There is a constant demand for proper implementation of mid-day meal schemes with recurrent protests and strikes. On the other hand, massive quantities of food are getting wasted in restaurants and hotels and even households on a daily basis. While everything else is getting recycled and reused if the country had a solution to this major problem, the planet could be greener. Students from Government High School in Gandhinagar came up with a very innovative idea to produce bio-gas to solve this issue.
What’s So Special About The Food In This School?
The students at the Government High School in Gandhinagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu turn food waste into bio-gas to prepare noon meals. The school inaugurated the bio-gas kit, which was set up by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Town for ₹30,000 on 30 September 2022. This initiative, however, started operations after the examinations and puja holidays.
Out of 400 students from classes 6 to 10, 250 avail of the benefit of the noon meal scheme. To prepare the bio-gas, they first add cow dung into a 1000-litre tank and let it set for a week. After a week, leftover food and vegetable scrappings are added. The next day, this generates methane that is accumulated in a large sealed leather bag. This gas is used as fuel in stoves to prepare noon meals. Since this is a preliminary kit, the fuel lasts for an hour a day. This process is repeated in a loop to suffice the requirement.
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Moreover, the students monitor safety, food, and the environment. And along with the faculty, they supervise waste disposal and operation of the kit as well.
How Beneficial Is Bio-Gas To The Environment?
- Bio-gas production solves most of the environmental problems, such as the dumping of fresh cow dung, which allows the collection of methane and other gases as the cow dung is decomposed.
- Production of bio-gas needs no oxygen and hence, no combustion is involved. Furthermore, no greenhouse gas is emitted.
- Rather than dumped into landfills waste is reused to produce bio-gas. Landfills have a deep environmental impact like the foul smell and hazardous liquid drainage into underground water.
- The components used for production are leftovers, water waste, manure etc. Hence, no new resources are utilised.
The initiative by the young minds is an inspiration. We can all take baby steps every day by omitting the use of non-recyclable products and making the planet greener. Even a small step goes a long way!
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