

A workshop for various school authorities was carried out at the Delhi Secretariat,which has a paper recycling plant inside its complex.

“Plastic and paper waste from different venues like the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be gathered daily and taken to the sites,where they will be recycled. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games,for example,is expected to generate a lot of waste. This is part of a larger plan to offset the carbon footprint of the Commonwealth Games,” Environment Secretary Dharmendra said.

While a professional authority would be found for recycling plastic waste,schools are currently being identified for recycling paper. There are 88 schools in Delhi fitted with paper recycling plants.

This is the government’s first practical environment-friendly initiative of the Commonwealth Games. While the government is aggressively touting the 2010 Games as a ‘green’ event,most initiatives for the Games,including creating energy efficient buildings,planting city forests and clean public transport are in reality compensatory measures for the ongoing construction activities for the Games.

The tree plantation drive – nine new city forests are being created this year in time for the Games – was already on the government agenda before the Games were announced,including the compensatory planting of 38,000 trees that were cut for developmental projects in Delhi. Similarly,clean transport systems like CNG buses were already on the anvil before the Games.

A slew of foreign consultants like the Clinton Climate Initiative are advising the government on clean transport,while a separate consultant will be hired to help offset carbon emissions,apart from a ‘green’ committee being created for the Commonwealth Games.

For new buildings,energy-efficient measures like solar panels and smarter lighting systems are being put in place. In several cases,however,development work has come in at the cost of local ecosystems. In Siri Fort area,800 trees were felled to construct a sports stadium. In Nizamuddin and Lodi Road area,trees have been cut down to widen roads and make flyovers. Trees have also been cut down in Defence Colony for building a new parking area.

Plantation drives to compensate for trees cut down are standard policy in the city.

An answer for the waste might now set a precedent.