Green initiatives galore at IIT-Delhi

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi is all fired up about its various ‘green initiatives’, ranging from organic waste management, paper recycling, car-pooling and wildlife conservation.

“Our team ‘Sustainable IIT-D’ has carried out a range of eco-friendly initiatives on campus. We have reduced our hostel mess wastage up to 50 per cent. A bird audit was conducted and we maintain an online portal detailing the biodiversity here. We are currently working on a car-pooling project and planning to launch it formally next month,” said <g data-gr-id="33">Archit</g> Raj, Project Lead, Sustainable IIT-D.

Planning to take the ‘green message’ forward, the IIT-Delhi students have refused to hand over the waste generated on campus to the usual garbage pickers. “Usually the waste generated here is dumped at the Okhla landfill. But we have decided to treat the waste here itself. We, with the help of NGO Green Bandhu, convert the waste into organic waste, which is later used as manure,” he said.

The ‘Sustainable IIT-D’ initiative has also forayed into paper and plastic recycling. While students are offered discounts if they bring back their eco-friendly cups, PET bottles are being converted into ‘eco-designs’.

“We ran the ‘Take you cup campaign’, wherein the students who recycle their cups, are given ‘green incentives’. You have to take your eco-friendly cups to the nearest food outlet on campus to get your discount,” said Siddharth Rajan, project coordinator.

“We are also working extensively on paper recycling. Students collect posters from the campus and use the non-used side of it. The idea is to minimize wastage. In another interesting initiative, we are converting used PET bottles into a renewable source of energy. The bottles are converted into bulbs, providing 750 W of power. These have been installed in the slum areas,” he said.