Members of Phevima Eco Club making waste bins out of mesh wire.
Morung Express News
Dimapur | September 30
At Phevima village, around 50 members of the Phevima Eco Club have just completed phase one of their environmental project to reduce plastic waste in their village. Over the past few months, the students spent their afternoons building waste bins out of mesh wire and discussing ways to spread awareness on the harmful effects of plastic pollution.
The Phevima Eco Club comprises of young minds aiming to reduce the use of plastics, create a clean and green consciousness among the public and also to educate younger generations to reduce, reuse and recycle resources. The club has installed 50 dustbins around Phevima in its most recent project and collaborated with LensArt Production to film a short video for environmental awareness.
Youth-based initiatives like these are not uncommon in Nagaland. Across the state, many students take up causes like cleanliness drives, small scale conservation efforts, etc
Likewise, Vithuzonu Viswentso, an MBA and member of the club told The Morung Express, that she joined the club to fulfill her role as a responsible citizen striving towards improving the quality of life in the village and its people.
Encouraged by the club’s motto—‘Save green, Keep clean,’ and the positive response from the community, Viswento said “Cleanliness is something that should be inbuilt in our minds. However, sometimes, we have to take responsibility and remind each other of the values of we may have forgotten or overlooked.”
I have a positive feeling this club can go a long way, she added.
The Club, initiated by Vibozo Tetso, began its activities by organizing clean ups and small awareness campaigns in the village earlier this year.
Tetso, who is pursuing a Post graduate diploma course in Geoinformatics at NEHU, observed that it has not been an easy task. For a short period of time after the clean ups, the village would remain clean. However, after a week or two, plastic wastes would reappear on the streets, rendering the efforts of the club futile.
After analyzing the situation, we realized that there were no proper waste bins around the localities and so we decided to start this waste bins project, Tetso informed.
He said that the project was funded from contributions from the village council and the youths bodies.
Along with the installation of dustbins, the club members have also been discussing ways to disseminate awareness on keeping the environment clean.
With the village outside the jurisdiction of the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC), the club members have also taken on the task of emptying the waste bins and taking the waste to the village dumping site.
There they segregate plastic bottles and other recyclable items to promote recycling and send the items to various scrap dealers in the vicinity.
In the long run, Tetso hopes to register the club and also approach the DMC to devise a safe and proper waste management programme.
But before all that, we want to focus on the community and ensure that the habit of littering is done away with, stated Tetso.
“Then, we can all enjoy the natural beauty of our village without plastic waste distorting the view,” he added.
For Rachel Zumvu, a student of Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong, when the project was first proposed, she took it as an opportunity to contribute something good to the community.
“Cultivating habits like picking up waste and reducing plastic use now, will teach the younger generation to be responsible for the environment. It gives me pride and joy to be a part of this project,” she added.
