Waste Management is What Comes to Our Minds When Someone Says Environment: GenZ in Solve for Tomorrow Entries

The GenZ feels that India is facing a waste problem so devastating, that it needs immediate attention. So immediate that 50% of all entries that want to solve problems around Environment, plan to work on Waste Management.

There are all kinds of waste – Plastic waste, Domestic Waste, Chemical waste, Solid waste, Bio degradable and non-biodegradable waste and all of it is right in front of us. No wonder that during Solve for Tomorrow roadshows, some of the most discussed and relevant topics among GenZ were issues related to waste management.

Team Planeteers

Riya, Akshita and Nikita

“Once you learn how damaged the waste management ecosystems are, it’s not really something you can unsee,” said, 19 year old Riya P Dey, an engineering student from Uttar Pradesh. “To me doing my bit to save the environment is the biggest priority right now.”

Riya is a member of team Planteers who are working on an Underwater Autonomous Vehicle that will have the ability to detect micro and nano plastics (and their concentrations) and filter them out of natural water bodies, while Marine Conservers are designing a self propelled boat that will aid in garbage collection on rivers.

Riya, Akshita and Nikita’s research on the subject led them to the conclusion that with their unparalleled functional properties at a relatively lower cost, plastics have become the ubiquitous propellant force of modern society.  “The microplastic and nanoplastic pollution collectively called micronanoplastics is highly toxic to the environment,” said Akshita.

Team Aero Scientist

19-year-old A Sai Ajay from Andhra Pradesh has an ambitious plan to get rid of the debris in space. He is highly motivated to work in the field of space environment.

Ajay from team Aero Scientist

Ajay is an aerospace engineering undergraduate, with technical knowledge on designing, analyzing and simulating software for better understanding of waste in the space.

“There are six challenges unique to the space environment we deal with gravity, the atmosphere, vacuum, micrometeoroids and debris, radiation, and charged particles. My aim and plan is to design a system that will remove space debris,” said Sai Ajay.

Marine Conservers

Oceans play a fundamental role in mitigating climate change. The sea absorbs harmful toxins and releases oxygen. Proper waste management systems can help preserve ocean health and reduce an economies overall greenhouse gas emissions by 10-15.

Durga, Charan Sai and Venkat Subba from Team Marine Conservers

Durga, Charan Sai and Venkat Subba, a trio of 19-year-olds from Andhra Pradesh are designing a self-propelled boat that will aid in garbage collection on rivers. They call themselves the Marine Conservers.

“Marine plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the worlds ability to deal with them. Millions of marine lives are dying due to plastics every year. We are in dire need of an immediate action,” said team Marine Conservers.

Team Green Ranger

Mayur Patel is a 21-year-old engineer from Gujarat. The only member in Team Green Ranger wants to create a mechanism of garbage collection robot which will work closer to home – in our rural and urban public spaces.

Team Green Ranger

Mayur’s solution aims at reducing human involvement during waste collection, resulting in fewer health concerns. It will also help waste management bodies to minimise total waste material costs.

“The robots would be useful in both rural and urban regions, resulting in better and healthier ways of waste collection,” said Mayur.

NSS Team

“When you can’t get rid of something that is not useful, transform it into something relevant.”

“As a science student, I have grown up working around this philosophy and I am so glad I have found the perfect teammates in Sujitha and Nanda,” said Sai Supriya from Team NSS based in Andhra Pradesh. These three 19 year-olds are taking an inventive approach to plastic disposal by turning it into strong paper that can be used for packaging, and will be biodegradable.

Sujitha, Nanda and Sujitha from team NSS

Their plan is to create a scheme called REPLAN, where the processed and de-structured plastic is mixed with cotton fibre rags and then it undergoes multiple stages of treatment to produce a pulp that is turned into paper. Because of its strength and durability, this paper can be used for creating cartons as well.

In our next article, we’re excited to bring you the details of more entries received under Environment. These Top 50 entrants will now attend a 3-day bootcamp at FIIT-IIT Delhi campus, where they will receive expert advice, guidance and mentoring.