In a unique initiative by the Kerala government, school students can carry e-waste from their home to school, where officials will collect it and pay them for the waste.

The initiative, ‘green army’ of students will be available in all schools of the state soon.  

“We have plans to give them Rs.25 per kg of e-waste. Parents will also be encouraged to join hands with the children in this endeavour,” Kabeer B. Haroon, Managing Director of the government’s Clean Kerala Company (CKC), told The Hindu.

As per the project proposal, students can bring the waste materials in a special bag to school, and a faculty member would be responsible for coordinating it in each school.

 “NSS units in the schools will also be part of the drive. They will form teams and visit establishments and houses nearby their campus to collect e-waste and plastic materials. The local bodies concerned will collect the waste materials from the campus on a regular basis and hand it over to the CKC,” said Mr. Haroon, as per The Hindu report.

The government will collaborate on the e-waste school campaign, with the United Nations-backed initiative to produce, import and export products that contain mercury, including blood pressure monitors, clinical thermometers, and high-pressure mercury lamps by 2020.