To start the new year in a sustainable way, FSL-India’s CEL (Centre for Experiential Living) at Shettrakatte has a new year’s resolution: to become a plastic-free zone!

The staff and the volunteers are working together towards this goal, taking some measures in order to achieve it. An example of this has been the proper labeling of the recycling bins, separating paper, wet and dry waste, and also wet and dry plastic. Moreover, as we are living and working as a community, there has been a raise of awareness for everybody who spends time here.

Another action has been the construction of bins with recycled materials. For the moment, some volunteers have created a hanging bin out of plastic bottles, rope and an old and broken FSL-India poster that is made of waterproof material – which will ensure that the bin can have a long life.

The process started when the volunteers went around the different areas of CEL trying to identify and collect some materials that could be useful for the bin construction. After that, they visualised what the bin would look like and they started working on it.

Firstly, the bottles were cut; secondly, they were tied between each other to form a square shape; and finally, the waterproof material was included to cover the whole structure. As a final detail, a rope was added in order to make it a hanging bin, together with the cap of one of the used bottles.

This first plastic bin designed and created by us was placed in the dining area, because it is probably the central location of CEL and everybody can easily access it to get rid of their plastic waste. Moreover, it is a covered area, so it has a certain protection during the rainy season.

With these steps and many more that will come soon, we all hope that CEL will turn into a free plastic zone! This is the main impact we are aiming for with this action, but we are also looking forward to experience new ways to reuse materials, to give them a sustainable purpose.