TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE APPROACH: ASSESS THE OPINION OF THE STUDENTS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF UTILITY AND DÉCOR ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC WASTE GENERATED IN SCHOOLS

Abstract

Plastic is a versatile material. Plastics take many decades to break down completely. Throughout the entire country, and particularly in urban areas, plastic bottles and sachets have become very common. Because the packaging revolt was not accompanied by an effective plastic waste management strategy, many Indian cities are now covered with plastic waste, which is harmful to the environment and poses severe health risks for the existing communities. Plastic recycling programs have been implemented in most developed nations due to rising environmental awareness and a shortage in landfill capacity. Yet, only 5 to 25 per cent of plastic waste is currently recycled in India. By recycling and reusing plastic raw materials and fashioning them into other products, consumers can effectively reduce plastic space taken up in landfills that can be used for biodegradable materials to save the environment. Plastic waste is a resource that is abundantly available and can be used either for material recycling or energy production, depending on the quality grade. The objectives of the present study were to prepare theme-based design and develop utility and décor articles from plastic waste generated in schools and assess the opinions of studentsand to prepare a catalogue with cost estimate for the designed utility and décor articles. The research design adopted for the study was descriptive in nature. The utility and décor articles were developed and the displayed. The data was collected through anquestionnaire to assess students’ opinions regarding the extent of expediency of the developed utility and décor articles. From the data collected regarding the opinion of the students based on the existing parameters of the designed and developed utility and decor articles namely size, quality, durability, proportion, convenience of use, colour combination, and aesthetic value for residential use from plastic waste, the findings of the study depicted that painting was the most liked article by the students with the weighted mean of 4.56. The colour combination ofdeveloped utility and décor articles was appreciated by the students.