February 14, 2011
Amritapuri Campus
 

Nearly 4 billion trees are cut down every year to meet the global demand for paper.
 

Only 10% of the world’s paper is ever utilised in the long term. Most is used once and thrown away.
 

The paper and pulp industry is an energy intensive industry. Electricity that is used to produce one ton of paper can power an average home for six months.
 

Paper manufacturing uses more water than most other industries. Nearly one hundred tons of water is required to produce one ton of paper.
 

With a manufacturing impact such as this, the need to recycle paper cannot be overstated.
 

Five B.Tech. (ECE) students at the Amritapuri campus, Vineeth Mohan, Ashish Krishnan, Ajay M., Paul Leons and Jayakrishnan S., got together at the end of the previous semester to recycle all the paper they could find on campus.
 

They focused their efforts especially on unused papers in notebooks and lab records. Old notebooks and lab records were collected and sorted through.
 

“We divided the papers into three categories. One-sided papers were set aside to be used for printing purposes. Used papers were given to a recycling center.”
 

“In addition to this, we could also retrieve many papers that were totally unused. We gave these to the ashram book-binding department, so that they could become part of future notebooks.”
 

“By doing our bit, we were able to save many trees.”
 

“On some days we worked till late at night collecting and sorting papers. The satisfaction we feel now, after completing the job, is beyond words.”
 

“If a group of only five can make such a difference, then we wonder how much more can be done if every single person does something in the service of Mother Nature.”
 

Perhaps this very thought of theirs inspired other students on the same campus. This semester, MBA students initiated an effort to calculate the carbon footprint of their School and recommend ways in which to reduce it.
 

Measuring and minimizing usage of paper is one of the main things the MBA student group is emphasizing.
 

When these students sought Chancellor Amma’s blessings for the initiative, they received some sound advice.
 

“Good, my children! Very good!!” Amma said. “It is a very good idea and I am happy that my children are thinking in this way. Amma always tells her children to use paper properly and not waste it. How much waste is being generated everyday? My children need to bring it down immediately! This idea will make it happen.”