Proposal  
for  
Improved Waste 
Management Measures  
at  
HFS Powai Old School 
 
E
​ UMIND 2020-21  
Submitted to: 
The Principal, HFS Powai 
 
by 
Group 3 
Sanjana Iyer 
Mansha Nigam 
Hrishitaa Ramachandran 
Nishita Bajaj 
Tasneem Kanchwalla 
(Class 9, HFS)   
Executive Summary 
 
As part of the EUMIND Initiative, Group 3 of HFS Powai has undertaken a study of the 
Waste Management procedures in our school. We have compared the disposal and 
segregation habits of Nehalennia and HFS as well as taken inspiration from the ever 
developing industrial sector and how they manage their waste footprint. We circulated a 
questionnaire of 10 questions among 35 children of our school.  
 
The main conclusion we drew from the survey was that while waste disposal is being 
done well, waste segregation is not a prevalent practice in our school. 
 
Our findings suggest that the strengths of our school are daily collection and disposal of 
waste , as well as the presence of a dustbin in every classroom. We also found that 
students strongly agree that we need to conduct workshops and ensure the active 
participation of our pupils in waste management. 
 
After a preliminary discussion with our Principal, Mrs. Kalyani Patnaik, we have come 
forward with a proposal to incorporate additional bins - two in every classroom, for wet 
and dry waste respectively. In addition, to prepare for a post-COVID era , we suggest 
that a common “bio-waste” dustbin be kept on the floor for disposal of masks. 
 
In this proposal we are suggesting a total of 70 bins throughout the school, at an 
estimated cost of Rs. 19,529.00. We have selected durable goods but which are 
cost-effective, from Amazon.com. Example images are shown in the Appendix. 
 
We request Principal Ma’am to please approve of this proposal and make our school an 
eco-friendly , waste efficient place. Most of our learning takes place in school , and it is 
essential we learn to segregate and dispose of waste properly in school as well. 
 
 
 
   
Project Objectives 
 
1. To understand the level of awareness and education of students on Waste 
Management. 
2. To propose and implement waste management best practices such as segregation of 
waste in our school. 
3. To propose and discuss the implementation of best practices with our Principal. 
4. To learn from our counterparts in order to solve the waste management problem. 
5. To take measures to sensitise and empathise students with the harsh reality of waste 
management , and the problems that we could face if we do not take steps now. 
 
 
 
 

Methodology 
We conducted the interview/survey in two parts - an interview, and a questionnaire 
(with the assistance of Google Forms). The questionnaire was sent to 35 children of our 
school (HFS), from ages 6 to 15, i.e. grade 1 - 12. The responses we received were 
numerous and varied in multiple aspects. The questions were as follows:  

1. Do you know what waste management is? 

2. Do you know how to segregate waste? 
3. Do you usually get food wrapped in aluminium foil/plastic during breaks? 
4. How many garbage bins are there in your class' floor in school? 
5. Have you been part of any initiative or attended any 
seminars/talks/presentations/assembly activities in school about waste 
management? 
6. Please rate how effective you think our school's waste management system is. 
7. Are there specific things our school does that you are proud of related to waste 
management? 
8. Where can we, as a school, improve in waste management methods? 
9. Do you practise any waste management techniques? If yes , what are they? 
 
 
INTERVIEW 

The reason we chose the above questions were to test these aspects in a general 
student on average regarding waste management - awareness level, general quantity of 
waste production, ease of waste management, active efforts, current state of 
implementation by the school, areas or strength, areas of improvement, and lastly, 
adoptable practices.  
We also conducted an interview with our own Principal, Mrs. Kalyani Patnaik. She gave 
us a lot of useful insight on the topic, and the works of it in our school.  
 
 
 
 
EXPERT ADVICE:  
We contacted the Commissioner of Sanitation. He suggested that in order to tackle the 
waste management and segregation challenge of our school, he was willing to arrange a 
workshop to discuss the details and process of waste collection, disposal, segregation 
and management, as soon as school reopens. We look forward to this workshop 
wholeheartedly.  
 
INSPIRATION FROM OTHER SCHOOLS:  
We have also taken inspiration from our Dutch counterpart, Nehalennia. It is important 
to look for solutions to problems we have from others who have overcome the same 
ones. Hence we turned to Nehalennia and found some waste management methods, 
sought inspiration from them and tried to see which could be implemented in HFS in 
order to be a cleaner and greener school.  
 

Project Findings 
From our student survey, we found that our strengths are: 
● Timely clearance and proper disposal of collected waste 
● Going digital to save over a million pages of paper each year 
 
We found that students would like to have the following: 
● More bins, larger bins 
● Segregation of waste 
● More student involvement in the waste management process 
 
This is indicated in the following statistics generated from the survey: 
● 90% students were aware of the importance of waste management  
● 23/35 students felt that our current practice is either average or needs 
improvement 
● Our students suggested some specific types of improvement such as: 

 
 
Recommendations 
Based on this study and our conversation with the Principal and others, we have 
identified the following actions as possible outputs of this project. ​We seek your 
approval for the same. 
1. Introduce the system of segregation in every classroom by keeping 2 bins - for 
wet and dry waste separately 
2. Introduce bio-waste bins for catching mask litter, when students come back 
when the COVID-lockdown is lifted 
3. Introduce a rolling monthly award for the ‘Class with The Most Eco-sensitive 
Practice’ for standards 1 to 8 so as to ensure active participation in segregation 
and waste management 
4. Create a student committee for Eco-Management, handling and monitoring the 
ecological problems that we face as a school, including waste management, and 
wastage of food and energy (in the form of electricity). This will ensure students 
are responsible for their actions 
5. Middle school students to be taken to a composting / waste disposal facility 
annually to understand how waste is segregated and disposed of 
6. Encourage more students to participate in the Rotary and CMCA projects 
7. Invite the municipal waste management head to do a workshop in our school 
when school reopens 
8. Tie-ups with NGOs such as Robinhood Army to collect leftover food and 
distribute it among the needy. 
 
 
 
 

   
Budgetary Proposal 
 
Some of the recommendations may be taken up when the school reopens by student 
leaders. However, some need approval from the Principal in terms of money to be 
spent. The following items are required to be purchased as per our analysis. We have 
identified the typical cost of these items, based on prices on Amazon.in. We have 
chosen durable items, but which are budget-friendly. 
 
Here is a link to the spreadsheet: 
Budget Proposal for Dustbins 

   
Appendix 

● Small sized dustbin 10L

https://www.amazon.in/Kuber-Industries-Plastic-Garbage-Dustbin/dp/B08491JG7Y?ref_=ast
_sto_dp

● Medium sized dustbin 12L

https://www.amazon.in/FOROLYTM-Plastic-Dustbin-Office-Purple/dp/B08WC54ST4/ref=sr_
1_2?dchild=1&keywords=foroly+plastic+dustbin+12+litres&qid=1614007221&sr=8-2

● Large sized dustbin 20L

https://www.amazon.in/Cello-Plastic-Pedal-Dustbin-litres/dp/B07KWVTY6G