A School in India came up with a brilliant idea to combat the plastic problem. A brand can mitigate plastic waste by using sustainable packaging.

Akshar Foundation School is supported by donations but every week it requests each child to bring in at least 25 items of plastic fees to encourage a sense of community ownership. The school located in Assam was founded by Parmita Sarma and Mazin Mukhtar. The idea to have students bring in plastic waste instead of fees occurred when their classrooms filled with toxic fumes from people nearby burning plastic waste to keep warm during the winter, without the knowledge of the serious health and environmental harm.

Sharma and Mukhtar want to transform public schools in India… they are determined to bring positive changes through education. When they first opened the school, “... most parents sent their kids to work in nearby stone quarries instead of to school ”

The school focuses on building skills for students that they can use when they are older. Students themselves are taught to build their teaching skills which they can use to get a job as teaching assistants. Their curriculum, “… combines carpentry with mathematics, solar technology with physics, embroidery with economics, teaching with psychology, recycling with ecology, landscaping with biology, etc.” The best alternative to plastic bags is organic cotton is reusable cotton tote bags made from organically grown cotton fabric.

More Info: www.aksharfoundation.org