Recyclothon 2022

“It’s only one bottle,” said eight billion people.
~ DPGA Recyclothon; a step towards a greener and cleaner world

Plastic. Plastic. Plastic. Plastic waste is increasing globally, on land and in the water. According to one widely cited estimate, by 2025, approximately 100 to 250 million metric tons of plastic waste would be deposited into the oceans. Having said that, we can all agree that plastic waste poses an undeniable threat to the well-being and survival of life in water and land as a whole. The IBDP 1 students organized an incredibly mindful and thoughtful initiative, the DPGA Recyclothon, to address this issue locally and contribute to a cleaner and greener society globally. The drive included the students collecting empty, clean plastic bottles, and submitting them to their respective house members.

Here at DPGA, our motto stands to be “Local Actions, Global Options.” This drive embodies the idea. Collecting plastic waste, and reducing consumption on a local level was one more step towards a cleaner and greener environment. To motivate the students, and to bring back to life the fiery competitive spirit instilled in the students, it was decided that this drive would be an inter-house competition, making it the first inter-house competition after the pandemic.

The competition commenced on 22nd August, 2022. The enthusiastic dedication and the sense of competition powered the students through the drive. All the houses prepared themselves and were fully braced to collect the myriad of bottles they would receive in the coming days. The students of the 11th and 12th grades were responsible for collecting bottles for their respective houses. The daily marathon of going from class to class was an indication of how excited and pumped the students were. As the end date neared, the school was buzzing with excitement and anticipation about who the winner would be.

The drive ended on 12th September, 2022. As the rooms unlocked for the last time, as the last bag of bottles went in, and as the rooms were sealed shut behind the students one last time, the fates of the houses were locked too. Now all that was left was weighing the bottles.

Then came the day that was awaited by every member of the DPGA family; the result day. As the students of IBDP 1 stepped into the auditorium with the results, the faces of every person present were decorated with anticipation, excitement, and a hint of nervousness. Before revealing the results, let us give a huge round of applause to every single student, teacher, and parent for their zealous participation.

The following are the results:
1st Place: Ruby
2nd Place: Sapphire
3rd Place: Topaz
4th Place: Emerald

Heartiest congratulations to all the houses!

The motive behind this drive was to educate the students about the harmful effects of plastic and raise awareness about plastic pollution. And since there was most definitely a problem, it was up to us to think of a viable solution. The whole process behind organizing this drive was a very tedious, yet joyous one. The students of IBDP 1 and 2 will be taking these bottles to a recycling plant; their rightful homes. Moreover, The caps of the bottles will be used to create a thought-provoking mural that will be put on display outside the CAS Room on the fifth floor.

With that being said, DPGA Recyclothon was a massive success. The enthusiastic participation, the positive response, and the reciprocated effort to make this drive a success were truly the supporting pillars of the project. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!

Author: Kaavya Aggarwal
IBDP 1 – Editor