-Akshay & Jaideep
The year was 1959. The place- a quaint densely wooded place in southern Indian continent. A temple of learning, IIT Madras was founded.
For decades, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has been instrumental in fuelling the progress of India by producing brilliant minds.
IITM, spread over 600 acres of land, has coexisted with the natural environment consisting of innumerable flora and fauna. The sylvan campus with its serenity provides its human inhabitants an intellectually challenging environment. However, needless to say, the privilege of inhabiting this environment must not be taken for granted. Each one of us has a duty to preserve and enrich this biodiversity.
The institute biodiversity faces quite a few threats and it is our job to see that the wildlife is shielded from these threats. In this series, we will explore various environmental issues and challenges our institute faces and try to address their causes and possible remedies.
Though challenges are many, we have the ability to bring about change. Many of the problems have simple solution. Also as IITians, the onus is on us to be creative and design solutions to our environmental problems. We must be more responsible and proactive towards these issues. Together we can succeed in making this place more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Dangerous Dustbins:-
In some recent media reports, it was depicted that some carcasses of dead animals contained almost 10 kg of plastics in their intestines!! Is indeed a sorry state that animals have to face such a painful death.
Furthermore that day may not be far when such a news is reported regarding a deer in IITM.
Through the IIT, the most common dustbins used are plastic bins of animal shapes where waste can be put through the mouth of the animals. Also the backside is open to facilitate the removal of waste wrapped in plastic along with the plastic film.
This is a cause for great concern as IIT M is home to blackbucks which are a highly endangered species. While we seek to provide a safe haven to these creat plasticures, we are unknowingly threatening their existence.
When animals ingest the plastic, they can’t digest it.
But the sad part is they can’t excrete it either Plastics are not affected by digestive juices or saliva so as large films go into the stomach and intestine of animals thus affecting the surface absorption of nutrients. This continues for a long time and eventually leads to a slow and painful death for the animal.
Towards a solution:-
There are a few lifestyle and habit changes which lead to significant improvement in the condition.
Firstly, the concerned authorities should enforce that IIT M be an entirely plastic free campus by imposing a blanket ban on the usage of plastics. We should mandate that only paper bags and packaging is allowed. This would enormously reduce the amount of plastic waste.
Secondly, we must change the existing dustbins or modify them so that animals can’t remove the waste from the dustbins. For that the dustbins shown can be used. Of course, the onus is on the students and other citizen’s of the campus to ensure that the waste is always thrown only in the dustbins and nowhere else.
Also, the fact that animals have to resort to eating from dustbins indicates that the animals are not able
to meet food requirements through the foliage. This shows that there is a pressing need to increase the green cover and develop more meadows.
Though simple and manageable, these measures will go a long way in reducing the threat to the animals from the dangerous dustbins in the campus.
The year was 1959. The place- a quaint densely wooded place in southern Indian continent. A temple of learning, IIT Madras was founded.
For decades, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has been instrumental in fuelling the progress of India by producing brilliant minds.
IITM, spread over 600 acres of land, has coexisted with the natural environment consisting of innumerable flora and fauna. The sylvan campus with its serenity provides its human inhabitants an intellectually challenging environment. However, needless to say, the privilege of inhabiting this environment must not be taken for granted. Each one of us has a duty to preserve and enrich this biodiversity.
The institute biodiversity faces quite a few threats and it is our job to see that the wildlife is shielded from these threats. In this series, we will explore various environmental issues and challenges our institute faces and try to address their causes and possible remedies.
Though challenges are many, we have the ability to bring about change. Many of the problems have simple solution. Also as IITians, the onus is on us to be creative and design solutions to our environmental problems. We must be more responsible and proactive towards these issues. Together we can succeed in making this place more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Dangerous Dustbins:-
In some recent media reports, it was depicted that some carcasses of dead animals contained almost 10 kg of plastics in their intestines!! Is indeed a sorry state that animals have to face such a painful death.Furthermore that day may not be far when such a news is reported regarding a deer in IITM.
Through the IIT, the most common dustbins used are plastic bins of animal shapes where waste can be put through the mouth of the animals. Also the backside is open to facilitate the removal of waste wrapped in plastic along with the plastic film.
This is a cause for great concern as IIT M is home to blackbucks which are a highly endangered species. While we seek to provide a safe haven to these creat plasticures, we are unknowingly threatening their existence.
When animals ingest the plastic, they can’t digest it.
But the sad part is they can’t excrete it either Plastics are not affected by digestive juices or saliva so as large films go into the stomach and intestine of animals thus affecting the surface absorption of nutrients. This continues for a long time and eventually leads to a slow and painful death for the animal.Towards a solution:-
There are a few lifestyle and habit changes which lead to significant improvement in the condition.
Firstly, the concerned authorities should enforce that IIT M be an entirely plastic free campus by imposing a blanket ban on the usage of plastics. We should mandate that only paper bags and packaging is allowed. This would enormously reduce the amount of plastic waste.
Secondly, we must change the existing dustbins or modify them so that animals can’t remove the waste from the dustbins. For that the dustbins shown can be used. Of course, the onus is on the students and other citizen’s of the campus to ensure that the waste is always thrown only in the dustbins and nowhere else.
Also, the fact that animals have to resort to eating from dustbins indicates that the animals are not able
to meet food requirements through the foliage. This shows that there is a pressing need to increase the green cover and develop more meadows.Though simple and manageable, these measures will go a long way in reducing the threat to the animals from the dangerous dustbins in the campus.
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