Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday signed an MoU with Govt Polytechnic College to turn some selected recyclable waste into art pieces.BMC officials said students of Polytechnic College will make the art pieces, which will be displayed at the city’s waste-to-wonder park. BMC will provide the selected waste based on requirement. People can order or buy the art pieces from the park.“The municipal solid waste contains household items that people discard. Bulk of such waste is non-biodegradable and its pile-up can be hazardous for the environment. We signed an MoU so that the Polytechnic College can have access to some selected waste that can’t be processed. Using their skills, the students will convert such waste into art pieces. On an experimental basis, some art pieces have already been put on display. The park will be inaugurated soon so that people can visit it, learn how to make art pieces from trash and buy some too,” said BMC additional commissioner Kailash Chandra Dash.Several components of municipal waste such as plastic, electronics, dry, green and other household waste will be made available for the art pieces. For example, the PET bottles of different sizes, coconut peel, electric wires, nuts and bolts, cardboards and food packets (both plastic and paper).“The waste-to-wonder initiative will help reduce the segregation and handling burden on BMC sanitary workforce. It will also help boost circular economy. The creative pursuits of students and people at large will also get a boost as people can learn how to make best use of the waste,” Dash added.In Sept last year, BMC launched a waste-to-art contest as part of ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign. BMC invited entries from people to make the best use of waste and convert it into various artefacts. After people made art pieces from the waste, they took photographs of them and uploaded them on the BMC website to take part in the contest. The selected entries won appreciation and prizes. Also, the best art pieces were displayed at one place on Oct 2 (Swachh Bharat Diwas), a BMC officer said.
