Can a plastic bottle be a ticket to an education? In India, yes.
Deepika Hemrom’s parents pay her school fees with plastic. Not Master Card or Visa but actual plastic waste.
They are participating in a ground-breaking scheme in Assam, India, that allows low-income families to use single-use plastic in lieu of money to pay for private schooling. Deepika’s parents are manual labourers and this unique payment method means the 13-year-old, who dreams of becoming a doctor, can access a quality education, which would otherwise be out of her family’s financial reach.
The plastic-for-schooling programme was started by the Akshar Foundation and now working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Along with providing children with an education, it converts the plastic from parents into bricks, promoting recycling and combating pollution.
