NEW DELHI: Project SEARCH (Sensitization, Education and Awareness on Recycling for Cleaner Habitat), an initiative organized by The Energy and Resources Institute in collaboration with Tetra Pak India, to raise awareness regarding environment and recycling among students, was brought to a close at a ceremony here on Friday.

The project was initiated last June in 60 schools of Delhi and Bangalore to instill among them good waste management practices, provide knowledge about the benefits of carton packaging, inculcate the habit of recycling of waste and helping to facilitate the set up of Tetra Pak collection centers in schools for recycling of used Tetra Pak cartons.

The project also aimed to create awareness and understanding about the linkage between lifestyle, consumption, waste and environment and inculcate a sense of responsibility in the target group to take ownership of the waste generated by them and make efforts to increase the product's life cycle by recycling. At the closing ceremony, which was also organized to celebrate the milestones achieved during the last one year of the project's implementation, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the project had enabled the children of Delhi to spread the word regarding the impact of climate change.

Various schools had also set up eco clubs which as a part of many programmers had helped to change the mindset of the students and their families, she added. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman Dr. R.K. Pachauri cautioned that waste had serious implications and if people continued to function at the same rate, all large cities in India would require 10 times their area to keep the solid waste.

“We have to start at the household level to classify and segregate waste and we need a system through which each type of waste can be collected and disposed of in the right manner,” he added. Twelve students were earlier selected as Tetra Pak ambassadors from Delhi and Bangalore to take forward the message of good waste management practices to the wider community including fellow students, school administration and neighborhoods. As part of their orientation, the student ambassadors went on field trips. At present, they are planning campaigns, workshops and film screenings