कचरा और स्वच्छता
Waste and Cleanliness
Waste is what we throw away, and how a community handles it decides how healthy it is. EVS teaches children to separate waste, to reduce what they generate and to see the people whose work keeps a place clean.
Kinds of waste
| Type | Meaning | Examples | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biodegradable | Rots naturally with the help of micro-organisms | Food waste, leaves, paper, cow dung | Compost it |
| Non-biodegradable | Does not rot for a very long time | Plastic, glass, metal, rubber | Reuse or recycle it |
| Hazardous | Harmful to health | Batteries, medicines, broken bulbs, sanitary waste | Dispose separately and safely |
The standard classroom practice is two bins — green for wet, biodegradable waste and blue for dry, non-biodegradable waste. Segregation at source is what makes composting and recycling possible; mixing them makes both impossible.
The three Rs
- Reduce — use less: carry a cloth bag, refuse a plastic straw, print less.
- Reuse — use again: a glass jar for storage, an old shirt as a duster.
- Recycle — remake into something new: paper, glass, metal and some plastics.
They are listed in this order deliberately. Reducing is best because nothing has to be processed at all; recycling still costs energy and water.
Composting
Kitchen and garden waste buried in a pit with soil and moisture turns into manure in a few weeks. Vermicomposting uses earthworms to do it faster. A compost pit in a school corner is one of the most effective EVS activities available: it costs nothing, runs for months, and produces something children can see and use.
The people who clean
EVS names sanitation workers, sweepers and ragpickers, and asks children to consider what their lives are like and how much of their work would be unnecessary if waste were sorted at home. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, launched in 2014, sits alongside this in the chapter. The classroom rule that follows is direct: children keep their own class clean, and no child is ever punished by being made to clean as a humiliation.
✗ Plastic is biodegradable because it eventually breaks into small pieces. | ✓ Plastic is non-biodegradable; it breaks into smaller pieces but does not rot away.
संकेत: हरा डिब्बा = गीला जैविक कचरा; नीला डिब्बा = सूखा अजैविक कचरा; तीन R का क्रम — कम करें, पुनः उपयोग, पुनर्चक्रण।
One or two questions come from waste, most often the biodegradable classification or the order of the three Rs. The trap in the three Rs question places recycle first; reduce is always first. The green and blue bin convention is asked directly. In pedagogy form, the correct answer is a school compost pit or a waste audit conducted by the children, not a lecture about cleanliness.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste?
Biodegradable waste is broken down naturally by micro-organisms and includes food waste, leaves and paper. Non-biodegradable waste such as plastic, glass and metal does not rot and remains in the environment for a very long time.
Why is reduce placed before recycle in the three Rs?
Because reducing consumption means no material has to be processed at all. Recycling still requires energy, water and transport, so it is the last resort after reducing what we use and reusing what we already have.
What is vermicomposting?
Composting with the help of earthworms, which eat organic waste and produce rich manure faster than ordinary composting. A simple vermicompost pit can be run in a school corner as a long-term EVS activity.
60-second recap
- Biodegradable rots naturally; non-biodegradable does not; hazardous needs separate disposal.
- Green bin for wet waste, blue bin for dry waste - segregate at source.
- Three Rs in order: reduce, reuse, recycle.
- Composting and vermicomposting turn kitchen waste into manure.
- Never use cleaning as a punishment; treat sanitation work with respect.
Ab isi chapter ke questions CTET Paper 1 mock test me practice karo — transport, maps aur waste ke sawaal wahin milenge.