YK Poudel

Competing among 22 hackathon pitches, the Plastic Champions team from the College of Natural Resources (CNR) clinched top position at the Plastic Waste and Resources Hackathon, with their concept of a waste bank, an appropriate model to be applied in circular economic practices.

Hosted by the Bhutan Ecological Society as part of its ‘Reimagining Effective Partnerships for Tackling Plastic Waste and River Pollution’ initiative, the two-day expo featured 14 stalls from waste management professionals across Bhutan.

The event aimed to highlight effective solutions for managing plastic waste and river pollution.

One of the team members from CNR, Wangdi Rigsel, said that the team would now engage with the college students, management, local community and the nearby nunnery to work on the mounting plastics in and around the CNR premises. “The pervasive use of plastic products has led to a substantial accumulation of plastic waste on campus, posing a threat to both the environment and human health.”

The team’s project plans to implement circular economy practices by focusing on re-use, recycle, and up-cycling concepts.  “As a part of the waste repository process the students, faculty and communities will collect trash which are recyclable and would be dumped at a waste collection facility,” he said. “The waste will then be sold to waste management agencies in the locality.”

The team plans to collaborate with various local organisations, including Greener Way, Clean Bhutan, Team Change, and Druk Trash Solution to enhance their efforts.

The Nu 15,000 prize money will support further development of their project. “The idea is sustainable as the college has various clubs working and advocating on similar avenues contributing to about eight global SDGs,” Wangdi Rigsel said.

He said that the waste bank concept could be expanded to schools and communities nationwide, leveraging community involvement, partnerships, and infrastructure development.

In Thimphu, innovative waste management practices include recycling and up-cycling waste into reusable products, reducing environmental impact and promoting the economy.

The runner-up prize went to Motithang HSS for their automated waste segregation bin, designed to streamline the waste separation process. The bin uses sensors to automatically categorize waste, a step forward in waste management technology. The school received Nu 10,000 for their efforts.

A member of the runner-up team from Motithang HSS, Tenzin Doelma,  said that the manual way of waste segregation has become cumbersome. “The bin has a flap with a sensor which detects the type of waste dumped in and segregates inside accordingly,” she said. “The school has invested and supported this project and we are hoping to bring it out soon.”

The Wangsel Institute of Deaf secured the second runner-up position with a prize of Nu 5,000.

According to Phub Dorji, one of the organisers from BES, the expo’s goal was to educate the community, showcase innovative solutions, and foster youth engagement. “This expo served as a platform to educate, engage, and empower the Bhutanese community, especially the youth, to champion the cause of plastic-free rivers.”

The event attracted more than 620 participants, including school and college students, teachers, government and non-government officials and waste management agencies from across the country.