About this project
Plastic2Purpose, under Vrikshit Foundation, is a working initiative that addresses two critical problems — plastic waste pollution and the lack of adequate infrastructure in schools for underprivileged children. The project collects discarded plastic items such as bottles, spoons, and single-use cutlery from restaurants across Delhi. These materials are cleaned, shredded, and moulded into benches, desks, chairs, and other useful products through recycling machines. The finished products are then donated to schools under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Delhi government, as well as NGOs working in the field of education.
As of now, the initiative has created and distributed over 780 sets of furniture, impacting more than 20,000 students across government schools and low-income learning spaces in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Plastic2Purpose operates through a community-driven, decentralized model of waste collection and recycling, involving volunteers, restaurant partners, and local stakeholders. It brings together sustainability and education by giving plastic a renewed purpose in the form of essential infrastructure for learning.
The project is sustained through donations, crowdfunding campaigns hosted on the foundation’s website and Milaap, citizen contribution drives, volunteering efforts, and revenue from the sale of recyclable waste such as newspapers.
As the project scales, it envisions deeper engagement with municipal bodies, expanded citizen participation, and stronger grassroots funding channels to expand outreach across India.
Goals and Objectives
The Plastic2Purpose initiative by Vrikshit Foundation aims to address the dual challenge of plastic waste management and the lack of basic educational infrastructure in underserved schools. The core goal is to create a sustainable, community-driven circular economy model where discarded plastic is transformed into essential school furniture, directly benefiting students from low-income backgrounds.
Objectives:
1. Waste Collection and Recycling:
To build an efficient and scalable system for collecting discarded plastic from restaurants and community sources across Delhi. The collected plastic is cleaned, shredded, and processed into usable raw material for furniture.
2. Infrastructure Development in Schools:
To manufacture and donate durable, eco-friendly school furniture such as benches, desks, and chairs to government schools and NGOs working on education for underprivileged children.
3. Community Engagement and Awareness:
To conduct awareness campaigns, cleanliness drives, and volunteer programs to educate citizens about plastic waste, sustainable practices, and how they can contribute to the initiative through donations, volunteering, and responsible waste disposal.
4. Scalability and Replication:
To build partnerships with municipal authorities, local NGOs, and community platforms to support expansion of the initiative. Resource mobilization will rely on crowdfunding through the foundation’s website and platforms like Milaap, direct citizen donations, volunteering efforts, and revenue from recyclable material sales such as newspapers.
This structure ensures long-term sustainability while fostering active public participation in environmental and educational impact.
Expected result
1. Reduction in Plastic Waste:
The project will divert significant volumes of single-use plastic from landfills and open dumping, converting it into durable and useful school infrastructure. This contributes to both environmental sustainability and resource efficiency.
2. Improved Educational Infrastructure:
Targeted schools and learning centres will receive much-needed benches, desks, and chairs, improving classroom environments for thousands of students. This is expected to enhance comfort, attendance, and learning outcomes, especially in underserved schools that currently lack basic furniture.
3. Behavioural Change and Community Participation:
Through its volunteer and awareness activities, the project will foster a culture of environmental responsibility, waste segregation, and recycling among citizens, students, restaurant owners, and community stakeholders. Increased citizen engagement in waste collection and donations is also expected.
4. Livelihood and Local Partnerships:
The project provides income-generation opportunities through plastic waste collection, handling, and transportation, engaging informal sector workers, volunteers, and waste collectors. It also builds partnerships with restaurants, schools, NGOs, and community organisations to ensure local ownership and sustainability.
5. Strengthened Waste Supply Chain:
A reliable collection network will be established across Delhi and nearby areas, in collaboration with restaurants and waste contributors. This network ensures a consistent and predictable supply of plastic input, enabling uninterrupted production of recycled furniture.
6. A Scalable and Replicable Model:
The long-term expectation is to replicate this model in other cities and states through partnerships with municipal bodies, local NGOs, and grassroots donation and crowdfunding efforts. The model’s modular design makes it adaptable to various urban and semi-urban contexts, especially where plastic waste is abundant and school infrastructure is lacking.
About me / organisation
Shreya Garg
Shreya Garg is a dedicated volunteer for environmental causes. While pursuing her degree in English Honours in Delhi, she actively contributes to afforestation efforts. She currently leads a nationwide urban plantation project aimed at combating air pollution and rising heat levels in cities across India. So far, the initiative has covered over 45 cities and engaged more than 1,200 volunteers.
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